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After hike in fuel charges, Karnataka DY CM says increase in water tariff ‘imperative’, claims water body running under financial loss

Jhankar Mohta
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After hike in fuel charges, Karnataka DY CM says increase in water tariff ‘imperative’, claims water body running under financial loss

After grappling with an acute water crisis and a hike in fuel charges, Bangaloreans may now have to shell out extra money to get their share of water as Karnataka DY CM and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday, June 18 hinted at the possibility of increasing the monthly water charges as he claimed that the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is running under financial loss. 

“It has become imperative to increase the water tariff as the water board is not able to pay the electricity bill. It is also difficult to pay the salaries of the staff,” he said.

Shivakumar emphasized that the BWSSB is facing serious financial difficulties as a result of Bengaluru’s water rates not being increased in the last 14 years.

“A gas cylinder – which was costing Rs 400 – now costs Rs 1,000. Petrol price has gone up from RS 75 to over RS 100. Should the water tariff be increased or not?” he questioned.

Notably, the reports of the Congress government in Karnataka contemplating the hike in water charges in Bengaluru came amid the government’s decision to increase fuel prices in the state.

Interestingly, amongst all the pre-poll freebies promises, the Congress government in Karnataka, on Saturday, hiked sales tax on fuel, which will make petrol and diesel costlier in the state. Petrol prices have gone up by Rs 3 per litre and diesel by Rs 3.5 per litre.

Likewise, last year, the Congress government also hiked the electricity tariffs in the state. The energy costs and power tariffs in Karnataka were hiked by Rs 2.89 per unit in June 2023, leaving citizens to shell out an additional Rs 2.89 per unit if their power usage exceeds the 200 units slab while paying the power bill.

20% of state budget used to provide freebies

Last year’s projections suggested that the annual cost of the cash payouts and electricity subsidies that Congress had offered to the people of Karnataka would be Rs. 62,000 crores. Nearly 20% of the state budget was represented by this estimated sum of Rs 62,000 crore.

How the pre-poll freebie promises have come back to bite the Karnataka Congress

Last year, before Karnataka went into assembly polls, the Congress, which was clearly desperate to reclaim Karnataka from the BJP, chose to follow in the footsteps of the Aam Aadmi Party and pledged to provide a slew of freebies, including 200 units of free energy to secure public loyalty and obedience.

The Congress made this promise when it began its statewide ‘Prajadhwani Bus Yatra’ in Belagavi ahead of the assembly polls.

While offering the freebies, Congress most likely assumed that if it worked for the AAP in Delhi and Punjab, it would also work for them. The freebies promised by the party to the populace did tilt the scales in its favour but have now turned into a disaster for the Karnataka Congress in more ways than one. 

Recently, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah’s economic advisor Basavaraj Rayareddy stated that guarantees have become a huge financial burden on the state government. Rayareddy was alluding to the freebies that the Congress party had promised in its manifesto ahead of the Karnataka state assembly elections. The minister pointed out that there will be a financial burden of Rs 40,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore on the exchequer due to these guarantee schemes. 

“As we have directed Rs 58,000 Cr for guarantees it has become a huge financial burden to us. We are holding discussions on what to do. In the primary stage after implementing guarantees we are looking into what changes must be brought in. As an economic advisor, I’m looking into how to get funds from the state and centre to fund guarantees,” Republic TV quoted him as saying.

Water crisis in Karnataka

The people of Karnataka have been dealing with a number of issues while the state administration has been busy raising tariffs.

The recent Bengaluru water crisis made living in the IT city more miserable than ever. The scarce rainfall in 2023 due to the El Nino effect caused the groundwater table to disappear, not just lower. Many borewells in and around the city including the one owned by Karnataka’s deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar had dried. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s residence was also dependent on tankers for the water supply.

While schools and jobs had gone virtual amid the water crisis, people owning posh flats in Bengaluru were going to malls to use the toilet. The government had put strict restrictions on domestic water usage for non-drinking purposes to cope with the situation.

Water tankers traversing Bengaluru’s streets had become a prevalent sight. Owing to heightened demand for water, suppliers escalated their prices from Rs 700 to a range between Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,800 per tanker. Residents Welfare Associations (RWA) in the city were under scrutiny from their members for purportedly failing to implement sufficient measures to alleviate the water crisis.

‘Operation Anti-Virus’ in Rajasthan: Police launches multiple raids in Mewat, arrests cyber criminals looting money through fake investment schemes and sextortion

OpIndia Staff
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‘Operation Anti-Virus’ in Rajasthan: Police launches multiple raids in Mewat, arrests cyber criminals looting money through fake investment schemes and sextortion

On Tuesday, June 18th, the Rajasthan Police’s Cyber Branch launched another raid under its ‘Operation Anti-Virus’ in the Mewat region arresting several young individuals involved in looting people monetarily using the internet and fake calls. The Police raided several premises in the Mewat region and uncovered an international cyber racket. The authorities further recovered several fake mobile phones, computers, and other electronic devices from the accused persons.

According to the exclusive report by India TV, thousands of SIM cards, mobile phones, swipe machines used for fund transfers, and cash counting machines have also been seized from the fraudsters. The Police arrested several individuals one of whom was identified as Abid. The accused posed as a military man ‘Anil Kumar’ and made fake calls to loot people for money.

