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Dhanya Rajendran of The News Minute focuses on Mohan Lal while ignoring explosive allegations of sexual abuse and drug use in Malayalam Film industry

OpIndia Staff
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Dhanya Rajendran of The News Minute focuses on Mohan Lal while ignoring explosive allegations of sexual abuse and drug use in Malayalam Film industry

The Editor-in-Chief of The News Minute, Dhanya Rajendra is facing massive backlash from a section of social media users, particularly supporters of popular actor Mohanlal over allegations of ‘selective reporting’ on the Justice Hema Committee Report. 

Notably, her outlet recently published an article titled, ‘Kerala govt in a tight spot and who will bag AIADMK contract? | Powertrip #68’ in which they exclusively used Mohanlal’s picture. They are also being accused of using Mohanlal’s picture while reporting on shocking allegations made by actress Radhika Sharathkumar who had alleged that some men in the industry had installed hidden cameras in vanity vans of actresses to record their obscene videos. 

Reacting sharply to the article’s feature image and the alleged insinuations against Mohanlal, the actors’ fans hit out at the TNM Editor, calling her out for her rag-tag brand of Yellow journalism and indulging in a witch-hunt against the actor.  

They also charged her with trying to safeguard a few members of the Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) who are allegedly embroiled in the usage and promotion of narcotics drugs in the Cinema Industry. They lashed out at ‘The News Minute’ and its Editor-in-Chief asserting that it deliberately didn’t report on the drug abuse and use of drugs in cine parties which incidentally did find mention in the Justice Hema Committee Report. The actor’s fans have accused Dhanya Rajendran of being close to a few actresses and filmmakers who were allegedly involved in drug use. 

Slamming Rajendran for using Mohanlal’s picture, an X user wrote, “Using a picture of legend for more followers . Also please mention about drug users”.

Another user wrote, “What’s the connection between Radhika’s interview & Mohanlal as a thumbnail in this article ?”

“There is a point where your professionalism is compromised by intense dislike, whether consciously or unconsciously. Why is there so much animosity towards Mr. Mohanlal? Did Radhika mention his name?” commented another user while responding to her post on X.

Following the outrage, the TNM team defended itself for using Mohanlal’s picture in the said article stating that the article reported about the dissolution of AMMA which Mohanlal headed, thus his picture. However, TNM Journalist Korah Abraham noted that their reports mentioned some actors’ having ‘souvenirs’ and insinuated, “These souvenirs as we were told could be CCTV footage to blackmail. Which is why she said check Radhika video (her second tweet) and come back and read this”.

Nonetheless, according to the allegations, The News Minute Editor-in-Chief, Dhanya Rajendran is said to be a part of a group of actresses Rima Kallingal and Parvathy Thiruvothu who are members of the Women’s Collective in Cinema (WCC). It was the WCC’s petition that ultimately led to the formation of the Justice Hema Committee on problems of actresses in the Malayalam film industry. 

Strikingly, a picture has surfaced on social media in which Dhanya can be seen clicking a picture with Malayalam actresses Rima and Parvathy, which was reportedly taken during a global tour. 

According to her Instagram account, she is seemingly close to the Malayalam actresses as she has been pictured with them several times which she has also shared from her account. Rajendran had previously uploaded a picture with actress Parvathy Thiruvothu on her Instagram handle in which she mentioned Rima alluding that she will click a picture and get together with her next time. Additionally, actress Rima has also shared pictures of TNM editor and actress Parvathy from her account while wishing her birthday wishes.

Recently, Tamil Actress Suchitra came out in the open to protest against the open use of drugs in parties and film sets. In a recent interaction, she accused Rima Kallingal and her husband Ashiq Abu, a director in the Malayalam industry of promoting narcotic drugs in their parties and film sets.

Several netizens shared her short clip stating that Dhanya’s digital outlet didn’t report on this aspect. It is also said that the actress-director husband-wife duo – Rima and Abu are involved in a gang which is funded by a banned Jihadi outfit Jamaat-e-Islami.

Meanwhile, several users also alleged that there is a bias on the part of a few players including the lobby that is indulging in a witch-hunt against Mohanlal. 

