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RG Kar Hospital rape and murder case: Accused visited red-light areas and molested a woman on the night of the crime

OpIndia Staff
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RG Kar Hospital rape and murder case: Accused visited red-light areas and molested a woman on the night of the crime

On 26th August, CBI sources were quoted by India Today as saying that Sanjay Roy, the main accused in the Kolkata Rape and Murder Case, confessed to the crime during interrogation. Roy provided details of his movements on the night of the crime. He admitted to visiting two red-light areas in the city but did not engage in any sexual activity there. Furthermore, he also confessed to molesting another woman in the street, an incident that was notably captured on surveillance cameras. He also video-called his alleged girlfriend and demanded nude photos from her.

According to Roy, on the night of 8th August, he visited RG Kar Hospital with his friend to inquire about the friend’s brother, who was admitted to the hospital. At around 11:15 PM, they left the hospital and went to have drinks. They bought alcohol and consumed it on the road. After that, they decided to visit one of the red-light areas in North Kolkata, Sonagachi, where they could not find anyone for sexual activity. The duo then decided to visit another red-light area, Chetla, in South Kolkata.

On the way to Chetla, they molested a girl on the road. In Chetla, his friend had sex with a sex worker while Roy stayed outside and talked to his girlfriend on a video call. He demanded nude photos from his girlfriend, which she sent. After that, Roy and his friend went back to the hospital.

From there, Roy went to the trauma centre located on the fourth floor. At 4:03 AM, he was seen on CCTV footage going to the corridor near the seminar hall on the third floor. He then entered the seminar hall, where the victim was sleeping. Roy sexually assaulted and strangled her before leaving the scene. After that, he went to the house of Kolkata Police Officer Anupam Dutta, who was his friend. The CBI confirmed his presence at all the locations he mentioned using Call Data Records (CDRs).

As per reports, the CBI also conducted a psychological evaluation of Roy, as the investigating officers found a significant amount of pornographic content on his phone, including material based on the theme of sexual acts between siblings.

Sanjay Roy was arrested by Kolkata Police as the main suspect on 10th August, a day after the 31-year-old PG trainee doctor’s dead body was recovered from the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College. His arrest was made possible because of a Bluetooth device found near the dead body. CCTV footage showed him on the third floor of the seminar hall.

The CBI took over the case on 13th August from Kolkata Police. During a hearing of the case in the Supreme Court, the CBI informed the apex court that the crime scene had been altered by the time the central agency took over the case. This raised questions about whether the Kolkata Police attempted to cover up the rape and murder of the doctor.

Meeran Haider gets 10-day interim bail: Role in 2020 Delhi anti-Hindu riot conspiracy, talks of Ghazwa-e-Hind, Zakat, PFI money, payment to rioters and more

Nupur J Sharma
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Meeran Haider gets 10-day interim bail: Role in 2020 Delhi anti-Hindu riot conspiracy, talks of Ghazwa-e-Hind, Zakat, PFI money, payment to rioters and more

On 24th August, the Karkardooma Sessions Court in Delhi granted interim bail for 10 days to Meeran Haider, an accused in the larger conspiracy related to the anti-Hindu Delhi Riots of 2020. Haider was a Jamia student and leader of the RJD youth wing. He was arrested in April 2020 in connection with the Delhi riots case on allegations of coordinating efforts to incite violence during the riots.

Meeran had filed a bail plea in the court, requesting bail on humanitarian grounds due to the passing of his sister’s premature child. His lawyer submitted to the court that Meeran’s sister was without the support of other male family members, as her husband works in the UAE. Furthermore, the lawyer submitted that Meeran had been in continuous custody since 1st April 2020, and had not sought interim bail before.

The prosecution, in its reply, stated that the facts mentioned in the bail plea had been verified. They further mentioned that the sister’s husband was, in fact, in India but was leaving for the UAE on Sunday.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpayi found it justified to grant the applicant the desired relief. The application was allowed, and Meeran was granted interim bail for ten days.

Several conditions were imposed on Meeran Haider as the court granted him conditional bail for 10 days. The court asked Meeran Haider to not interact with the media or give any statements on social media. Additionally, he is required to keep his phone functional, provide his number to the police and not tamper with evidence.

Who is Meeran Haider

Meeran Haider was one of the founding members of JCC – Jamia Coordination Committee – a group central in the conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi anti-Hind Riots. Meeran has completed his PhD from Jamia Millia Islamia and holds Engineering and Management degrees. He was earlier a member of the Aam Admi Party. He, along with Khalid Saifi – another accused in the Delhi anti-Hindu Riots, had previously visited Punjab to canvass for votes for AAP. After AAP denied him a ticket for the Municipal Corporation elections, Meeran Haider switched to RLD and became the Delhi State Youth President.

Meeran Haider holds significant importance in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots conspiracy case as detailed in chargesheet 59/2020. According to the initial chargesheet, he is only one of the two people who have been arrested, charge-sheeted only in 59/2020 and no other FIR related to the riots.

Meeran Haider’s role in the 2020 Delhi anti-Hindu riots

Meeran Haider was one of the founding members of the JCC – a group central to the Delhi anti-Hindu riots conspiracy. The group was formed on the 15th of December 2019 – right after anti-CAA violence. It is pertinent to note that the police investigation categorically states that the December violence was phase 1 of the anti-Hindu violence and was unleashed as a test-run for the violence in February 2020. It is pertinent to note that Meeran Haider was arrested on the 1st of April 2020 after his name was taken by Khalid Saifi during his interrogation.

