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Encouraging and rewarding violence: Vishal Dadlani promises job to CISF constable who slapped Kangana Ranaut

Amit Kelkar
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Encouraging and rewarding violence: Vishal Dadlani promises job to CISF constable who slapped Kangana Ranaut

Singer-composer Vishal Dadlani has extended his support to the CISF constable accused of slapping actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut at the Chandigarh airport on June 6. Vishal expressed his support in an Instagram story, offering to assist the female CISF officer.

The incident occurred when Kangana Ranaut was slapped by CISF constable Kulwinder Kaur at the frisking area while proceeding to the boarding point after a security check. In response, Vishal Dadlani said he would help ensure the constable gets a job if any disciplinary action is taken against her.

“I do not ever support violence, but I understand the need for this @official_cisf personnel’s anger. If any action is taken against her by the CISF, I will ensure that she has a job waiting for her should she choose to accept it. Jai Hind. Jai Jawaan. Jai Kisaan (sic),” he wrote in an Instagram story.

Vishal Dadlani’s Instagram story

In another post, Dadlani tried to justify and contextualise the assault. “To those on Dungana’s side, if she had said your mother is ‘available in 100 rupees’, what would you do?” Dadlani asked while sharing an Instagram post that sought to rationalise the CISF constable’s unconscionable conduct with a passenger whom she despised for personal reasons.

Vishal Dadlani’s Instagram story

Dadlani, in yet another Instagram story, reiterated that if Ms Kaur is sacked from her job, he will ensure she is gainfully employed.

Vishal Dadlani’s Instagram story

CISF constable Kulwinder Kaur was reportedly detained following the incident. According to reports, she was later suspended after Kangana Ranaut filed a complaint with CISF officials upon her arrival at Indira Gandhi Airport.

Kangana Ranaut had won the Lok Sabha elections from Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi constituency. On the film front, she will be making her directorial debut with ‘Emergency’, produced by her home banner Manikarnika Films.

Dadlani’s job offer to the CISF constable will set a dangerous precedent, embolden and reward using violence to address personal grievances

Dadlani’s zealous support for a CISF constable who went against her duty and assaulted a passenger for her grievance is a classic case of encouraging and rewarding violence just because he doesn’t share the same social and political outlook as espoused by Kangana.

What Kangana said years ago is irrelevant. Kangana exercised her Freedom of Speech that is enshrined in the constitution of India. Contextualising her comments to justify the turn of events we witnessed on Thursday at the Chandigarh airport is a crude attempt at rationalising the assault, a discourse that would not only shrink the space for dissent in the country but also set a dangerous precedent to follow.

In fact, what Kangana said might even be true as we have seen in political rallies across the country where crowds are bought by giving them money. It is, therefore, not outside the realms of possibility that the women Kangana referred to who had participated in the farmer protests had taken part in the demonstrations for money. But surely, such a statement can’t be used to contextualise and rationalise the attack on Kangana Ranaut.

If we are to consider resorting to violence over grievances harboured by every individual for what they felt as mistreatment or insult meted out to their relatives as justified, it will lead to a total breakdown of law and order as everyone who’d felt hurt would consider it a fair game to assault and ‘avenge’’ the perceived insult. Terrorists might kill people in the name of grievances and then line up outside Mr Dadlani’s house for being ‘gainfully employed’. And more importantly, providing employment and rationalising such acts will encourage more people to take this route.

While Dadlani is in a position to provide a job to Ms Kaur, will he be able to employ several hundred thousand people who might be emboldened to take up violence knowing that a prospective employer is waiting to employ them? If yes, then India’s ‘jobs problem’, as the INDI leaders claim, is sorted. The government should depute the work of employing jobless people to Mr Dadlani. If he can employ a security official who went against her protocol and resorted to violence, there are far more deserving and hardworking people who are in genuine need of employment and would conscientiously dispense their duty.

If Mr Dadlani still does not realise how such job offers and rationalisation encourage and embolden perpetrators, will he be similarly ‘benevolent’ towards moviegoers who would want to slap him for a song composed by him that they didn’t like? Will he employ them as well?