Image- India TV

How is cybercrime executed in Mewat?

As per the police Mewat region in Rajasthan has become a hotbed for cyber crimes. More than 500 cases are reported daily from the region and more than 150 FIRs have been filed for cybercrime in 2024 alone. These accused persons deceive people through investment allurements, fake digital arrests, threats of disconnecting utilities, and sextortion. They call people, introduce some investment schemes, and ask people to make initial monetary deposits for future benefits. However, later these people are lured and forced to make further deposits. On refusal, they are threatened with ‘digital arrests’, scaring people to follow them.

In several cases filed of sextortions, a similar pattern has been observed by the police. As per the authorities, the accused persons make video calls to innocent people from unknown numbers and then play some sex videos. The call is deceptively recorded in which the targeted individuals are recorded watching pornography or sexual content, giving it an impression of involvement. The victims are then threatened and are asked to deposit money if they have to avoid ‘police action’ or ’embarrassment’. The victims often get intimidated to deposit hefty amounts that are transferred and routed to many bank accounts before the final withdrawal.

The police say that these accused persons employ and train youngsters on salary and operate a huge nexus of call centers to lure and loot innocents monetarily. The ’employees’ are expected only to make fake calls from fake mobile phones and initiate conversations leading to massive loot by the experienced fraudsters. As per the reports, several villages in the Mewat region are engaged in such fraud.

Arrests made by Bharatpur IG in Dig (India TV)

Rs 50 lakhs looted by Abid who posed as ‘Anil Kumar’ from military

In the given case, the Dig Police in Mewat, Rajasthan had obtained a lead that innocent people were being called from one particular number that is extorting money from them. Bharatpur IG Rahul Prakash further stated that the police received several such complaints against that one particular phone number, after which its location was traced. The phone was supposed to be in Ladela village of Mewat as per the location details. The police then raided the premises with arms and weapons given the severity of the situation and arrested the accused persons.

SHO Manish Sharma led the operation and arrested one individual identified as Abid who had posed as a military man named ‘Anil Kumar’ on social media to threaten and loot innocent people on social media. The police also happened to recover a swipe machine through which the money had been withdrawn. On asking, Abid told the Police that he used to purchase second-hand assets from people through OLX, initiate conversations there, and later threaten them for money. He also confessed that he had uploaded a fake picture of a military man from Google. To date, as per the India TV report, Abid has fraudulently obtained Rs 50 lakhs from people using fake SIM cards, calls, and bank accounts.

Fake profile used by Abid as ‘Anil Kumar’ (India TV)

150 FIRs filed, 400 arrested so far under ‘Operation Anti-Virus’

It is believed that 18% of the total cyber crime cases happening in India are reported from the Mewat region. Almost every house residing in this region is involved in looting and frauds ‘professionally’. A huge nexus operates here in which some are responsible for arranging fake SIM cards, some for making calls, and others for actually executing the loot. The fake SIM cards are supposedly arranged from the states of West Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha.

“Cybercrime in Mewat is growing so organized that some people have established call centers dedicated to cyber fraud, making billions of rupees. The most common cybercrime in Mewat is sextortion. Mewat’s cyber gangs utilize bogus profile photographs of ladies to lure people in and then blackmail them for money,” Bharatpur Range IG Rahul Prakash was quoted as saying. 

Over 150 FIRs have been registered for cybercrime in the Mewat region exclusively. Over 400 fraudsters have been arrested so far. Police to date have seized approximately 1,000 mobile phones, 300 ATM cards, 1,500 SIM cards, 10 micro ATMs, 6 swipe machines, 31 four-wheelers, 27 two-wheelers, 8 laptops, one tablet, and six desktops.

About ‘Operation Anti-Virus’ in Mewat

As per the India TV report, during the Lok Sabha election campaign, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma visited several states, including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Odisha, and Maharashtra. He heard the same complaint everywhere he went which said that cyber criminals from Mewat were defrauding individuals not only in India but also in other nations around the world.

Senior executives and even political leaders from many states claimed to be victims of cyber fraud, and investigations repeatedly pointed back to Mewat. They asked Chief Minister to take steps to combat cybercrime in the region. Sharma took action and directed the police to initiate an anti-cybercrime campaign, which resulted in the present crackdown on the fraudsters’ network in Mewat.

In just one year, cybercriminals have swindled more than Rs 7,000 crores. The police received 7,50,000 cybercrime complaints in 2024, compared to more than 1.5 million in the previous year. According to Rahul Prakash, bulldozers have been used on the dwellings of some of the accused as part of Operation Anti-Virus. The police’s rigorous actions are producing results.

A similar raid was reported in April 2024

In a major crackdown against cybercrime, the Nuh police in April this year arrested 42 cyber criminals from various parts of Nuh, Mewat in Haryana in two days concerning several cyber fraud cases registered nationwide. The arrested accused were identified as Deen Mohammad, Asif, Arif, Sarfaraz, Saqib, Ijaz, and Munajir among others. 

During the operation, a total of 50 cellphones, fake Aadhar cards, over 90 SIM cards procured with forged documents, cash, and several ATM cards were seized from the possession of the arrested accused. This was supposed to be the biggest crackdown on cyber criminals since April last year. Back then, the police had arrested 66 cyber criminals from 14 villages in an wide scale operation that involves several police stations and dedicated teams of police personnel that include hundreds of cops.