According to a section of social media users, there are said to be two camps in the Malayalam film industry – Kochi group which is hatching a scheme against the Thiruvananthapuram group of cinema makers in the guise of sexual assault allegations discussed in the Hema Committee report. According to them, the Kochi lobby is supported by the leftist ecosystem and outlets like TNM as they have an axe to grind against actors like Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi who are considered pro-Sanatan voices and supporters of PM Modi and who are not letting anti-Hindu group to bring woke and other nefarious agenda in the Malayalam film industry. 

(Several social media users on X, Reddit have claimed that there are camps within the Malayalam film industry and the Islamist-leftist lobby has been targeting actors like Mohanlal for not letting their agenda succeded, Source- Reddit)
(Users have also alleged Abu’s link with radical outfits)

On several occasions, it has been alleged that there is a lobby against Sanatani filmmakers and actors like Mohanlal. The lobby not only viciously campaigns against films that are deeply rooted in Sanatan traditions but also promote Islamic fundamentalism. In line with these allegations, another allegation has often surfaced about the purported link of Director Aashiq Abu with banned Islamic fundamentalist organisations like Jamaat-e-Islami and Popular Front of India. OpIndia couldn’t independently verify the veracity of the allegations. 

In the past, director Abu has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. In July 2018, he was hit by “financial fraud” allegations. An industrialist, CT Abdul Rahman had filed a complaint with the Malayalam Producers Association stating that his company invested Rs 2.40 crore in the production of the movie. While they were promised 60 per cent of the profit apart from the principal amount, Abu failed to clear the full dues. 

Hema Committee Report findings did highlight the menace of drug abuse in the Malayalam film industry

The Hema Committee report also highlighted the deep-rooted activities of the drug mafia in the Malayalam film industry. According to Mathubrumi’s report, it was found that crimes against women often occur after alcohol consumption or drug use, and some young actors are reported to regularly use drugs.

Furthermore, the Intelligence Department has reported that open drug use is taking place on the sets of some new films and that wrap-up parties are being held after the shooting ends. However, the Police and excise teams had been reluctant to conduct inspections on the sets despite having information about the groups that regularly supply drugs and the individuals who use them.

According to the report, drug rings have been entrenched in film sets for over a decade. The widespread use of chemical drugs came to light ten years ago when a group, including actors, was caught with cocaine. Since then, several crew members and actors have also been arrested, the report added. 

Bijnor: Muslim teacher who wiped tilak off Hindu students suspended, 3 others transferred for spreading communalism in school

OpIndia Staff
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Bijnor: Muslim teacher who wiped tilak off Hindu students suspended, 3 others transferred for spreading communalism in school

On Monday, 2nd September, four teachers, including the acting principal, of an upper primary public school in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district were punished and transferred after a conflict emerged over removing Hindu children’s tilaks off their foreheads. The primary accused teacher Ayesha who removed the tilak has been suspended along with another teacher named Usha. Meanwhile, the two others, Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari and Rajendra Kumar, have been denied their annual increment for one year.

On August 24th, District Magistrate (DM) Ankit Kumar Agarwal appointed a three-member committee to investigate a video of a teacher, Tanveer Ayesha, removing tilak off students’ foreheads that was circulated on social media. The incident occurred at a school in Bhanera village, Kiratpur block.

The Hindu students in August also alleged that the teacher asked the Muslim students to offer Namaz in the Mosque during school hours. They also said that they (Muslim students) were allowed to wear caps on their heads however, Hindu students were forbidden from wearing tilak.

“The committee report found the charges to be true. As a result, two teachers, Tanveer Ayesha and Usha, have been suspended. Another teacher, Mukhtar Ahmed Ansari, and the acting principal, Rajendra Kumar, have been denied their annual increment for one year. All four teachers have been transferred to another school. New teachers will be sent to the school soon,” said the DM.

Ansari was also punished for reportedly asking Muslim kids to pray in a mosque during school hours. Following the tilak controversy, another teacher, Usha was reportedly accused of taking caps off Muslim student’s heads.

“The teachers were spreading racialism within the school campus, which was a very dangerous sign of polluting young minds, and hence they faced the action,” Basic Shiksha Adhikari Yogendra Kumar was quoted as saying in Bijnor.

