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Delhi Police explain discrepancy in timestamp on CCTV footage of Chief Secretary post his alleged assault

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Delhi Police explain discrepancy in timestamp on CCTV footage of Chief Secretary post his alleged assault

Ever since Delhi’s Chief Secretary alleged that he was assaulted by AAP MLA’s at midnight, in the presence of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, AAP has been scrambling to put out various defences. AAP spokespersons called the entire issue unbelievable:


Other AAP supporters like Dhruv Rathee, played Sherlock Holmes and raised issues on the time stamp on the CCTV footage, which showed the Chief Secretary leaving the CM’s house. The timestamp showed 11.30 whereas the civil servant had claimed he was assaulted at midnight:

AAP supporters claiming Chief Secretary claim false

The Delhi police today seemed to have answered this issue. The police today entered the official residence of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to examine the CCTV cameras installed in the building.  ADGP North Delhi stated that they had found that the CCTV cameras were running behind time by 40 minutes.


If this statement is to be believed, then the CCTV cameras were showing 11.30, when the actual time was 12.10. This would corroborate with the Chief Secretary’s statements that he was assaulted at midnight, soon after which he left the place.

Proving this “error” in the CCTV cameras settings before a judge may prove to be tougher task. AAP will very well claim that this is a convenient excuse. Further, cameras not showing correct time at the Delhi CM’s official address reflects badly on the authorities responsible for this.

Rajdeep Sardesai admits to misquoting the Army Chief, will others follow suit?

OpIndia Staff
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Rajdeep Sardesai admits to misquoting the Army Chief, will others follow suit?

Rajdeep Sardesai recently admitted having commented unnecessarily on the Army Chief’s speech at the DRDO conference on North East region. He had initially asked if the Army Chief was a politician in a Tweet.


Later he realised the Army Chief’s speech had much more than just the reference about AIUDF. And then twisted back to a conciliatory tone defending the Chief. He not only corrected himself but also sought to educate all those who had criticised the army chief


We had put out a detailed article carrying the contents of Army Chief’s ‘controversial’ speech earlier. He had said the following about amalgamation of all communities in Assam even though he had mentioned AIUDF and BJP. Bipin Rawat had said the following words :

I think that the government is looking at the northeast in correct perspective and if that happens time will not be far when we will be able to amalgamate the region, ensure development and with development, we will be able to control the people of the region who are residing in this area. [..]

We have got to appreciate living with all people who are living in our region irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or sex. I think if you understand that, we can live together happily, but the best part is amalgamate the kind of people that are living in the region and then start identifying people who are trying to create trouble. We will have more trouble in segregating people, identifying people, yes some people have to be identified who are creating trouble for us, who are illegal immigrants, but as was brought out, Muslim population started coming into Assam as early as 1218 to 1236. That was the first time that Muslims entered Assam. So we have to understand that they are not late arrivers, they were the early arrivers who came concurrently with the Ahoms. Both these people have claims to the state of Assam and therefore the North East region.

Rajdeep’s Twitter timeline suggests that he managed to jump the gun before delving into the contents of the speech. He questioned if the chief’s comments had been taken out of context, which is in a way a confession of his own earlier Tweet.

 

Rajdeep’s flip-flop in his stance regarding Army Chief Bipin Rawat’s speech

Now that Rajdeep has retracted his earlier comments on Army chief Bipin Rawat, will others follow suit? We will have to wait and watch.

Muslim men attempt to rape Dalit women and a minor, attack them with axes and firearms

OpIndia Staff
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Muslim men attempt to rape Dalit women and a minor, attack them with axes and firearms

In a heinous crime, men belonging to the Muslim community barged into the house of a Dalit family in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh and attempted to rape two women and a minor. Failing in their attempt, they assaulted the women with axes and attacked them with firearms before fleeing the scene. The women are currently undergoing treatment at a hospital. Their situation is deemed to be critical. The Police are currently searching for the accused. The names of the accused are Sham Shakil, Shahid and Muhammad Ali.


In an unrelated incident in Rajasthan, a Muslim mob assaulted Dalit women on the 19th of February and beat them up because their procession was playing music as they passed by a mosque.


Thus far, harbingers of Dalit-Muslim unity like Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani and Shehla Rashid have maintained a stoic silence over the series of crimes committed against the Dalit community by Muslims.