Meeran Haider was instrumental in conspiring with Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi and others to replicate the Shaheen Bagh model in multiple locations across Delhi. On the 23rd of December 2019, Meeran Haider along with Umar Khalid and Khalid Saifi met at Shaheen Bagh to discuss setting up another protest site at Khureji. While Khalid Saifi was tasked to be the administrator of the protest site, Meeran was tasked with delivering provocative speeches at the site. In due course of time, Khureji became one of the hotspots of anti-Hindu violence.

According to the chargesheet, during this meeting with Umar Khalid and Khalid Saifi, Meeran Haider had informed that his contacts in Saudi Arabia were in the process of transferring money for the violence. Meeran Haider was responsible for setting up 24 additional protest sites in less than a month. He was responsible exclusively for the Nizamuddin protest site where he had given a speech inciting Muslims to Chakka Jam. He had also said that if the police stopped them, the protestors were to attack police with weapons. His followers had done exactly that on the 23rd of January 2020.

Meeran was in charge of 8 protest sites in total – Shaheen Bagh, Khureji, Seelampur-Jafarabad, Turkman Gate, Kardampuri, Mustafabad, Rehman Chowk and Inderlok Metro Gate No. 4.

According to the chargesheet, Meeran Haider had received Rs 5 lacs in funding for the violence out of which, Rs 2.33 L was recovered from him after he pointed out where the cash was kept.

The accusation of Meeran Haider using the money to fund violence is not a mere allegation. The chargesheet has included the exact money trail to and from Meeran.

There chargesheet details how Meeran got money from those who live and work in Saudi Arabia and the money was asked by Meeran specifically for the anti-CAA protests, leading to violence. During the investigation, it was found that Meeran had disbursed Rs 2,86,000 to rioters – this included Rs 50,000 given to Amanullah, another accused in the Delhi Riots case.

The Delhi Police has revealed that Meeran Haider was high up in the food chain given that he was demanding compliance reports even from senior conspirators like Safoora Zargar. Further, after certain people in the DPSG group threatened to expose those who were creating violence, Umar Khalid made a flurry of calls – first being to Rahul Roy and the next, being to Meeran Haider. It was after the call from Umar Khalid that Meeran Haider, along with others, went to the Delhi Police HQ trying to convince them to hold a press conference where the blame for the violence was squarely placed on the police and not the rioters and conspirators.

The chargesheet reveals that Meeran Haider was involved in the Delhi Riots conspiracy since December 2019. At the Jamia Millia Islamia campus, a room was allocated to JCC where meetings were held about the ways to sustain the protests. After the meetings, core conspirators like Meeran Haider, Safoora Zargar, Asif Iqbal Tanha etc used to meet to conspire – this revelation was made by a protected witness.

What Meeran Haider said in his disclosure statements

The first disclosure statement was given by Meeran Haider on the 2nd of April 2020 during interrogation. In this statement, he disclosed the exact location of his phone and the diary he maintained (this is the diary from which the details of the money spent were recovered as well). He revealed that it was the same mobile phone through which he was a part of all the WhatsApp groups used for coordination and planning of the Delhi violence. After this disclosure by Meeran Haider, the police had gone to his house, which he was sharing with one “Irshad” and recovered the phone and the diary as disclosed by Haider.

In the disclosure statement on the same day when he was interrogated (2nd April 2020), Meeran disclosed that he has intimately been a part of all the anti-CAA violent protests. He discloses that on the 15th of December, he was instrumental in taking out the protest march which turned violent, admitting to burning a bus and also indulging in violence against police officers. The next day, on the 16th, a group was made in which he was there along with many others like Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi, Shifa Rehman, Natasha Narwal, Devangana and others. He says that it was on the instruction of JCC (Of which Umar Khalid was a part) that he would set up protest sites and specifically give inciting speeches.

He discloses that he has known Umar Khalid since the JNU case (where seditious slogans were raised) in 2016.

He admits in the disclosure statement that in the JCC there were conversations about Shaheen Bagh being a pilot project to be replicated in other protest sites. He says that they knew police would not be able to remove the protestors from sites – just like they did not in Shaheen Bagh. If they attempt to remove protestors, then they have to be ready to attack the police with stones and weapons so that a message is sent across India and thereafter, the police do not try to remove protestors again.

He said the roads were all blocked at the instruction of JCC, of which he was a part, and it was a planned conspiracy to create violence in different locations.

He says that PFI had also funded and helped the violence.

In his supplementary disclosure statement, Meeran Haider says that he has been a part of United Against Hate (a group led by Khalid Saifi) since 2017.

He says in his statement that Umar Khalid had several times in the past spoken about protesting against the “anti-Muslim” government (Modi govt) on every issue. He further says that Khalid Saifi had spoken several times about protesting against every decision of the Modi government and eventually establishing Ghazwa-e-Hind.

He said that all of them were in touch with several individuals from PFI, AISA, SIO and even NSUI – NSUI is the student body of Congress – and that they were being offered help regularly by these organisations.

Meeran said that in their conversations, it was a given that PFI would fund their protests and violence.

When they found out about the visit of Donald Trump to India, they believed it would be a good opportunity to put their plans into motion. He says that the protest sites in Muslim-dominated areas were already identified. It was per this conspiracy that Umar Khalid delivered his speech in Amravati and Yvatamal, appealing to Muslims to come out on the streets during the visit of Donald Trump. They blocked roads on purpose to create violence. He details how he was instructed to create protest sites and give speeches inciting Muslims.

Interestingly, he discloses that he was collecting money from Muslims in the name of Zakat – to be used to pay rioters and maintain the protest sites as well.

On the 6th of April, Meeran Haider disclosed more facts.

Meeran Haider further says that he had also collected money in the name of personal expenses, and then that money was used to pay rioters and those instigating the violence. He further says that he could not distribute all the money because the police stopped the violence earlier than expected.