Meanwhile, Ayesha, the suspended teacher, stated that the claims against her were false because she says she never wiped off tilak. “I will defend my innocence before high officials to clear my service record. I’ve been teaching at government schools for the past 18 years, and my record is uncluttered,” she explained.

Trouble began on August 24th when some students complained about her behavior upon seeing them wearing tilak to school. Several students complained that the Muslim teacher at school objected to applying Tilak on the forehead, but said nothing to Muslim students who wore Islamic caps on their heads.

On August 26th, parents protested by barging into the school and filing a complaint with acting principal Kumar, who apparently failed to take any action. Following this, the DM appointed an inquiry committee, which submitted its report on August 31st.

Dangers of open borders, men in women sports, assassination attempt and more: 5 takeaways from the interview of Donald Trump with Fox News

OpIndia Staff
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Dangers of open borders, men in women sports, assassination attempt and more: 5 takeaways from the interview of Donald Trump with Fox News

Ahead of the US Presidential elections, Republican nominee Donald Trump spoke to Fox News journalist Mark R Levin on an array of issues concerning American politics. The part II of the interview was published on Sunday (1st September).

Trump discussed the assassination attempt, carried out by a Democratic party donor in July this year, that almost took his life.

On being asked about his experience of missing the ‘headshot’, the former US President said, “I felt very clear headed. I knew I got hit in the air. I felt I was 100 percent okay. Secret Service was very brave. They jumped. They were on me very quickly,” he stated.

“I was down, but they were on top of me and bullets were flying right over me. I didn’t know you could hear a bullet. You hear it’s like a whiz sound,” he continued.

“And then, by the way, a Secret Service sniper was amazing because didn’t know anything, didn’t know there was a problem, heard the sound of the gun, saw the smoke. And within less than five seconds, he shot him from a very big distance, much further,” Donald Trump thanked the Secret Service for its prompt action.

During the interview, the former US President stated his first concern was whether the assassin shot at his supporters. “When I first was starting to get up, the first thing I said is how many people were killed because there was no ground,” he pointed out.

Donald Trump expressed gratitude that people extended their support for 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, the spectator who was killed during the assassination bid on him.

‘We then did a GoFundMe for them and raised millions of dollars. And we’re very proud of that. Very proud of that. The two (injured) people were very thankful and the family was very thankful. But I know for a fact they’d rather have Corey back than all those millions,” he emphasised.

Trump pointed out that the assassination attempt on him could have taken the form of the 2017 Lag Vegas carnage, where a shooter fired 1000 rounds and killed 60 people. He thanked the Secret Service for taking out accused Thomas Matthew Crooks quickly.

Donald Trump exposes ‘progressive nature’ of Democrats

The former US President made it clear that he hates using the word ‘progressive’ to refer to Democrats and their media lapdogs.

Donald Trump stated, “Basically, they are liberals. I do not like to use the word ‘progressive’. It is too pretty a word…Progressive means you are thinking for the future. They’re actually thinking to 3,000 years ago.”

“These people, they are not progressive, but they are liberal,” he was heard saying.

Former US President highlights problematic nature of Democratic Party politics

During his interview with Fox News, Donald Trump raised alarms about the problematic nature of Democratic Party politics, ranging from open borders, defunding of law enforcement authorities and gender dysmorphia.

He pointed out, “When I hear things like open borders, defund the police, and men playing in women’s sports, it just doesn’t make sense.”

“Who would want open borders where people from prisons, jails, mental institutions, and terrorists can just walk into the country from places unknown? Who would want that? Who would want men in women’s sports? It’s very puzzling,” he reiterated.

On Russia-China nexus

Donald Trump lambasted the Obama and Biden administrations for pushing Russia into the jaws of China and further antagonising an arch-rival.

“We could have had a much different relationship with Russia. I will say this, between Obama and Biden, they pushed Russia into the arms of China,” he added.

“And I’ve always said that would be the worst thing that could happen in terms of the world. But Russia, who’s a natural enemy of China because of land, is now friends with it because of Biden and Obama, not because of me,” the former US President emphasised.