Gharapuri island which houses famous Elephanta caves finally gets electricity 70 years after Independence

OpIndia Staff
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Gharapuri island which houses famous Elephanta caves finally gets electricity 70 years after Independence

The Elephanta or Gharapuri Island which houses the famous Elephanta caves finally received electricity about 70 years after independence, via a 7.5 KM long undersea cable. This project costing about 25 crores was completed in about 15 months. The project to electrify the island was spearheaded by Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd (MSEDCL). The island is about 10 KM away from the Mumbai mainland.

As per the regional head of MSEDCL Satish Karape, the undersea cable is India’s longest and took about three months to lay. The three villages namely Raj Bander, Mora Bander and Shet Bander which were bereft of electricity had three transformers installed. Besides this, the electricity facilities included, six 13 metre tall streetlight towers equipped with powerful LED bulbs.

As a result of the electrification, individual power meters have been provided to about 200 domestic and some commercial consumers. The families mostly comprise of fishermen, farmers and those employed in the tourism sector.

The 22-KV undersea cable comprises of four lines, one for every transformer, which includes a standby one to ensure round the clock high-quality power and potential capacity of catering to the future demand for more than 30 years. The cable is designed to withstand choppy seas and underwater pressure.

This electrification comes as a massive relief for the villagers who barely managed to get a three hour power supply with the help generators provided by the state government. The electrification also brings the hope that the tourism industry might receive a further boost via possible overnight stays, installation of a lighthouse and if possible, the powering of the caves itself. It is also planned that a water filtration plant can now be set up for to provide clean water for the locals and tourists.

Such first times when it comes to electricity supply have recently been witnessed from various parts of the country:

  • In 2016, Shiyal Bet an island off the coast of Gujarat got its first taste of electricity. The 6000 strong population at the Arabian sea island till then were mainly dependant on Kerosene oil and battery lamps for the light in its lives.
  • Amdeli, a remote Maharashtra village in the Gadchiroli district of the state, received electricity in 2017. The state till a few years ago even didn’t have any transportation facilities.
  • A tribal village in Chhattisgarh too got electric connectivity only in December 2017, which resulted in villagers expressing happiness about their kids having a bright future.

Kamal Haasan’s party Makkal Needhi Maiam’s logo doesn’t seem too original

OpIndia Staff
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Kamal Haasan’s party Makkal Needhi Maiam’s logo doesn’t seem too original

Kamal Haasan launched his party Makkal Needhi Maiam with much fanfare on Wednesday. He had exhorted his supporter to build a party based on high values and unity. In his speech at the party launch, he had said the following about his party symbol.

It represents the six south Indian states working together for the benefit of all. The star in the Centre represents people. He says he does not want to fall in brackets of the left or right wing. “I’m centre.”

However, it has emerged that his party symbol is not an original one but a slightly modified version of an image available on a photo editing app/website called Shutterstock.


A Tamil portal has also pointed out that his party symbol is eerily similar to the logo of a European microfinance company named ACAF.

Makkal Needhi Maiam symbol is eerily similar to ACAF logo

It remains to be seen if Kamal Haasan clarifies his stand on these allegations of plagiarism seen on social media.

More trouble for Ram Gopal Varma: May face jail time for movie ‘God, Sex and Truth’

OpIndia Staff
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More trouble for Ram Gopal Varma: May face jail time for movie ‘God, Sex and Truth’

Ram Gopal Varma has attracted the wrath of women rights activists for his controversial movie ‘God, Sex and Truth’ featuring porn-star Mia Malkova. Organizations such as Progressive Organization of Women (POW), AIDWA and Mahila Samakhya have alleged that RGV has insulted the modesty of women by promoting pornography and lodged a complaint with the Police.


RGV has maintained that the porn movie was shot in Europe as shooting pornography is illegal in India. However, an activist has now claimed that she has evidence that confirms that the movie was in fact shot in Hyderabad.

After the Police questioned him over the complaint filed against him, the filmmaker denied having either directed or produced the movie. He claimed that he had only come up with the concept of the movie.

Meanwhile, RGV has taken to Twitter to state that he will no longer be making any statements as the matter is under investigation and subjudice.