Bihar: Mohammad Azad kills Raj Kapoor Sharma by throwing a brick at his head, the accused has a criminal history

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Mohammad Azad kills Raj Kapoor Sharma by throwing a brick at his head, the accused has a criminal history

On 13th June, a brick thrown from a roof in the Bihar district of Darbhanga killed a 53-year-old person named Raj Kapoor Sharma. The accused has been identified as Muhammad Azad. He was taken into custody on 16th June and put behind bars. According to the police, he has a criminal history.

The matter pertains to the Baheri police station area of Darbhanga district. Binde Sharma, a resident of ward number 10 registered a complaint which stated that his cousin Raj Kapoor Sharma was leaving for somewhere on foot at about nine o’clock in the evening on the day of the incident. The house of the perpetrator is also situated in ward number 10 along the same route. He was on the roof in the evening. The victim was struck in the head by a brick as soon as he passed Muhammad Azad’s place.

The complainant said that Muhammad Azad carried out the attack from the second floor with the purpose of killing Raj Kapoor Sharma who received severe injuries on his head and was brought to a nearby hospital for treatment where his condition continued to deteriorate. He was then taken to Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), however, the doctors were unable to save him despite their best efforts and he passed away on 15th June. After that, Binde Sharma, a family member, filed a police complaint against Azad.

The authorities immediately registered a case based on the complaint and started an investigation into the matter which revealed that Mohammad Azad, son of Niyamat, had purposefully tossed a brick on the deceased’s head. The Darbhanga police said that Azad is of very aggressive nature and had committed similar offences in the past as well. The cops added that he has a long criminal past and had already served time in jail on charges of theft. He was eventually arrested and incarcerated. The police are currently conducting additional inquiries along with other required legal measures in the case.

Arundhati Roy and her many lies on 2002 Gujarat Riots, vilification of Hindus: Lies about Ehsan Jafri’s daughter being raped, burnt alive and more

GujaratRiots.com
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Arundhati Roy and her many lies on 2002 Gujarat Riots, vilification of Hindus: Lies about Ehsan Jafri’s daughter being raped, burnt alive and more

Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena’s decision to grant permission to prosecute Arundhati Roy under Section 45(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for her seditious speech on Kashmir is a welcome step. But sadly, it took 14 years. Arundhati and her pack not only deny the existence of India as a nation but also foment discord, and fuel discontent by building narratives based on falsehoods and half-truths.

We need to remember the mischievous role her left-fascist gang played during the 2002 Gujarat riots. In her 7-page long (approx. 6000 words) essay in Outlook dated 6 May 2002 titled “Democracy: Who’s she when she’s at home?” on the violence in Gujarat Arundhati Roy had written: “Last night a friend from Baroda called. Weeping. It took her fifteen minutes to tell me what the matter was. It wasn’t very complicated. Only that Sayeeda, a friend of hers, had been caught by a mob. Only that her stomach had been ripped open and stuffed with burning rags. Only that after she died, someone carved ‘OM’ on her forehead”.  

Shocked by this despicable “incident”, the then BJP Rajya Sabha MP Balbir Punj got in touch with the Gujarat government. The police investigations revealed that no such case, involving someone called Sayeeda, had been reported either in urban or rural Baroda. Subsequently, the police sought Roy’s help to identify the victim and seek access to witnesses who could lead them to those guilty of this crime. But the police got no cooperation. Instead, Roy, through her lawyer Prashant Bhushan replied that the police had no power to issue summons. Thus she hedged behind technical excuses. Balbir Punj took up this incident in his rejoinder published as Dissimulation In Word and Images in Outlook, July 8, 2002.

In that very essay, Arundhati Roy wrote: “…A mob surrounded the house of former Congress MP, Iqbal Ehsan Jafri. His phone calls to the Director-General of Police, the Police Commissioner, the Chief Secretary, and the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) were ignored. The mobile police vans around his house did not intervene. The mob broke into the house. They stripped his daughters and burned them alive. Then they beheaded Ehsan Jafri and dismembered him. Of course, it’s only a coincidence that Jafri was a trenchant critic of Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, during his campaign for the Rajkot Assembly by-election in February…”  

Jafri was killed in the riots but his daughters were neither ‘stripped’ nor ‘burnt alive’. T.A. Jafri, his son, in a front-page interview titled ‘NobodyKnew My Father’s House was the Target’ (Asian Age, 2 May 2002, Delhi edition), said, “Among my brothers and sisters, I am the only one living in India. And I am the eldest in the family. My sister and brother live in the U.S. I am 40 years old and I have been born and brought up in Ahmedabad.” Balbir Punj debunked Arundhati’s fabrications in his article “Fiddling With Facts As Gujarat Burns” on May 27, 2002, confirming that Jafri’s daughter was safe in the US, as revealed by his son.

After Balbir Punj’s expose, Arundhati Roy was forced to give a fake apology in Outlook. Her fake apology titled “To the Jafri Family, An Apology” said:

“…There is a factual error in my essay Democracy: Who’s She When She’s at Home? (6th May). In describing the brutal killing of Ehsan Jafri, I have said that his daughters had been killed along with their father. It has subsequently been pointed out to me that this is not correct. Eyewitness accounts say that Ehsan Jafri was killed along with his three brothers and two nephews. His daughters were not among the 10 women who were raped and killed in Chamanpura that day.