Donald Trump opens up about the political witch-hunt against him

Ever since he left Office in 2020, Donald Trump was hounded by the Biden administration. He made it clear that he did not resort to any such form of political vengeance during his tenure as the US President.

“I think that the people who go around indicting their political opponents, especially when their political opponents didn’t want to do it to them and I could have done it so easily. I didn’t want to do it,” he emphasised.

“I thought it would have been so bad. But, you know, you’re trying to bring unity…And can you imagine the president of the United States, his wife being put in a jail cell someplace, who was also Secretary of State? (referring to Hillary Clinton),” the former US President added.

“But their thinking is different. Honestly, they’re very vicious people, and they’re very bad for our country,” Trump reiterated.

He continued, “When it came to Hillary, you remember she bleached her stuff, broke the phones, and destroyed everything after being subpoenaed. I had to decide whether to pursue it and put the wife of a former President and Secretary of State in prison, while trying to unify a broken country. I didn’t want to do that, and now it’s amazing—such a bad precedent that makes people think differently. It’s very sad.”

OpIndia had previously reported the first part of the Fox News interview wherein Donald Trump hammered Democrat nominee Kamala Harris times for more than 5 times.

SP leader Nawab Singh Yadav raped a minor survivor in Kannauj: Police after DNA samples match

OpIndia Staff
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SP leader Nawab Singh Yadav raped a minor survivor in Kannauj: Police after DNA samples match

The DNA sample of Nawab Singh Yadav, a former Samajwadi Party leader arrested for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl, has matched with the sample taken from the survivor in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh.

Nawab Singh Yadav, who was previously an associate of Samajwadi Party leader Dimple Yadav, was arrested on August 12 under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and POCSO Act. He was subsequently placed in 14-day judicial custody for the alleged rape of the minor.

Just hours before his arrest, the survivor contacted the police, reporting that she had been stripped and an attempt to assault her had been made.

The incident took place in the Kotwali Nagar area of Kannauj. Chaudhary Chandan Singh Mahavidyalaya of Samajwadi Party leader and former block chief Nawab Singh Yadav is located in Adangapur village here.

Nawab Singh allegedly removed the clothes of the victim and started molesting her. When the victim protested, her aunt standing outside came to know about the matter. She immediately called Dial 112 and called the police. The police took the accused into custody. It is being said that the accused was in objectionable condition at the time of the arrest. The victim and her aunt were brought to Kotwali Sadar along with the accused. There, a written complaint was taken from the victim, based on which a case was registered against Nawab Singh Yadav under serious sections of the Indian Penal Code including the POCSO Act.

The police quickly arrived at the scene, rescued the minor, and arrested Nawab Singh Yadav, whom they found in a “compromising” situation.

During the investigation, the survivor informed the police that her paternal aunt had brought her to his residence under the pretext of finding a job.

Nawab Singh Yadav, however, denied the accusations, asserting that it was part of a “capitalist conspiracy.”

The case, however, stirred a political row after it came to light just days after Samajwadi Party leader Moid Khan and his servant Raju Khan were accused of gangraping a minor girl from the Nishad community in Ayodhya. The bakery shop where this incident took place, Moid Khan’s establishment, has since been demolished using a bulldozer. Moid Khan is close to Samajwadi MP Awadhesh Prasad from Ayodhya. Many pictures of the two together have also surfaced. Moid Khan had also campaigned for Awadhesh Prasad in the recent Lok Sabha elections.

Uttar Pradesh: Muslim man burns Quran and accepts Hinduism while supporting Ramgiri Maharaj, gets arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Muslim man burns Quran and accepts Hinduism while supporting Ramgiri Maharaj, gets arrested

On September 1, Sunday, a Muslim man identified as Imran was arrested by the police for burning a copy of the Quran in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh and supporting Ramgiri Maharaj. The man posted his video of burning the Quran on social media, raising the hackles of the Muslim community. 

As per the reports, the members of the Muslim community rushed to the police station after watching the video and demanded the arrest of the accused. The police filed an FIR in the case and arrested Imran. They have also stated that stern action will be taken against him.

The complaint in the case has been filed by Shahid, a councillor from Ward 24 in Shikarpur, Bulandshahr district, against the accused Imran at the Shikarpur police station.