FIRs have also been lodged against the filmmaker under sections 506 and 509 for his alleged derogatory remarks about activist, P Mani. If the charges against him are found to be true, the director may have to spend some time in prison.

AAP MLA caught on camera openly calling for assault on IAS officers

OpIndia Staff
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AAP MLA caught on camera openly calling for assault on IAS officers

The Aam Aadmi Party is showing no signs of remorse over the incident of MLAs assaulting the Chief Secretary of Delhi in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal hasn’t issued an apology yet and one of his MLAs has not only justified the assault but also seemed to be encouraging mob violence against people who are perceived as corrupt.


This speech comes even as Arvind Kejriwal’s party seems to be falling like a house of cards. After the assault of the Chief Secretary, Ex-IAS officer Dhir Jhingran has resigned as a member of the State Advisory Council for Education in Delhi in solidarity with the victim of assault, Anshu Prakash, who was his batchmate.


The retired IAS officer wrote, “This is to inform you that I have been deeply shocked and saddened by the reprehensible incident that took place on February 19 night at the residence of the Chief Minister where Mr Anshu Prakash, Chief Secretary, who is also my batchmate in the IAS, was assaulted.”

Bureaucrats have been up in arms against the AAP government ever since news of the assault on Anshu Prakash broke out. Earlier, they had announced a complete boycott of the AAP government and stated that they would maintain only a formal written contract with the Delhi government until the Chief Minister apologizes for the assault. On Thursday, bureaucrats registered a silent protest outside their offices and the silent protest will continue every day for five minutes to make a “strong statement”.

Women IAS officers have also alleged harassment by Delhi Ministers and claimed that they are often made to come late at night for meetings.

Thus far, one AAP MLA has been arrested and another detained in connection with the incident.

Lalu’s son says Nitish trying to poison his food, after his brother accused Nitish of sending ghosts

OpIndia Staff
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Lalu’s son says Nitish trying to poison his food, after his brother accused Nitish of sending ghosts

Tejashwi Yadav, the son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and currently his heir apparent, has claimed that the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar was planning on poisoning his food. As per Tejashwi, this nefarious agenda was being hatched in order to derail his Samvidhan Bachao Nyay Yatra. He also alleged that his phone was tapped.

Tejashwi Yadav, before Nitish Kumar decided to sever ties with the RJD in Bihar, used to be the Deputy Chief Minister of the state. In this Yatra of his, Tejashwi has been seen complaining about the betrayal of mandate by Nitish Kumar and has also accused the Bihar Chief Minister and the Modi government of framing his father Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is in jail for his role in the fodder scam.

Via his twitter account, Tejashwi also informed the world that Nitish was scared of his state wide rally, and that he had come to know via his “trusted sources” that the Nitish government was hatching a grave conspiracy against him. He claimed that besides phone tapping and lacing his food and drink with poisonous substances, the Nitish government was also having detectives trail him.

Tejashwi termed this whole affair as an effort to tarnish his reputation and endanger his life.

Such allegations closely follow a sensational conspiracy theory peddled by his brother Tej Pratap Yadav, where Tej claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi had let ghosts loose in his official house. Due to this paranormal conspiracy against him, Tej Pratap was “forced to” vacate his official 5 Deshratna Marg house, which was allocated to him during his brief tenure as the state’s health minister.

Tej’s housing troubles are not limited to ghosts though. Besides the ghosts, Tej Pratap might get in trouble with the law enforcement authorities after it has been found that he illegally constructed a temple inside his ghost riddled bungalow.

Tamil Nadu Christian NGO accused of harvesting bones and organs of the elderly

OpIndia Staff
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Tamil Nadu Christian NGO accused of harvesting bones and organs of the elderly

Shocking allegation against an NGO named St. Joseph’s Hospice have emerged, which include beating sick inmates and using their dead bodies for harvesting bones. Some reports have also alleged that it is also involved in harvesting organs of its inmates and selling it to other countries.

The hospice, which calls itself a ‘Home for Dying Destitute’, was founded by Father R. V. Thomas in 2011. The same Christian pastor is also running similar hospices in Dindigul and Paleshwaram. A hospice is a Christian equivalent of an Ashram where sick and destitute are supposed to be taken care of.

An article about an unauthorised vault being used to cremate the dead had appeared in The Hindu newspaper on 3rd February. However, this article had not included details of treatment meted out to inmates and allegations of bone harvesting by locals.