I apologise to the Jafri family for compounding their anguish. I’m truly sorry.

My information (misinformation, as it turned out) was cross-checked from two sources. Time magazine (11th March) in an article by Meenakshi Ganguly and Anthony Spaeth, and “Gujarat Carnage 2002: A Report to the Nation” by an independent fact-finding mission, which included K.S. Subrahmanyam, former I.G.P. Tripura, and S.P. Shukla, former Finance Secretary. I spoke to Mr.  Subrahmanyam about the error. He said his information at that time came from a senior police official. (What was the name of that official? Neither Subrahmanyam nor Arundhati Roy tell it!)…”

This apology is also false since Roy claims even in that fake apology that 10 women were raped and killed that day. In reality, after reading the then-English newspapers in the first week of March 2002, one finds no mention of any rapes at all. These stories of rapes started coming out in the middle of March 2002, after Time magazine concocted lies in its issue of 11 March 2002, copied by Arundhati Roy. Neither Roy nor the Time correspondent can point out any proven rapes in this case. Roy also apologizes only to the Jafri family, not to the BJP or Narendra Modi for defaming them by her incorrect claim. And she should also have apologized to the country. Note how, while giving the apology, Roy makes sure that it is only “To the Jafri family”.

But there were even more lies by Arundhati Roy in that article for which she should have been prosecuted u/s 153-A, 499-500 (defamation) as well as other relevant sections dealing with fake news/lies.

She wrote, “His (Jafri’s) phone calls to the Director-General of Police, the Police Commissioner [i.e. P C Pande], the Chief Secretary, the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) were ignored. The mobile police vans around his house did not intervene.”

All these claims of calls to the Police Commissioner, and Chief Secretary are false. The SIT examined call records of the Police Commissioner Pandey and found that no call was made by Jafri [on pages 203-04 of its final report], though Pandey made/received 302 calls on that day, i.e. 28 February 2002. And that day, the Chief Secretary G Subbarao was abroad, out of India on leave as stated in the SIT report, on page 312, so how could Jafri have called him? Jafri’s landline was the only operational phone in the entire residential complex, as per SIT.

Roy claimed that the police did nothing to stop the mob in Jafri’s house. In reality, police outside his house intervened and as per the SIT final report, page 1 they shot dead four Hindus outside his house, injured 11, lathi-charged the mob, fired 124 rounds, and burst 134 tear gas shells at the spot.

The Times of India also reported online on 28 Feb 2002, that the police and fire brigade did their best to disperse rioters and nowhere did it allege any inaction on the part of the police. It was impossible for the police to control the mob of around 20,000+ people and the mob had gone crazy after Jafri fired from his revolver on the crowd, which injured 15 Hindus and killed 1- as per the SIT report on page 1. But despite this, the police saved 180 Muslims in this episode at a great risk to their personal life. And nowhere did The Times of India accuse the police of not doing anything. 

India Today dated 18 March 2002 clearly admits that at least 5 rioters were shot dead by the police outside Jafri’s house. The SIT report also says that on page 1. The police also saved the lives of some 180 Muslims, since 68 out of the 250 people inside the house died (after all missing were declared dead). The SIT final report says on p 16 that: “In her statement before the local police (recorded on 6 March 2002 under Section 161 CrPC) she (i.e. Zakia Jafri, widow of Ehsan Jafri) had stated that while they were being shifted from the Gulberg Society in jail vans, the mob assembled there would have lynched all of them to death but for the timely action by the police.”

It was the fault of the BJP and other opponents of Arundhati Roy that they didn’t file cases against such lies. Outlook too should have been sued for publishing such trash, which is a blatant violation of law. They should learn from the late Arun Jaitley, who directly sued AAP leaders in Dec 2015 when they made false charges on him and forced them to give an unconditional apology.

[The writer is the author of the book “Gujarat Riots: The True Story” which gives all details about the 2002 riots- Godhra and after, one of the admins of www.gujaratriots.com and one of the admins of the Twitter handle @gujaratriotscom and also the author of the book “Why the Vajpayee Government lost the 2004 Lok Sabha polls- An analysis” which exposes a lot more media propaganda, particularly before the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, and before the 2002 Gujarat State Assembly polls]

‘In Manipur the fight is not between Meteis and Kukis, it is Govt against Chin Kuki narco-terrorists’, says COCOMI

OpIndia Staff
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‘In Manipur the fight is not between Meteis and Kukis, it is Govt against Chin Kuki narco-terrorists’, says COCOMI

On 18th June, given the recent high-level meeting chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah in connection with Manipur violence, the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) asserted that the real issue in the state is not Meiti-Kuki conflict but the problem of Chin Kuki narco-terrorists.

COCOMI spokesperson Khuraijam Athouba criticised HM Shah’s approach suggesting that the minister is “evading” the core issue that has caused the Manipur crisis. He said that the central government’s attempts to address the conflict through talks between the Meitei and Kuki communities is contextually incorrect. He suggested that the real conflict lies between the Government of Manipur and Chin Kuki narco-terrorist groups which is in concurrence with the Central Government.