He stated that on September 1st, Imran, a resident of Mohalla Ganj Sadat, shared a video on social media. “In the viral video, Imran is seen burning the Quran Sharif, Islam’s sacred book. He is also making inappropriate comments about Islam. This has infuriated Muslims. Imran, the accused, should face serious consequences,” he said. Based on the complaint, the police have filed an FIR against the accused Imran under sections 192, 299, 302, and 353 of the IPC.

FIR copy (Super Live News)

The FIR copy filed in the case mentioned that the accused had hurt the religious sentiments of the Muslim community. Imran, in the video, indicated that Islam was never a peaceful religion and that the people following it were committing a mistake. “Quran suggests to murder Kafirs, it promotes teen talakh and halal practices which lead to disrespecting women. Also, Sharia allows the marriage of a 9-year-old girl just because Paigamber Mohammed did it. Is this justice? Many today are raping minors, abusing them. How can people snatch the childhood of minors? There’s no equality in Islam,” the accused said.

He further added that whatever Swami Ramgiri Maharaj said was all correct. “Mohammed Paigamber has promoted all the wrong things. I agree I don’t know complete Islam but I have the guts to call out wrongdoings which these Maulanas and Muftis can’t do. I am just burning away this book. What these people have done to Bangladeshi Hindus is also wrong. Further, these Muslims are yelling slogans of ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ against Swami Ramgiri Maharaj who spoke for Bangladeshi Hindus. These Muslims eliminated the context in which Swami Ramgiri Maharaj said and accused him of blasphemy. I am against all this, committing this act and accepting Sanatan Dharma. The video of the incident was posted by Super Live News and the statements quoted above have been published by Super Live News quoting accused Imran from the viral video.

In the given case, the UP Police is said to have responded quickly to arrest Imran. The mobs that bayed for Imran’s blood have hailed the police for arresting the accused. SP Rural Rohit Mishra commented on the matter and confirmed that a video of the burning Quran Sharif has gone viral.

“The complaint was submitted by Shahid, a Shikarpur resident. Based on Shahid’s accusation, an FIR has been filed against the accused Imran under serious sections. Imran, the accused, has been arrested. There is peace in the area,” he said. 

Another AAP leader arrested in a money laundering case: Delhi MLA Amanatullah Khan taken into custody by ED over corruption in Delhi Waqf Board

OpIndia Staff
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Another AAP leader arrested in a money laundering case: Delhi MLA Amanatullah Khan taken into custody by ED over corruption in Delhi Waqf Board

Amanatullah Khan, Okhla MLA of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 2nd September in relation to a money laundering investigation. The investigation team looking into the Waqf Board corruption case questioned the AAP leader for six hours after raiding his residence before placing him under arrest. Prior to the action, Amanatullah Khan shared that officials from the ED had arrived at his residence in Okhla with the intention of arresting him, in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“It is seven in the morning, and the ED has come to arrest me in the name of a search warrant. My mother-in-law has cancer, and she is currently at my home. I have written to them, and I have also replied to each of their notices,” Amanatullah claimed in a video.

Amanatullah Khan was on bail in the case with the Enforcement Directorate charging that he disregarded the summons by the agency. In April this year, Amanatullah Khan was interrogated by the central agency for fourteen hours. The ED had filed a complaint against him in April after he failed to appear before the agency and participate in the case’s investigation.

Amanatullah Khan was the subject of a complaint earlier this year from the ED under section 174 of the Indian Penal Code, read with section 63 (4) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He was charged for not turning up before the agency and taking part in the probe into irregularities in appointments at the Delhi Waqf Board and leasing of its properties in violation of Section 50, of the PMLA. The agency mentioned that by entering into an anticipatory bail plea and dodging the inquiry, Amanatullah Khan switched from being a witness to an accused. Furthermore, according to the ED’s attorney, the inquiry could not be completed as Amanatullah refused to appear in person before the agency.

The AAP MLA was granted bail by the Rouse Avenue Court in April about a recent Enforcement Directorate charge against him for failing to appear at the summons in the Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case. The charges against him date back to 2016, when the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) filed its case.