In the initial chargesheet filed pertaining to FIR 59/2020, the Delhi Police dedicate almost 700 pages to the chronology of the conspiracy hatched. Confirming what OpIndia had already pointed out earlier, the February riots were inextricably linked to the December violence that was unleashed in various parts of the country such as Delhi, UP and other places. 

What is interesting in the chargesheet, is that the Delhi Police have managed to piece together the conspiracy right from the 5th of December, a day after the Citizenship Amendment Bill was tabled in both houses of the parliament.

The 13th of December marked the first incident of violence in Delhi after Islamists and Leftists had gotten together in the name of their protest against CAA. 

On the 13th of December, the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act took a communal turn in Delhi after ‘students’ of the controversial Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University resorted to mob violence against the police officials and shouted Islamic slogans “Allah-o-Akbar” during their protests. Video had even surfaced where Jamia Millia Islamia University students can be seen raising ‘Allaho Akbar’ and ‘Nara-e-Taqbeer’ slogans. They are also heard saying, “Ye shahar zagmagaega, nur-e-la-illaha se, Ye desh zagmagaega, nur-e-la-ilaha se.Nara-e-takbir, Allahu Akbar”. The ‘students’ of the Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi were also seen abusing police with provocative words as they used tear gas to disperse the violent mob.

In another video that was shared by one of the radical Islamic groups called Tehzeeb Committee of Jamia Millia Islamia College, a ‘student’ can be seen making communal and provocative statements by claiming that ‘those who want to protect Muslims will have to protect Islam’. There were also several provocative statements that demanded Muslims to take to the streets. The “speech” was followed by a worrying slogan, “tera mera rishta kya, La ilahi illilah”. Similar statements were heard in Kashmir with respect to Pakistan by terrorists where they chanted “Pakistan se rishta kya, La ilahi illilah”.

As the police began to lathi-charge the students to calm down the situation, the protestors resorted to stone-pelting against these police officials. 

According to the chargesheet, in this incident, 20 policemen were injured. The chargesheet says that this incident of violence was a direct result of the conspiracy being hatched since earlier in December and Sharjeel Imam, Asif Iqbal Tanha and others were directly involved. They also believe that Sharjeel’s spectacles were broken during the violence. 

When the violence in JMI had erupted, several media houses and other motivated intellectuals alleged that the violence merely happened because the police were being high-handed in the face of peaceful protests. However, with the entire chronology up until the 13th of December, it is rather clear that the Islamist students were prepared for the violence since they knew the police would stop them from reaching the parliament. It is also clear that the Muslim students did not come together organically but there was a deep-rooted conspiracy behind the coming together of these organisations in which, elements like Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Yogendra Yadav were equally involved. 

It is important to note here that Umar Khalid, Yogendra Yadav and Sharjeel Imam were in the same group and had met each other personally on days before the violence at Jamia. Sharjeel had, in fact, also said on the 7th of December that in the next week, they were planning something big. Further, Yogendra Yadav and others had an elaborate secret meeting in a basement on the 8th of December and thereafter, Sharjeel was given the responsibility of mobilisation and also, they were all in the same team called ‘CAB TEAM’.

Throughout December, January and even February, before the anti-Hindu riots, OpIndia documented widespread violence against Hindus from various parts of the country. Along with the violence, several speeches were delivered that exhorted Muslims to take to the streets and inflamed passions with misinformation, half-truths and whole lies. 

Finally, on the 23rd of February, the Delhi anti-Hindu riots broke out, with several people losing their lives. We reported tales of horror – of Ankit Sharma being brutally stabbed multiple times, of Dilbar Negi’s limbs being chopped off and the rest of him being burnt alive, of women from Chand Bagh saying their daughters were stripped and sent home amidst sexual taunts from Muslim rioters and Muslim owned schools being used as terror launch pads. The chargesheets in the Delhi Riots conspiracy case trace, with painstaking details, how a widespread conspiracy led to the carnage specifically targeted against Hindus.

Idol of Goddess Kali found beheaded: Tripura witnesses communal violence over temple desecration, houses and vehicles set on fire

OpIndia Staff
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Idol of Goddess Kali found beheaded: Tripura witnesses communal violence over temple desecration, houses and vehicles set on fire

On Sunday (25th August) morning, an idol of Goddess Kali was found beheaded in Katraibari village in Ranirbazar area of Tripura.

The incident sparked communal tension in the area over the desecration of the 30-year-old temple. Later on Sunday night, a group of unidentified individuals set fire to houses and vehicles in anger thereby creating more unrest.

As per reports, 9 houses were set ablaze while 4-5 homes were vandalised and ransacked in Katraibari, Durga Nagar, and Astha Mangal villages. More than 11 four-wheelers and two-wheelers were also burnt to ashes. A total of 5-6 people sustained mild injuries.

A team of fire brigade tenders, senior police officials, emergency services, Central Reserved Police Force (CRPF) and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) were deployed to the crime scene to prevent any untoward incident or further escalation.

Reportedly, an arbitration meeting was conducted during the daytime by elders belonging to all communities. However, it failed to contain the anger and resentment caused due to the desecration of the 30-year-old temple.

In the meantime, the idol has been covered and a peace meeting has been scheduled for Monday (26th August). According to reports, the attackers were not locals but outsiders.

Curfew imposed under Section 167 of BNSS, order via The Assam Tribune

A suo moto case has been registered in connection to the incident and a probe has been initiated into the matter. In the meantime, the local administration has imposed a 48-hour curfew under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

Additional Director General Anurag Dhankar and BJP Minister Sushanta Chowdhury visited the Ranirbazar area on Sunday to assess the severity of the situation and call for peace.