Today, Dadlani is supporting someone who slapped a popular public figure and an MP-elect. How different is this from fatwas issued by Maulvis and financial rewards announced by Islamists against a person accused of blasphemy? Where will this stop?

Punjab and Haryana HC dismisses assault FIR against Elvish Yadav, asks him to refrain from depicting or promoting violence and substance abuse online

OpIndia Staff
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Punjab and Haryana HC dismisses assault FIR against Elvish Yadav, asks him to refrain from depicting or promoting violence and substance abuse online

A First Information Report filed against YouTuber Elvish Yadav for allegedly assaulting and threatening social media influencer Sagar Thakur, popularly known by his moniker “Maxtern”, was quashed by the Punjab & Haryana High Court. The FIR has been quashed on the condition that he and “his accomplices” abstain from encouraging violence and drug abuse on social media, reported Live Law. “The FIR portrays that the motive for violence was some dispute regarding popularity and content creation in which allegations were levelled against Elvish Yadav and his accomplices,” remarked Justice Anoop Chitkara.

He added, “To ensure that similar violent acts are not repeated in the future, that impressionable followers do not get influenced by the misdemeanour exhibited by the accused persons. and that the accused are not under the mistaken belief that such instances are taken lightly by the legal system, this Court proposes to quash the FIR in question but with the imposition of a certain condition.”

The court further emphasized that despite the fact that violence in the media might appear cool or amusing and draw a large audience across platforms, it frequently advances a narrative or increases viewership and fosters hero culture by negatively influencing societal perceptions. The court mentioned, “Such actual use of violence in a society cannot be accepted and needs to be condemned. Media influencers with a considerable audience must be sensitized to the message they impart through their actions to their susceptible followers and exhibit socially responsible behaviour.”

Following a compromise with the aggrieved Sagar Thakur, Elvish Yadav and other alleged associates submitted a motion to crush an FIR under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offence committed in prosecution of common object), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation). The victim who is a “well-known content creator” had charged that Elvish Yadav and others had severely battered him and threatened to murder him.

Elvish Yadav stated that he and the other accused parties had settled the matter with the complainant while the criminal case was pending. Sagar Thakur testified that there would be no issues if the court dismissed the FIR and the related procedures when he appeared before the Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Gurugram, Haryana. “The accused and the private respondent have amicably settled the matter between them in terms of the compromise deed and the statements recorded before the concerned Court,” the court stated after hearing the submissions.

It further conveyed, “In the given facts, the occurrence does not affect public peace or tranquillity, moral turpitude harms the social and moral fabric of the society or involves matters concerning public policy.” The court also highlighted that “the rejection of compromise may also lead to ill will. The pendency of trial affects career and happiness and there is nothing on the record to prima facie consider the accused as an unscrupulous, incorrigible, or professional offender, and this Court proposes to caution the petitioners as mentioned in the later part of this order.”

It expressed that the goal of criminal jurisprudence is reformatory in character and aims to improve family, community and societal harmony. The judge did point out that section 320 of the Code of Criminal Procedure does not apply in this particular case to the offences under sections 147 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code. However, in the particular facts and circumstances of this case, the prosecution for the non-compoundable violations could be closed by quashing the formal complaint and the related processes, provided that the petitioners comply with the directives.

The decision of the Apex Court in Ramgopal v. The State of Madhya Pradesh, [Cr.A 1489 of 2012], was cited to emphasize, “Nevertheless, the limited jurisdiction to compound an offence within the framework of Section 320 Cr.P.C. is not an embargo against invoking inherent powers by the High Court vested in it under Section 482 Cr.P.C. The High Court, keeping in view the peculiar facts and circumstances of a case and for justifiable reasons can press Section 482 Cr.P.C. in aid to prevent abuse of the process of any Court and/or to secure the ends of justice.”