HM Shah announced plans to initiate talks between Meitei and Kuki

During a review meeting that was held on 17th June, Home Minister Amit Shah announced plans to initiate talks between Kuki and Meitei communities. The aim is to bridge the ethnic divide between the two communities and restore regional harmony. The announcement came amidst ongoing clashes between the two communities since 3rd May 2023 that have claimed 225 lives and displaced over 50,000 people.

Missing stakeholders

According to a report in Swarajya Magazine, the meeting was held at Raisina Hill’s North Block. Home Minister Amit Shah chaired the meeting. Army Chief General Manoj Pande and Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla were among the key officials present at the meeting. Notably, Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh or any representatives from the ethnic groups involved in the conflict were not called for the meeting which highlighted a significant oversight of the Union government’s approach to resolving the matter.

Deepening distrust

The Union Government is viewing the situation in Manipur primarily as a law and order issue. However, this approach has been criticised for failing to address the deeper ethnic tensions. Furthermore, when the tensions erupted last year, Director General of Police (DGP) P Doungel was removed and Tripura cadre IPS officer, Rajiv Singh replaced him. Singh came to Manipur with no experience in the situation, the Swarajya report adds.

Call for inclusive dialogue

COCOMI and other civil society leaders have called for an inclusive dialogue. They argue that a lasting solution to the problem in Manipur requires the involvement of all stakeholders including ethnic groups, elected representatives, political parties, and civil society organizations. Furthermore, they have called for immediate disarmament of all militant groups and a strengthened, impartial security presence to restore trust and peace.

Way forward

Notably, prominent leaders of both communities have expressed a desire for peace and urged the Union Government to facilitate dialogue among all stakeholders. The involvement of Nagas and Pangals as peace brokers is seen as a crucial step towards rebuilding trust and ending the violence.

The ongoing violence in the state of Manipur underscores the complexity of the situation. It is not limited to the ethnic tensions between Kuki and Meiti communities but includes significant concerns over the raging narco-terrorism in the state. Effective resolution requires a nuanced and inclusive approach, prioritizing the voices and involvement of all affected communities.

Jharkhand: Amanullah and Hakim Khan slaughter a cow to offer Qurbani on Bakrid, flee after video goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Amanullah and Hakim Khan slaughter a cow to offer Qurbani on Bakrid, flee after video goes viral

On Tuesday, June 18, a video emerged showing some people slaughtering a calf in full public view for offering Qurbani on the occasion of Id-ul-Adha or Bakrid. According to reports, the alleged incident took place on Monday (June 17, 2024) in the Ramzan Colony police station area in ​​​​Ranchi, Jharkhand.

After the video went viral, the Ranchi police registered a case and launched a manhunt for Amanullah and Hakim Khan, identified as the primary accused in the case. The duo reportedly fled after the video of the incident went viral.

In the viral video, some people are seen placing the bovine on the ground, while several others, some of whom are seen wearing skull caps, are seen standing and watching the act. A few women and children are also present at the scene.

The incident led to a commotion in Ranchi with several people demanding strict and speedy action against the perpetrators. The police, meanwhile, are conducting raids to nab the accused.

Speaking on the matter, KV Raman, Deputy SP of Ranchi city, told OpIndia that the police reached the spot immediately after receiving the information. They recovered meat from the spot which has been sent to the forensic lab for investigation. Raman said that the preliminary probe suggests that it was a cow that the accused had slaughtered and ran away after the video of the act went viral.

KV Raman further said that the accused have been identified as Mohammad Amanullah and Hakim Khan, both residents of Ranchi. Several teams have been deployed and raids are being conducted continuously to nab them, he added.

It is worth noting that the cow slaughter prohibition law has been in force in Jharkhand since 2005. Under this law, killing cows is a non-bailable offence and may attract a jail term of up to 10 years.

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister and BJP State President Babulal Marandi lambasted the JMM-Congress government over this issue.

Babulal Marandi shared the video of this incident and wrote, “After Pakud, today cows were openly slaughtered in the Peace Road area in the middle of the capital Ranchi. The Muslim appeasement being done by JMM-Congress is a very dangerous sign. An attempt is being made to create a horrific situation like Bengal by giving political patronage to the infiltrators.”

Cow slaughtered in several parts of the country on Eid

The Gopinathpur village in the Pakud district of Jharkhand, adjoining the West Bengal border was on boil after clashes erupted between the Hindus and Muslims over cow slaughtering on the occasion of Bakrid on June 17.

Members of both communities came face to face after a resident of the village allegedly slaughtered a cow, prompting sharp reactions from the other group.

As the matter escalated, the accused called his co-religionist from the other side of the inter-state border who soon arrived in large numbers leading to clashes between the two groups. These people hurled bombs and pelted stones at the Hindus who were protesting the slaughtering of the bovine.

Similarly, on 17th June, the Balasore district administration imposed Section 144 in the region from Pir Bazar to Patrapada (later extended to the entire Balasore municipality) after Islamists pelted stones at Hindus and a clash occurred between 2 communities in the district in Northern Odisha.

The incident occurred after people spotted a red blood colour substance flowing in the drain near the Pir Bazar. It was alleged that cows were slaughtered in the area during Id-ul-Adha or Bakrid celebrations. The news spread quickly in the area and several Hindus came onto the road protesting against cow slaughter at Pir Bazar. They also blocked the Chandipur-Balasore main road.