Balochistan: Major attack against Pakistani military personnel, multiple vehicles targeted on highway, dozens shot dead. Read about Baloch rebels’ Operation Herof

Paurush Gupta
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Balochistan: Major attack against Pakistani military personnel, multiple vehicles targeted on highway, dozens shot dead. Read about Baloch rebels’ Operation Herof

At least 23 passengers from Punjab have been killed in Balochistan’s Musakhail district on Monday (26th August). As per Pakistani media reports, gunmen stopped several buses, trucks, and vans that were coming from Pakistan’s Punjab province. They forced the passengers out of their vehicles and fatally shot at least 23 persons after checking their identities. The dead passengers belonged to Punjabi ethnicity. 

(Gunmen forced passengers to deboard buses, trucks and vans and shot them after checking their IDs, Image Source – India Today)

Following the attack, the Pakistani officials alleged that the armed men checked identity documents, singled out Punjabis, and shot them. According to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, they also set fire to 10 vehicles.

(Image Source – News18)

According to Assistant Commissioner Musakhail Najeeb Kakar, armed men blocked the inter-provincial highway and offloaded passengers from buses.

A local official, Najibullah Kakar stated that around 30 to 40 militants were involved in this attack. He told AFP news agency, “They stopped 22 vehicles. Vehicles traveling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from Punjab were identified and shot.”

The attack happened overnight on a highway in Balochistan province where Baloch groups have been accusing the Pakistani military of ethnic cleansing, persecution, and targeted killings in the name of counter-terror operations.

While clashes have been ongoing between ethnic Baloch groups and the Pakistani army, major clashes were reported on 26th August with BLA claiming that it has killed over 100 Pakistani army personnel under Operation Herof. They have also claimed control over several highways and army camps. 

Conspicuously, while Pakistan has dubbed the Mushakhail incident as a ‘terrorist attack’, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) said that the deceased passengers were Pakistani military servicemen who were disguised in civilian clothes. Notably, while claiming responsibility for the attack in the Mushakail district, BLA said that their fighters identified and subsequently killed Pakistani military servicemen. 

It is pertinent to note that it has been reported that two paramilitary soldiers were among the two dozen people killed in this attack. 

According to the news agency Reuters, the BLA has said it was targeting military personnel travelling in civilian clothes. According to reports, before the attack, BLA had issued a warning to the Baloch public and asked them to stay away from the highway. They added that their “fight is against the occupying Pakistani military”. 

It added, “We have taken full control of all major highways across Balochistan, blocking them completely.” 

Baloch groups accuse and fight against the Pakistani military for carrying out ethnic cleansing and resource plundering in the name of counter-terror operations

Incidentally, Balochistan is the largest province in Pakistan. Though it has an abundance of resources, it is the least developed region in Pakistan. Over the years, the BLA and other Baloch ethnicity groups have intensified attacks on Punjabis and Sindhis, especially military personnel from elsewhere in Pakistan working in the region. 

Additionally, they have also targeted foreign energy firms to exploit the region without sharing profits. 

Earlier, a similar incident was reported in April this year. Nine passengers were removed from a bus near the Noshki area in Balochistan and they were shot dead after the gunmen checked their IDs. In another incident, unidentified gunmen shot six labourers who belonged to Punjab in Turbat in Balochistan’s Kech district. 

Police had said these were targeted killings and these people were killed because of their ethnic background, Dawn reported.

Earlier, OpIndia reported how Pakistan launched ‘Operation Azm-e-Istehkam’ military offensive after it was armed-twisted by Beijing to launch a brutal crackdown in the Balochistan area in the wake of rampant attacks on Chinese nationals. The report highlighted how Pakistan had earned notoriety for its “counter-terror operations” like the infamous ‘Operation Zarb-e-Azb’.

While Pakistan claims that these are counter-terror operations, several questions have been raised about their effectiveness and exacerbating Human suffering in the region including increased allegations of extra-judicial killings, forced displacements, and allowing pro-Pakistani Jihadi groups to flourish.

Several experts have stated there was a fundamental contradiction in the Pakistani military’s counter-terrorism approach. They pointed out that while the army goes after the terrorists who carried out attacks in Pakistan, it patronised those who attack its enemies. 

A US-based expert on political Islam, Arif Jamal said that the military operation was never launched to target home-grown jihadists.

Pashtun and Baloch rebels fight against discrimination, resource exploitation and military coercion

Additionally, Pashtuns and Baloch nationals witnessed repressive measures (such as extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances, discrimination, subjugation of non-Punjabi ethnicities, and surveillance) by the country’s security forces under such programs. 

The infamous history of Pakistani “counter-terrorism” operations has gained prominence once again as it is carrying out repression in the Balochistan area in the name of ‘Operation Azm-e-Istehkam’. In response, the BLA has launched a series of attacks on multiple government installations – including police stations and security forces’ camps across the province in the last 24 hours. 

The BLA has reportedly claimed responsibility for killing 102 Pakistani soldiers in ongoing attacks targeting an army camp and military checkpoints along major highways in Balochistan, just six hours after it launched “Operation Herof”.

According to a statement issued by BLA, over 40 soldiers were killed during an attack on the main Army camp in Bela. The statement said that the BLA’s fidayeen unit has maintained control over a significant portion of the camp for the last six hours.

However on their part, the Pakistani officials claimed that it has neutralised 12 ‘terrorists’ as security forces responded to attacks carried out at several places across Balochistan, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Monday.

Massive protests in Indonesia after Widodo govt tries to overturn court order to amend eligibility for election candidates: All you need to know

Anurag
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Massive protests in Indonesia after Widodo govt tries to overturn court order to amend eligibility for election candidates: All you need to know

On 22nd August, the legislatures in Indonesia cancelled plans to approve revisions to election laws after thousands of people took to the streets in protest. Several thousand protesters gathered outside the parliament building, sending a clear message to the legislature that they would not accept the revisions.