According to the complaints, the AAP leader allegedly obtained a substantial sum of money through unauthorised hirings at the Delhi Waqf Board and utilised it to purchase real estate in the names of his accomplices. Chargesheets have already been submitted in the case against one company and four individuals. Allegations have been made that unlawful leasing of Waqf Properties worth Rs 100 crore was carried out. Additionally, under Amanatullah Khan’s administration, the Delhi Waqf Board appointed 32 contractual workers in breach of the guidelines.

Kolkata: Man flashes woman during RG Kar Hospital rape-murder protests, chaos erupts after police allow him to leave

OpIndia Staff
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Kolkata: Man flashes woman during RG Kar Hospital rape-murder protests, chaos erupts after police allow him to leave

On 1st September, a man was caught red-handed for flashing his private parts to a woman during a protest against the Kolkata rape-murder case organised by a group named “Amra Tilottoma”. The man was caught by the protesters nearby and handed over to the police. However, the police allowed him to leave, sparking outrage.

The incident happened near Esplanade Crossing, which is one of the busiest intersections in the city. Following the incident, the accused man was caught and handed over to the police personnel that were stationed nearby. The police identified him as a local and someone mentally unstable. When the police let him go, the protesters got enraged.

The protesters agitated against the police and demanded immediate action against the police personnel involved and the accused man. They gathered outside the office of the deputy commissioner of police (central) to call for accountability and justice.

A complaint was filed by the victim based on which an FIR under Section 79 of the the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered. The police are said to have launched an investigation into the matter and reviewed CCTV footage of the area. The victim and other protesters have urged the police to take prompt and appropriate action in the matter so that the safety and dignity of all citizens taking part in the peaceful protests can be maintained.

Rape and murder of female doctor at RG Kar Medical College

On 9th August, the female doctor’s body was found in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, with subsequent examinations confirming that she had been raped. Her body bore 16 external and 9 internal injuries, and there were signs of bleeding from her eyes and private parts, indicating the brutal nature of the assault.

The rape and murder case of the 31-year-old trainee female doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital has sparked nationwide protests to seek justice for the deceased victim. Hospital administration, Police, and the West Bengal government led by Mamata Banerjee have been facing massive public ire over the initial handling of the case and the subsequent ‘transfer’ of the controversial Hospital principal, Sandip Ghosh. Both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court made several scathing remarks about the developments in the case, particularly ones revolving around Sandip Ghosh.

IC814: The Kandahar Hijack web series – Netflix India Content Head summoned by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting

OpIndia Staff
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IC814: The Kandahar Hijack web series – Netflix India Content Head summoned by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting

Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha’s ‘IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack’ landed itself in major controversy soon after it debuted on 29th August on Netflix. Based on the hijacking of Indian Airlines Flight 814 by Pakistani terrorists in December 1999, the series has drawn strong criticism for diluting the significant facts and portraying the perpetrators sympathetically. Now, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has taken cognisance of the matter and asked the streaming giant’s content head to appear before it on 3rd September.

The development transpired after hundreds of social media users accused the creators of the web series of purposefully highlighting the hijackers’ code names of “Bhola” and “Shankar,” without providing proper context or background of their nefarious intention behind the move. Netizens also accused the makers of stirring religious sentiments.

The real-life event that inspired IC 814 web series took place when Indian Airlines Flight 814, which was headed from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, was hijacked by Pakistan-based terror outfit Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. The flight was forced to land in Amritsar before arriving in the Taliban-controlled city of Kandahar, Afghanistan. The book ‘Aircraft Into Fear: The Captain’s Story’ by Devi Sharan, the aircraft captain, and journalist Srinjoy Chowdhury, served as the inspiration for the web series, which is directed by Anunbhav Sinha.

The show features Vijay Varma, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Pahwa, Arvind Swami, Anupam Tripathi, Dia Mirza, Patralekhaa, Amrita Puri, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Kumud Mishra in key roles.

Congress leader Simi Rosebell expelled after accusing Kerala Congress of having a ‘casting couch’ culture

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Simi Rosebell expelled after accusing Kerala Congress of having a ‘casting couch’ culture

On Sunday, 1st September, the Congress party in Kerala expelled its senior leader and PSC member Simi Rose Bell John for accusing the Congress party of having a “casting couch” culture, similar to the one in the film industry.