‘Nothing objectionable against the Quran or Muslims’: Bombay HC after watching the movie ‘Hamare Baarah’, may permit release after minor alterations

OpIndia Staff
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‘Nothing objectionable against the Quran or Muslims’: Bombay HC after watching the movie ‘Hamare Baarah’, may permit release after minor alterations

On Tuesday (18th June), the Bombay High Court said that the bench watched actor Annu Kapoor starrer “Hamare Baarah” movie and found nothing objectionable in it that was against the Quran or the Muslim community. The bench observed that the film is in fact aimed at the upliftment of women and shows that people should not blindly follow Maulana but apply their minds. It added that there was nothing objectionable in the movie and that the Indian public is not so gullible or silly. 

A division bench of the High Court comprising Justices BP Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla was hearing multiple petitions that sought a ban on the movie. The plea alleged that the movie incorrectly portrays the lives of married Muslim women as lacking independent rights due to a misinterpretation of “Aayat 223,” a verse in the Quran. 

It further stated that the trailer includes dialogues and visuals which according to them were derogatory to the Islamic faith and married Muslim women in India.

The division bench stated that the film’s first trailer was objectionable, but that has been removed and all such objectionable scenes have been deleted from the movie. The court also noted that it was, in fact, a “thinking movie” and not the sort where the audience is expected to “keep their brains at home” and only enjoy it.

The High Court said, “The movie is in fact for the upliftment of women. The movie has a Maulana misinterpreting the Quran and in fact one Muslim man objects to the same in the scene. So this shows that people should apply their mind and not blindly follow such Maulanas.”

The Supreme Court had left the matter for the High Court to take an appropriate decision

Initially, the Bombay High Court postponed the release of the movie but it later permitted the release after the makers submitted that the objectionable portions would be deleted as directed by the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC).

Subsequently, the petitioners challenged the High Court ruling in the Supreme Court. Last week, the apex court stayed the film’s release and directed the HC to hear and take an appropriate decision in this matter. 

During the hearing, the High Court referred to a few scenes that could be considered as objectionable and submitted that it would allow the film’s release if both parties agreed to these changes. 

Referring to a scene where the man kills his daughter in the name of God, the bench said, “That may be objectionable. Doing something like this in the name of god may send the wrong signal. Removing this one line will not cause any hindrance to the creative freedom of the make.” 

The bench said that if all the parties concerned agree to the deletion of the objectionable parts then consent terms could be submitted, after which the court would pass an order on Wednesday permitting the film’s release.

Moreover, the bench noted that in certain instances, it is the man who is misinterpreting the Quran, rather than the Maulana. The court said, “It’s a different when someone who is Maulana propagating something like this and an individual doing it. Tomorrow if you depict a pope or Christian then it’s a different thing. If the same speech was given by the antagonist then it makes no difference. When Maulana does it, he interprets the Quran and tells people which is a different thing.” 

However, the bench said that it would be imposing a cost on the makers of the movie for releasing the trailer of the film even before receiving certification from the censor board.

The bench added that because of the litigation, the movie got unpaid publicity, so the makers would have to pay some cost towards a charity of the petitioners’ choice.

In 2024 LS Elections, BJP scripted history in Telangana: How the party has gained momentum after losing steam in run-up to 2023 elections

S. Sudhir Kumar
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In 2024 LS Elections, BJP scripted history in Telangana: How the party has gained momentum after losing steam in run-up to 2023 elections

When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, she was a member of the Lok Sabha from the Medak constituency in Telangana (then part of Andhra Pradesh state). The BJP won this seat in 1999 when it was in alliance with TDP. The victor, Mr. A. Narendra, went into TRS and won the seat again in 2004. And ever since, this seat has been a TRS stronghold for 20 years.

Medak was one of the two seats that TRS won in 2009. Medak was the seat from where KCR himself won in 2014 (and gave it up for the MLA seat because he became the CM). KCR’s MLA constituency is also part of the Medak Lok Sabha constituency. One can thus gauge the importance of this seat in the annals of history.

True to their nature, voters of Medak created a new history in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections 2024 – BJP won this seat on its own in 2024. The candidate, Mr. Raghunandan Rao is fairly well known and is the one who won the all-important Dubbaka Assembly by-election in 2020 – an election that heralded the downfall of KCR!

Mr. Raghunandan Rao is no stranger to Medak. This is his home constituency and he has also been the Medak in charge of TRS, back when he was a member of the TRS. All those grassroots-level contacts certainly played a crucial role in his stellar campaign in this constituency. He was up against formidable forces but the pro-Modi wave in Telangana coupled with some anger against the incumbent Congress party was used very well. 

Medak is not the only constituency in Telangana where history was made. India’s biggest Lok Sabha constituency is Malkajigiri constituency in Telangana. Current Telangana Chief Minister, Revanth Reddy, won this seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In a way, this was his sitting seat and with him winning the 2023 Assembly elections, this seat was supposed to be an easy seat for the Congress. 

BJP’s candidate, Mr. Eatala Rajendar, won this seat by polling a whopping 53% of the votes! He is also no stranger to the people of Telangana and in fact has been a pillar for TRS until KCR unceremoniously decided to sack him. Though he won the assembly by-poll in 2021, he lost his seat in the 2023 elections only to make a great comeback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections! 