Proposed revisions to overturn court ruling

The Parliament was set to revise election laws following a Constitutional Court judgment on candidate age requirements, which rendered President Joko Widodo’s youngest son, 29-year-old Kaesang Pangarep, ineligible to contest elections. The legislature planned to make revisions to reverse this judgment.

A plea was filed in the Constitutional Court challenging the age limit, which prevents candidates under 30 from contesting regional governorships. The court dismissed the plea, making it clear that anyone under 30 years of age cannot contest elections.

Concerns over political influence and nepotism in Indonesia

If implemented, the changes would have potentially increased the outgoing president’s political influence in the country. Critics argued that the revisions could have led to the establishment of a political dynasty in Indonesia. Kaesang was scheduled to contest the regional elections in November 2024, but he would turn 30 only in December 2024, one month after the elections.

This was not the first time allegations of nepotism have tainted Indonesia’s political landscape. Widodo’s eldest son, Gobran Rakabuming Raka, was elected as Indonesia’s youngest vice president just a few months ago. Additionally, Widodo has been accused of favouring his ally, Defence Chief Prabowo Subianto, as his successor.

Protests force government to withdraw revisions

As soon as the legislature announced the proposed revisions, thousands of Indonesians gathered outside the Parliament building in protest. In response to the protests, Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad announced that the proposed changes were dropped from the current election period. He stated, “It was officially decided that the revision of the Regional Election Law could not proceed. This means that the revision today was cancelled.”

Experts believe that had the proposed revision been implemented, it would have made it difficult for smaller parties to field candidates in key regional elections.

Protests and police response in Indonesia

The protesters burnt tyres and set off firecrackers in opposition to Widodo. In retaliation, Indonesian police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds. Protesters pelted stones at police personnel and tore down the fence around the building.

Said Iqbal, president of the Labour Party, warned of further protests if the legislature attempted to renew its efforts to reverse the court ruling. He remarked, “What the parliament did was not just a setback for democracy; it was a hijacking of democracy. Parliament is a high state institution — if it had passed it yesterday, it would have been an abuse of power, exceeding its authority.”

Expert opinions on political implications

Vedi Hadiz, a professor of Asian Studies and director of the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne, commented, “We let you off when you had your eldest become vice president-elect. You’re asking for a lot if you think that we’d be happy with such blatant abuse of power in order to allow your 29-year-old son to also hold a position of power.”

Political turmoil in Asia

The recent protests in Indonesia share some similarities with the situation in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, widespread protests against the government have led to significant political turmoil. Similarly, in Indonesia, people took to the streets to oppose potential government overreach. In Bangladesh, citizens challenged the job quota system, resulting in a tense and unstable political climate. On the other hand, the Indonesian protests centred around concerns of a potential political dynasty. These events highlight the growing political unrest and public resistance to government decisions in both countries.

However, unlike in Bangladesh, where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to resign and flee the country, leading to an interim government being installed by the Bangladeshi Army, Indonesia seems to have managed to control the situation. The proposed revisions in Indonesia have already been scrapped.

Joshua Project running conversion racket in MP, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh, 6 crore people reached under drive for large scale conversion to Christianity: Details

Shraddha Pandey
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Joshua Project running conversion racket in MP, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh, 6 crore people reached under drive for large scale conversion to Christianity: Details

Every year, 24 lakh people are being converted to Christianity, according to the data available on the website of The Joshua Project, a Christian conversion ‘research’ initiative. There are a total of 2272 caste groups of which 2041 are ‘unreached’ as per their website.

Out of these, 4.5% are “minimally reached” and 5.6% are superficially reached. Of the total population of India, 95.5% of the population remains ‘unreached’ with 2.9% minimally reached and 1.7% superficially reached, as per The Joshua Project.

Minimally reached groups

Shockingly, the conversion rate in India is 3.9% while the global average is 2.6%. So far, The Joshua Project has reached 6 crore people, with 4 out of 100 people converting to Christianity.

Unreached groups (All images via The Joshua Project’s website)

Santal, Kui Khond, Oraon, Shabar, Bodo, Arieng, Tipera, Deaf, Munda, Vaniyan, Gamit and Kharia castes among others are “minimally reached” as per Joshua Project.

For each caste group, an agent is appointed across the country. A Dainik Bhaskar report, based on an investigation in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha, found that those who converted to Christianity claimed to have received financial assistance after going to church.

Alarmingly, while Hindus and other religious, and ethnic groups, are being targeted for conversion to Christianity, Chhattisgarh Home Minister Vijay Sharma, Jharkhand-Odisha DGP, Madhya Pradesh IG (Law and Order) said that they have no information about Joshua Project and its activities.

The “agents” are provided seal stamps and literature to propagate Christianity and are paid Rs 1500 for getting people married to Christians and Rs 2000 for conversion. Then there are priests who report to “Father” and have fixed salaries. They are appointed as head of some school or hospital to provide them Rs 1 lakh as monthly salary. The main job of these priests is to clear any obstruction arising in conversion activities.

Moreover, there are salaried pastors who are tasked with finding appropriate locations to build churches and bring in more non-Christians to Christianity. They get Rs 10,000 to 20,000 salary for this alongside Bolero car.

In its survey conducted across 110 villages in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha, Bhaskar found 82 villages to be Christian majority. The missionary agents find poor, vulnerable and sick people to bring them to their prayer meetings. It is alleged that black magic-type occult practices are employed in these meetings to ‘cure’ the illnesses of the targets.

In Madhya Pradesh, several churches have been erected in Jhabua and Alirajpur. Here, the Christian missionary distributes “Amrit Jal” to the targets who are then converted to Christianity. A Hindu Jagran Manch leader said that the missionaries are luring non-Christians by offering free education.

Meanwhile, in Chhattisgarh, a local-level survey revealed that in the last decade, over 50,000 people have been converted to Christianity.