Now a Tamil channel named Thanthi TV has come up with a ground report, which has brought to light the allegations of locals against the the NGO.


The Thanti TV reported quoted in the above tweet can be seen here:


Translation of Thanthi TV report is as below :

Chengalpattu district Salavakkam, In an orphanage/hospice here the locals allege that the inmates are not given a proper burial. and their bones are harvested by authorities of the  hospice. Further, the polluted water from the hospice is leaking into the local lake and farming has been adversely affected because of that. The children who go near the lake are also disturbed by the smell of the water. 

Respondent 1 : Sick and elderly from outside the village , from places like Madras are brought here, tortured and killed. They are not given a burial. Instead they are kept in the racks [of the vault] for 3 months and we don’t know what happens, but the bones are usually taken. We tell them to bury but they don’t do it. They have removed the bones, we saw. Because of the these dead bodies , the smell has increased and it is intolerable. The polluted water comes to our lake and it is affecting families. So please take step and do what has to be done. 

Respondent 2 : Children of the village go to study. My daughter is also studying. But they are afraid to walk from here and go. From outside it looks like a hospice. But they take them all, torture . When it rains , water comes from there and mixes with the lake and families are affected. The village does not need this hospice. 

Local authorities are inspecting the premises of the Christian hospice and tunnels of upto 30 feet depth have been discovered. 

The alleged illegal activities of the NGO came to light when the villagers stopped a van that was carrying dead bodies of the hospice inmates. An old woman crying out from the van was rescued by them. The elderly rescued woman has been identified as Annamalai and the dead body has been identified as that of Vijayakumar. Another elderly man belonging to Dindigul named Selvaraj was also rescued from the van.


A Twitter user ‘FCRA analyst’ has brought out the details of the funding source of the NGO and hospice. As per other reports quoted by the user, the NGO is also accused of harvesting organs.


Investigations into activities of the hospice has been started only after the villagers protested against the NGO.


The document in the above tweet is :

click on the image for larger view

Apart from lack of details in the The Hindu report, a report in the Deccan Chronicle regarding the rescue of elderly from the van also hid the religious nature of organisations involved. In fact, The Hindu had earlier published an article on Father Thomas and his Dindigul hospice titled ‘They come to this hospice to have a peaceful death.‘

Chidambaram signed order to benefit 13 companies including Mehul Choksi on 16th May 2014, the day Congress lost

OpIndia Staff
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Chidambaram signed order to benefit 13 companies including Mehul Choksi on 16th May 2014, the day Congress lost

A report by CNN-News 18 has revealed that former finance minister P Chidambaram signed an order in a great hurry that allowed certain specific companies to import gold. In the report, the news channel has revealed the RBI circular that allowed 13 companies to import gold under the 80-20 scheme included Mehul Choksi’s Gitanjali Gems.


The RBI circular was dated May 21, 2014. It also added that the order to let the companies import gold was signed by the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram on 16th May 2014. On the day that the general election results were announced and UPA had lost power.

The report went on to reveal that 50% of the entire benefit was cornered by 7 companies and Mehul Choksi’s Gitanjali Gems was again one of them. Gitanjali Gems is believed to have imported 400 kg of gold under the scheme after the order. Mehul Choksi is one of the accused in the 11,000 crores PNB Bank fraud and is currently absconding.

A CAG Report on gold imports during the period shows that the import of gold actually surged under the 20-80 scheme. The 20-80 scheme was launched in 2013 by the then UPA government to impose restrictions on gold import. It was expected to deal with the current account deficit of gold. Interestingly Mehul Choksi had welcomed the 20-80 scheme at that time before media and said that it will help jewellers. The scheme mandated that at least 20% of the gold imported from abroad was to be made available to the exporters.

Chidambaram had signed the controversial circular barely a week before he had to vacate his office. This has raised several questions on the links of the UPA government with Mehul Choksi and his company.

Economist and MP Subramanian Swami has tweeted about the news:


It is notable here that the Narendra Modi led NDA government had scrapped the 80-20 scheme in late November in 2014. At that time the Raghuram Rajan governed RBI had distanced itself from the scrapping order of the scheme and had stated that it is merely issuing the order and the decision has been taken by the government.

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