According to the reports, the announcement was made in a statement by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee’s (KPCC) General Secretary M Liju. He stated that KPCC President K Sudhakaran had expelled former AICC member and PSC member Simi Rose Bell John from the primary membership of the party.

According to the Congress’ statement, Simi Rose Bell John’s claims were intended to torture and defame mentally lakhs of women leaders and workers in the Congress movement, apparently in collaboration with political rivals.

John had said that only individuals connected to the leadership are given opportunities in the party. She asserted that a situation comparable to the “casting couch” occurs within the Congress party. She also indicated that women who have dignity and pride cannot work in this party.

“Women leaders from the KPCC Political Affairs Committee, KPCC office bearers, and Mahila Congress State President, among others, had jointly requested the KPCC leadership to take action against her,” Congress stated.

The announcement also noted that the party was convinced that Simi Rose Bell John’s acts constituted a major breach of discipline, resulting in disciplinary action. However, reacting to the expulsion, John lashed out at Congress LoP VD Sathesan and said that a woman with dignity couldn’t work with the party.

“If they have any evidence of what is being alleged it should be released. The proof should be released if there is a conspiracy with the CPIM party. Women of dignity, pride, and nobility can not work in this party,” she said.

Rosebell claimed in an interview with a regional news channel that female members are frequently forced to endure exploitation to advance within the party.

Rosebell also accused various Congress leaders of sexual harassment, including VD Satheesan, claiming that women could only advance to key positions by ‘impressing’ male leaders, often ignoring the requirement for competence and experience.

Meanwhile, Satheesan dismissed Rosebell’s allegations as baseless. “We provided excellent support for her. She even held roles in the All India Congress Committee (AICC).” KPCC President K Sudhakaran also stated that the Manila Congress had filed a complaint against Rosebell and promised a thorough probe into the incident.

“The Mahila Congress has complained Simi Rosebell John. Her allegations are baseless, and the KPCC will investigate the complaint filed by Mahila Congress,” Sudhakaran said.

The incident comes as the Malayalam film industry is dealing with similar charges of sexual harassment. Last week, a section of the Hema Committee report was made public, revealing shocking stories of sexual assault and intimidation faced by women working in the Malayalam film industry. Since the report’s release, more women have come forward to share their traumatic stories.

Gujarat: 9-year-old girl molested in school by teacher Akhtar Ali in Kathlal, accused arrested under POCSO

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: 9-year-old girl molested in school by teacher Akhtar Ali in Kathlal, accused arrested under POCSO

On Sunday, September 1, a 9-year-old girl was molested at school in Kathlal, Kheda, in Gujarat by a school teacher identified as Akhtar Ali Mehmood Miyan Syed. The accused called the student to his classroom under the pretext of cleaning, and then grabbed her. He was arrested after an FIR was filed under sections of the BNS and POCSO Acts. Local Hindus protested after the heinous crime and demanded bulldozer action against the accused. 

The incident is said to have taken place on August 31st. A 9-year-old girl studying in the 4th standard in a primary school in Kathlal went to school early on Saturday morning. Teacher Akhtar Ali allegedly called the girl into a room for cleaning and then took her to a corner and physically molested her after taking off her clothes.

After returning home, the victim girl narrated the entire incident to the family after which they immediately reached the Kathlal police station and lodged a complaint against the accused teacher. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case of molestation against Akhtar Ali and arrested him.

According to the information received, the police have initiated further proceedings against the accused by lodging an FIR under relevant sections of the BNS and POCSO Act. According to Divya Bhaskar’s report, DySp V N Solanki confirmed the development. He said that a complaint of molestation and physical assault has been registered. The police are investigating further and the accused is also being interrogated.

Demand of local Hindus- Bulldozer action should be taken

On the other hand, there is outrage among the Hindu organisations over the incident. As soon as the incident was reported, enraged Hindus reached the police station and demanded strict action against the accused teacher and also demanded his dismissal from the school.

“There is outrage in the entire Hindu society regarding this incident. We demand that the accused teacher should be fired immediately. We also request the Gujarat government to bulldoze his house,” one of the protesting Hindus said while talking to the media.

Further investigations in the case are underway.

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