In Jharkhand, people are being lured with the promise of getting housing under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. It is said that out of 250 houses in Meral village of Gumla district, 150 have converted to Christianity. Alongside PM Awas, the missionaries are providing jobs to the gullible people.

In Odisha, churches are being constructed and free health camps are being organised to lure people into Christianity. In Balishankara of Sundargarh, the church was renovated with Rs 4 lakh in 2023-24 under the Chief Minister’s Special Assistance Scheme. Notably, the missionaries set up free health camps to identify diseases and single out sick people who were then converted to Christianity in the garb of offering treatment.

A former Joshua Project agent told Bhaskar that the agents are taken to Believers’ churches where they receive Christianity-related education for two years and then are deployed for fieldwork. These salaried agents collect caste and other data in villages in addition to propagating Christianity.

OpIndia has time and again raised alarms about the conversion activities of the Joshua Project. Back in 2018, it was reported that The Joshua Project is a ‘research initiative’ that seeks to ‘highlight the ethnic people groups of the world with the fewest followers of Christ’. They further state, “Accurate, updated ethnic people group information is critical for understanding and completing the Great Commission. Revelation 5:9 and 7:9-10 show that there will be some from every tribe, tongue, nation and people before the Throne.” The Great Commission refers to Jesus’ instruction to his apostles to spread Christianity among all nations across the world.

Ghaziabad: Hindu residents suspect madrasa functioning in a residential apartment, Muslim ‘guests’ assault guard for objecting to Quran recitation

OpIndia Staff
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Ghaziabad: Hindu residents suspect madrasa functioning in a residential apartment, Muslim ‘guests’ assault guard for objecting to Quran recitation

On Sunday night (25th August), chaos erupted in a high-rise society in Ghaziabad after some outsiders brutally assaulted the security guard of the society. They had assembled at a woman’s flat in the society for ‘Quran Path’ (recitation). The development sparked controversy as other residents of the society said that a conspiracy was going on to convert the woman’s flat into a Madrassa. They added that the religious gathering took place there without permission. 

Later, the society members confronted outsiders when they started going out of the society following the completion of the Quran recitation. Angry at being confronted, the Muslim outsiders assaulted the society members and the security guard. Based on the guard’s complaint, the Police have registered a case in this matter and initiated an investigation.

According to reports, the incident unfolded in the Chitravan Society located in the Crossing Republic Police station area in Ghaziabad. Notably, the incident came into the spotlight after a tweet started doing rounds in which it was stated that an attempt was being made to convert the flat into a Madrassa. The society members objected to the woman living in the flat running Madrassa activities without permission.

Strikingly, the video recorded the gathering inside the flat which is now going viral on social media. In the viral video, people can be seen eating food together in the flat. Many children and minors are also seen among them. The CCTV footage also shows the commotion at the gate.

The woman who organised the ‘Quran Path’ at her flat in the Chitravan Society claimed that she did it for the good health of her ailing daughter. 

Based on CCTV footage and statements of the residents, the Police found that the woman had called some people to her house to recite the Quran citing that her daughter was ill. 

Some of the society members objected to such religious activity without permission. Later, when the Quran recitation was over, the outsiders were confronted by the society members as they started going out of the society. Subsequently, the Muslim guests had a verbal altercation with the society members and started assaulting the society members. When the security guard tried to intervene, they assaulted him as well.   

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Wave City Poonam Mishra informed that the society’s security guard filed a written complaint in this matter on Sunday night stating that some people from another community assaulted him.

ACP Mishra said, “Police went to the society and investigated the entire incident, recorded the statements of the people, and then saw the CCTV footage. It was revealed that a woman in the society had organized a Quran recitation in her flat for her ailing daughter. Some people participated in this. During this time, other residents of the society objected that organising such an event in the society without permission was not appropriate.”

ACP Mishra added that when the people reciting the Quran started going back after the completion of the event, the security guard stopped them and started asking questions from them. During this, they assaulted the guard. The guard has filed a case in this entire incident. All aspects are being investigated and legal action will be taken.

It is pertinent to note that a few days ago, a case of forced religious conversion of a school teacher came to light from the Kavinagar police station area of Ghaziabad. As per reports, it was said that the HR working in the same school brainwashed the teacher and inspired the victim to convert to Islam. The police have arrested the accused.

Rahul Gandhi extends greetings on Janmashtami without Lord Krishna’s image: Why has he been avoiding using pictures of Hindu Gods?

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi extends greetings on Janmashtami without Lord Krishna’s image: Why has he been avoiding using pictures of Hindu Gods?

Another Hindu festival where Congress prince Rahul Gandhi chose to omit Hindu iconography. On the 26th of August, as the nation celebrated the birthday of Lord Krishna, Rahul Gandhi wished the nation on the Hindu festival in his usual style of leaving out the image of the Hindu god as if wishing for the sake of wishing. The Gandhi scion extended his hearty wishes to the people on Krishna Janmashtami without the image of Lord Krishna but only a flute.

“Hearty wishes and congratulations to everyone on Shri Krishna Janmashtami. I hope that this festival of joy and happiness fills the life of all of you with new enthusiasm and excitement,” Rahul Gandhi posted on X.

This, however, is not the first time that Rahul Gandhi deliberately omitted Hindu iconography from his posts wishing on Hindu festivals.

On the occasion of Vijay Dashmi or Dussehra last year, Rahul Gandhi shared a picture showing a bow and arrow avoiding Lord Ram’s picture.

Similarly, on the Hindu festival of Diwali [Deepawali], which marks the return of Lord Ram, his brother Laxman, and Goddess Sita to Ayodhya, Gandhi chose not to include their images marking their joyous return.