Mahbubnagar constituency also witnessed another scintillating contest in which the BJP candidate, Mrs. D.K. Aruna won by a slender margin of ~4500 votes! KCR himself won from here in 2009 (in alliance with the TDP and Communists). Current Telangana Chief Minister from Congress, Revanth Reddy’s assembly constituency forms a part of Mahbubnagar Lok Sabha Constituency too! No wonder this was touted as a very tough seat right from the beginning. Nevertheless, one of BJP’s national Vice Presidents, Mrs. D.K. Aruna put up such a spirited fight that the BJP wrested this seat too. 

One of the most unique constituencies in Telangana (and perhaps India) is the Chevella constituency. It ranges from the famed Hi-Tech city of Hyderabad to interior villages in Vikarabad – making it a unique combination of pure Urban and pure Rural populace! BJP’s candidate, Mr. Konda Vishweshwar Reddy is a highly accomplished entrepreneur; comes from a highly respectable family; is married into a highly respectable family; has been an MP in 2014 from TRS; and has now won it for a 2nd time in 2024, from the BJP. 

In addition to these 4 seats, the BJP has also retained 4 seats it won in the 2019 elections – Adilabad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, and Secunderabad.

The party was in near doldrums during the 2023 elections. It won only 8 Assembly seats out of the 119 seats. Too many unsavory happenings in late 2022 resulted in unexpected changes at the helm of the state. There was not enough time to salvage the 2023 result but under the stewardship of Mr. Kishan Reddy, the party was able to bounce back in the 2024 Lok Sabha, producing a stellar result! A combination of very good candidate selection; early announcement of all candidates; and a great campaign that added to the Modi wave in the state enabled BJP to win 8 and come 2nd in 7 seats!

The Congress party was hopeful of winning 12-14 seats, riding on their victory just 6 months back in the assembly polls. However, a combination of unfulfilled promises and a very strong resurgence of the BJP ensured that they won 8 seats. 

The second biggest story though, is the decimation of the BRS. They won 0. From being a ruling party just 6 months back to scoring a naught – the downward spiral was perhaps not surprising, given how the party reacted to the loss in the Assembly elections. Not a single lesson was learned by the leadership. KCR, injured from a fall at his home, didn’t go to the Assembly at all – leaving it to his son and nephew to do all the firefighting. KCR’s son, KTR, continued to exhibit unparalleled arrogance (the same that led to the loss in the first place) in his speeches and interactions. KCR didn’t even issue a statement when his daughter, Kavitha, was arrested in the Delhi Liquor scam case. He was quick to release a statement when Kejriwal was arrested though. Actions like these didn’t obviously go well with the people. The cadre was very quick to desert the leadership – resulting in a whopping drop of 24% vote share!

BJP, which was primed to rise as the second major party in the run-up to the 2023 elections lost steam closer to the elections. It is now again in the same position. The national leadership should not let this current position of strength slip like last time. The people’s faith in the BJP must be taken forward in Telangana, for a replication of the Odisha situation! 

NEET candidate Ayushi Patel who received support from Priyanka Gandhi submitted forged documents, Allahabad HC allows NTA to take legal action

Shraddha Pandey
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NEET candidate Ayushi Patel who received support from Priyanka Gandhi submitted forged documents, Allahabad HC allows NTA to take legal action

On Tuesday (18th June), the Allahabad High Court ruled that the National Testing Agency (NTA) can take legal action against a NEET candidate named Ayushi Patel who claimed in her petition that the NTA had not released her results and that her OMR answer sheet had been torn. This came after it was found that the NEET candidate submitted fake documents.

On the court’s direction, the NTA had produced Patel’s OMR sheet which was found to be intact contrary to the candidate’s claim that it was torn.

In compliance with the 12th June order, NTA Deputy Director Sandeep Sharma delivered the student’s original documents along with an affidavit. Counsel Shashank Bhasin produced the original OMR Sheet, Attendance Sheet and the Score Card of the petitioner before the court. Bhasin contended that on these documents, the application number of petitioner Ayushi Patel is 240411340741 and the petitioner herself has signed on such papers, she is, thus acknowledging her application number as 240411340741.

However, Patel’s counsel Piyush Agnihotri submitted that Patel’s NEET UG 2024 application number is 240411840741.

“Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the aforesaid application number is consistent in Annexure No.9 of the petition, which is photocopy of one e.mail relating to NTA NEET UG EXAM 2024 sent by one Sri Deshraj Singh addressed to the petitioner apprising her that NTA received damaged (torn) OMR on the same Application Form Number. Further, Annexure No.10 of the petition is a mail of the petitioner sent to NEET wherein she has indicated the same application number,” the court order reads.

Patel’s counsel submitted a photocopy of some documents/ mails being exchanged between Ayushi Patel and the National Testing Agency wherein the same application number (240411840741) has been indicated, though the original papers of the petitioner indicated the different Application Form Number as 240411340741.

Representing the NTA, Shashank Bhasin said that he was unable to understand why the petitioner is indicating another application number in her mails than the number which has been acknowledged by her on the original papers.

After reviewing the documents, a vacation bench led by Justice Rajesh Singh Chauhan concluded that Ayushi Patel had submitted the plea using forged documents.