Rahul Gandhi’s ‘tradition’ of avoiding images of Hindu deities when extending wishes on Hindu festivals has been going on for many years. In 2022, he shared his greetings on Dussehra without using images of Hindu deities.

In his 2022 Rath Yatra post, Gandhi avoided using Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Balabhadra’s images. In 2020, he wished Ram Navami with the image of Lord Ram absent.

In 2021, Gandhi shared greetings on Ganesh Chaturthi with the image of Lord Ganesh missing.

During Maha Shivarathri, Rahul Gandhi put out an image of the Kailash mountains instead of posting Lord Shiva’s images or his symbols in his tweet.

Rahul Gandhi’s subtle messaging behind skipping images of Hindu deities in posts related to Hindu festivals

Despite the Congress party’s Muslim appeasement policy over the decades, Rahul Gandhi has consistently positioned the party and himself as ‘secular’, avoiding Hindu religious iconography to preserve a farcical ‘inclusive’ appeal. By excluding images of Hindu gods, he perhaps intends to create a neutral or impartial image that respects all religions equitably. This, however, is an outright secularisation of Hinduism. Religion is the only aspect that is not and should not be secular; however, the prince of the grand old party is secularising Hindu festivals solely to strengthen his secular credentials. This attempt to selectively portray Hindu festivals as ‘inclusive’ probably has a subtle motive of diluting the religious essence of Hindu festivals making it more of a cultural thing than Dharmic.

Probably, Rahul Gandhi is attempting to secularise Hindu festivals by avoiding images of Hindu deities or using imagery focusing on cultural aspects rather than religious fearing his party’s anti-Hindu votebank might get offended or perceive Gandhi as a Hindu leader, a perception due to which a large section of Muslims and other anti-Hindutva elements hate BJP calling them Hindu ‘hardliners’.

The very attempt to downplay the religiosity of Hindu festivals either to assert political correctness or out of fear of backlash from the Hindu-disdaining voter base alongside intended secularisation, is a blatant politicisation of Hindu festivals.

This mistreatment of Hindu festivals also appears to be an attempt to confirm certain Abrahamic beliefs, with no image of God being a prominent one. A lack of images of Hindu deities in Rahul Gandhi’s Hindu festival-related social media posts suggests that the Gandhi scion is laying emphasis on the Abrahamic notion that God is formless and without any image, in absolute contradiction to the Hindu beliefs wherein the “Nirarakar Brahma” [God’s formless state] takes “Saakaar” [God’s manifest and perceptible state] forms from time to time for varied reasons.

Rahul Gandhi uses Hindu imagery and symbols for political mileage

Interestingly, over the last decade, Rahul Gandhi has adopted a Janusian approach. On one hand, Gandhi is seen conducting electoral temple runs to establish his ‘Hinduness’ ahead of elections, on the other, he also does not want to be seen as a Hindu leader by highlighting the religiosity of the Hindu festivals. On one hand, Rahul Gandhi claims to be a Shiv Bhakt ‘tapasvi’ on the other, he claims to be fighting against “Shakti”. Similarly, the Congress party claims that Lord Ram is in their hearts but Rahul Gandhi loses his cool over people raising “Jai Shri Ram” slogans in the glory of Bhagwan Ram. Not to forget, he once said that “those who go to temples molest women”.

In 2022, Rahul Gandhi used the occasion of Saraswati Puja, to extend his support to Muslim girls hell-bent on wearing Hijab in school in Karnataka defying the dress code. Politicising the Hindu festival, Gandhi asserted that Saraswati Maa gives knowledge to all and doesn’t discriminate. Gandhi, however, failed to mention what Allah or the Islamic text says about polytheist Hindus.

Rahul Gandhi also has a record of patronising anti-Hindu elements be it Hinduphobic pastor George Ponnaiah who told Gandhi during Bharat Jodo Yatra that Jesus is the real God unlike Shakti, or Rijil Makkuty who slaughtered a cow in broad daylight in 2017 to mock Hindu sentiments. Moreover, Gandhi once said that OBC MPs of the NDA have been filled in the party like Murtis [Vigraha/idols] without any power implying that Murtis are powerless.

While the Gandhi scion has left no opportunity to mock Hindu belief in some way or the other, he uses the same randomly to make a political point. In his social media posts, Rahul Gandhi strictly avoids using images of Hindu gods when sharing greetings on Hindu festivals but has no qualms about bringing the image of Lord Shiva to parliament to use it as a weapon to attack the ruling dispensation. In July this year, it was seen how Rahul Gandhi shamelessly used the image of Lord Shiva to peddle his distorted narrative of non-violence associating Bhagwan Shiv’s Trishul [trident] with Ahimsa even as the trident symbolises power, authority and destruction of evil alongside the “Tri Gunas”—Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.

Besides peddling false and malicious narratives around the beliefs and aspects of Hindu Dharma in his attempt to establish that BJP’s idea of Hindutva is bad and his corrupted understanding of Hinduism is good, Rahul Gandhi also takes delight in mocking the struggle of Hindus to reclaim Ram Janmbhoomi as he recently said that I.N.D.I. Alliance defeated the Ram Janmabhoomi Movement in Ayodhya. Clearly, the political compulsion may have compelled Congress to at least not appear “anti-Hindu”, its mindset remains the very same that denied the existence of Lord Ram in 2007.

Even as Hindus are being persecuted in Bangladesh with their temples attacked, the self-proclaimed “Janeudhari” did not speak a word in support of Bangladeshi Hindus. Why? The Congress party fears that it untangle their meticulously constructed warp and weft of perpetual Muslim victimhood which led them to table the communal violence bill, which if passed would have made sure that only minorities and SCs/STs could be “victims” and the perpetrators of communal violence would always be Hindus.