“Sri Bhasin has stated with vehemence that all the documents filed with the petition are forged and fictitious. He has shown all the original documents of the petitioner in terms of the aforesaid order, perusal thereof reveals that the statement of Sri Bhasin is correct inasmuch as the documents, so filed by the petitioner in the writ petition are forged and fictitious,” Justice Chauhan said.

Bhasin showed the NEET UG 2024 information brochure’s Chapter 13: Unfair Means Practices and Breach of Examination Rules. In its clause 14.1-(l)(q) and (r), it is stated that providing incorrect information or overwriting of Roll Number and other information as well as making false claims by manipulating or tampering the responses in the OMR sheet uploaded on official website before or after result declaration is deemed a violation of the rules.

He further informed the court that the NTA has decided to take legal action in the matter. Meanwhile, Patel’s counsel informed the court that he has nothing to say in the petitioner’s defence. The court called it a “sorry state of affairs” and stated that the NTA is allowed to pursue legal action in the case.

“Be that as it may, this is really sorry state of affairs that the petitioner filed a petition enclosing therewith the forged and fictitious documents, therefore, this Court can not restrain the competent authority / authorities to take any legal action against the petitioner strictly in accordance with law,” the court said.

“Since the learned counsel for the petitioner has requested that this petition may be dismissed being not pressed as he has nothing to say or plead in favour of the petitioner, therefore, this writ petition is dismissed being not pressed,” the court ruled.

How Congress party, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, amplified Ayushi Patel’s lies to target NTA

As the court has ruled that Ayushi Patel had submitted forged documents and allowed the NTA to take legal action against her, it is pertinent to recall how the Congress party and state social media units peddled claims of tampering with NEET candidate Ayushi Patel’s OMR sheet.

In an apparent attempt to exploit the issue of alleged irregularities in NEET UG 2024 exams to target the Central government, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi shared a video of Ayushi Patel without checking the veracity of her claims on the 10th of June.

“Lakhs of children prepare hard for exams like NEET and spend the most precious moments of their lives in this preparation. The whole family puts their faith and strength in this effort. But year after year, paper leaks and irregularities related to results have been reported in these exams. Shouldn’t the accountability of the agencies conducting the exams be fixed? Shouldn’t the government give up its careless attitude and seriously consider the exam system? We cannot see the dreams of our young friends being shattered like this. This injustice being done by the system with their hard work must stop. The government will have to take serious steps to correct these irregularities,” Gandhi posted on X.

The NTA, however, refuted Patel’s claims and allegations of OMR tampering and her OMR being torn. They also denied sending any torn OMR answer sheet as claimed by Ayushi Patel.

As OpIndia reported earlier, Ayushi Patel had in a video statement claimed that the National Testing Agency, the nodal agency responsible for conducting examinations in India, sent her an email informing her that her OMR sheet was damaged. According to her, the email conveyed that her result could not be generated because the NTA found her OMR sheet torn and damaged. She brazened her allegation stating that her OMR sheet appeared to be ‘deliberately torn.’ However, she stated that the answers she submitted during the examination were visible on the damaged OMR sheet and they totaled 715 out of 720 marks.

NTA had refuted the claims made by Patel, highlighting that her answer sheet was not torn. Available information revealed that Patel had received only 365 marks not 715 as claimed by her.

Back in 2020, Patel had tried to gain media headlines by claiming that she had discovered the ‘formula for Covid vaccine’ in her head.

Daughter of MP of Jagan Mohan Reddy’s party runs her BMW car over a man in Chennai, gets immediate bail

OpIndia Staff
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Daughter of MP of Jagan Mohan Reddy’s party runs her BMW car over a man in Chennai, gets immediate bail

The rule of law is the foundation of any democracy. It means that no person is above the law. There cannot be any distinction between a political leader, government official and an ordinary citizen. However, undue influence can sometimes impact how the law is perceived and applied. This is what purportedly transpired on Tuesday, June 18, when the daughter of Rajya Sabha MP for the YSR Congress Party Beeda Masthan Rao was taken into custody in connection with a hit-and-run case, however, within hours, the Chennai police released her on station bail.

On Monday (June 17) evening, the deceased Surya, who was a painter by profession, had allegedly gotten drunk and fallen asleep on the pavement. Madhuri, the daughter of Jagan Reddy’s party MP Beeda Masthan Rao, accompanied by her friend, were driving through the road. Madhuri, who was reportedly in the driver’s seat, ran over her swanky BMW car over the 24-year-old youth as she failed to notice him. The man died of his injuries.

The locals gathered at the spot after the accident.

A video that has emerged on social media shows Madhuri’s friend arguing with the locals. She is heard telling them that they had called for an ambulance to take the victim to the hospital.

After making the call, they allegedly left the spot as the locals were getting agitated.

The incident was caught on the CCTV camera placed on the road. Based on the footage, the J-5 Shastri Nagar Police registered a case against Madhuri and arrested her for a brief period. She was later granted bail.

A preliminary probe revealed the car belonged to the BMR (Beeda Masthan Rao) group and was registered in Puducherry.

Notably, Beeda Masthan Rao became a Rajya Sabha MP in 2022 and has also been a MLA. The BMR group is a well-known name in the seafood industry. In 2018, the Income Tax Department had conducted raids on the BMR Group and seized several documents related to the business dealings. 

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