In a nutshell, Rahul Gandhi uses and will continue to use Hindu Dharma for electoral gains. He also ensures that his core vote bank, which harbours deep disdain for Hindus and their Dharma, does not see him as a pro-Hindu leader. His use of subtle imagery, avoiding images of Hindu gods in his Hindu festival-related social media posts, indicates the same. Since Hindus still [emphasis added] form the majority, complete neglect of the community could be disastrous for the party, so the party’s unannounced supreme leader does the humbugging by extending wishes on Hindu festivals but keeping them devoid of its religiosity.  


Some supporters of Congress have shown old tweets of Rahul Gandhi and a couple of recent ones where images of Hindu gods are visible, but it doesn’t negate the fact that a recurring feature of Rahul Gandhi’s posts on Hindu festivals have been missing photos of Hindu gods and goddesses, which has led people to question this pattern.

Bangladesh: ‘Student body’ hounds teachers opposed to hijab, unleashes Islamic lynch mob against them by making names public

OpIndia Staff
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Bangladesh: ‘Student body’ hounds teachers opposed to hijab, unleashes Islamic lynch mob against them by making names public

On Thursday (22nd August), a controversial student body in Bangladesh dubbed ‘Odhikar Sochetan Shikharti Samaj’ (Rights awareness student society) released a list of 100 teachers and accused them of being ‘anti-hijab.’

The comprehensive list featured educators from all prominent institutions in the Islamic Republic, including the University of Dhaka.

According to a report by Kalbela, the so-called students demanded the immediate dismal of the ‘anti-hijab’ teachers from their respective institutes in Bangladesh.

One of the convenors of the controversial student body, Muhiuddin Rahat alleged that women who wear hijab and niqab ‘suffer’ the most discrimination and oppression in educational institutes.

‘Odhikar Sochetan Shikharti Samaj’ claimed that a group of teachers regularly harassed hijab-wearing students during classes, exams and viva. Soon after, the demand extended to wearing of niqab and burqa.

While speaking to Kalbela, he claimed, “In today’s discrimination-free Bangladesh, the oppression of hijab-wearing girls needs to end. So, we students will stand by our oppressed sisters. We demand dismissal and punishment for all teachers who have discriminated against students wearing hijab, niqab or burqa.”

Hindus suffer at the hands of Islamists

OpIndia analysed the names of 100 teachers who were labelled ‘anti-hijab’ by the ‘Odhikar Sochetan Shikharti Samaj’. We found that at least 21 of them are Hindus while 5 of them are Christians.

We previously reported how Muslim students have forced as many as 60 Hindu teachers, professors and government officials to resign from their positions.

On 5th August, Bangladesh descended into chaos after a successful coup ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, forcing her to flee the country. In the aftermath, Islamists took advantage of the situation to carry out violent attacks on the Hindu community.

Rahul Gandhi’s caste representation rhetoric is more preaching and less practice: CWC is proof, with only 5 out of 39 SC leaders

Anurag
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Rahul Gandhi’s caste representation rhetoric is more preaching and less practice: CWC is proof, with only 5 out of 39 SC leaders

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has been projecting himself as a vocal advocate for caste representation in various sectors. Recently, he questioned why SC/ST and OBC participants did not win the Miss India pageant. Not going into how incorrect he was, it is a fact that the Congress Party seems to have created a strategy to make Rahul the frontline leader to stress the need for inclusivity and diversity across all platforms and sectors.

Since before the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, he has been making calls for a caste census and has claimed that “no power can stop caste census.” He asserts that his demand is focused on ensuring every community has a stake in the nation’s governance. However, OpIndia’s close examination of the composition of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) revealed a stark contrast to these ideals.

List of CWC members and their caste division.

The CWC composition: Upper castes dominate

There are 39 members listed in the recent CWC composition, out of which at least 20 belong to the General category or Upper Caste. This highlights a significant bias towards the upper echelons of the caste hierarchy in the party leadership itself. Prominent figures in the CWC, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, P. Chidambaram, and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, are part of the most privileged communities in the country.

On deeper analysis, we found that only five members of the CWC belong to the Scheduled Caste (SC) category, including leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge and Meira Kumar.

Only six members represent minority communities, including Salman Khurshid. Women form a crucial demographic in the voter base of the Congress Party; however, only six women have been given representation, including Sonia Gandhi. Representation of Scheduled Tribes is limited to two members in the CWC and OBC is limited to three.

Caste overlap and dual categories

There are some individuals who fall into multiple categories, but this does not have much effect on the overall representation of the marginalised communities. For instance, Sonia Gandhi belongs to the General Category and is a woman. The same goes for Meira Kumar, who belongs to the SC community and is a woman. Such instances highlight the intersectional identities of the leaders but have an almost negligible effect on the overwhelming dominance of the upper caste in the CWC.

The hypocrisy of caste division politics

Rahul Gandhi is consistently demanding a caste census and greater representation of marginalised communities in every sector, even in trivial events like Miss India. He has raised questions almost every day since the Congress Party discovered that speaking on caste can keep him in the headlines. However, his demands contrast sharply with the party’s practices. The very structure of the Congress Party’s leadership and its historical choices of leaders suggest there is a deep-rooted resistance to true power-sharing with marginalised communities.

The not-so-subtle disparity between what Rahul Gandhi has been demanding and what the Congress Party practices in its internal caste dynamics raises many questions about his integrity and ethics as a leader. The dominance of the upper caste in the CWC suggests that the party’s commitment to caste representation is only an eyewash. The hypocrisy of the Congress Party leaders is clear in the disconnect between the words and actions of Rahul Gandhi and the party.

The debate over caste representation and the caste census is not going to end, as it gives political mileage to leaders. However, it is high time that questions are asked of those who present themselves as the messiahs of the marginalised.

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