The Supreme Court brought up Shakuntala Sawhney v. Kaushalya Sawhney, [(1979) 3 SCR 639, at P 642,] and observed that “the finest hour of Justice arises propitiously when parties, who fell apart, bury the hatchet and weave a sense of fellowship or reunion.” The Court cited this case in support of its position. Without commenting on the compromise narrative, the court deemed “it appropriate to quash the FIR captioned above subject to the condition that the petitioners, Elvish Yadav and his accomplices, namely Lovekesh Kataria, Ajay, and Rustam, refrain from depicting or promoting violence and substance abuse in any of their social media posts or content.” The FIR and all following procedures were overturned by the court, subject to the above criteria, stating that “continuing these proceedings will not suffice any fruitful purpose whatsoever.”

Sagar Thakur’s remarks on YouTuber and Bigg Boss OTT 2 winner Elvish Yadav’s meeting with Bigg Boss winner Munawar Faruqui sparked the brawl in March. Elvish Yadav then beat him up as a result and a police report was made against him. Elvish Yadav had conceded that he assaulted the YouTuber in the “heat of the moment” after the latter “threatened” to kill his family. In addition to him, 10 others were booked by the Sector 53 police in Gurgaon. The entire incident was captured on camera. The two then publically settled their differences.

President Droupadi Murmu appoints Narendra Modi to the office of Prime Minister after meeting NDA leaders, the new govt to be sworn in on Sunday evening

OpIndia Staff
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President Droupadi Murmu appoints Narendra Modi to the office of Prime Minister after meeting NDA leaders, the new govt to be sworn in on Sunday evening

President Droupadi Murmu today invited Narendra Modi to form the next government and appointed him to the office of Prime Minister of India after the National Democratic Alliance leaders elected him as the leader of the parliamentary party of the alliance and informed the president about the same. The third Modi govt will be sworn in on Sunday evening, at around 6 pm.

After the NDA meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan and officially staked claim to form the government as leader of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). PM Modi has told the president evening of 9th June will be comfortable for the new government to take oath.

PM Modi will lead the third successive NDA government as Prime Minister.

PM Modi was elected as leader of the NDA Parliamentary Party earlier today at a meeting of the constituents of the ruling alliance. After this the alliance leaders informed the president about the same. After that President Murmu invited PM Modi and gave him a letter appointing him as the PM-designate. The president also asked the list of ministers of the new ministers, and asked when the new Modi would like to be sworn in.

Confirming the development in a post on X, the president said that under powers vested under Article 75(1) of the Indian constitution, she today appointed Narendra Modi to the office of Prime Minister of India. The president said that the PM has been asked to advise her about the names of other persons to be appointed members of the Union Council of Ministers, and indicate the date and time of the swearing-in-ceremony to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The president of India also tweeted that “a letter stating that Narendra Modi had been elected leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party was handed over to the President. Letters of support from NDA constituent parties were also handed over to the President.”

The president said that an NDA delegation led by BJP president JP Nadda and comprising Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Ashwini Vaishnaw, C.N. Manjunath, N. Chandrababu Naidu, Nitish Kumar, Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh), Sanjay Jha, Eknath Shinde, H.D. Kumaraswamy, Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Pawan Kalyan, Ajit Pawar, Anupriya Patel, Jayant Chaudhary, Joyanta Basumatary, Atul Bora, Indra Hang Subba, Sudesh Mahto, Chandra Prakash Choudhary, and Ramdas Athawale called on the President.

Addressing media outside the Rashtrapati Bhavan, PM Modi said, ‘Today morning an NDA meeting was held. All members of NDA selected me once again for this responsibility. Then all members of the NDA informed the president about the same. The president had called me now, and appointed me as PM-designate.’

PM Modi further added, ‘The president asked me about the swearing-in ceremony and the list of council of ministers. I told the president that the 9th of June evening would be convenient for us to take the oath. The rest of the details will be worked out by the Rashtrapati Bhavan, and by then we will finalise the list of the council of ministers, and after that, the swearing-in ceremony will take place.’

Earlier in the day, PM Modi had met former President Ram Nath Kovind. He also met veteran BJP leaders Bharat Ratna Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi at their respective residences.

In the meeting of NDA allies held at Samvidhan Sadan, the Prime Minister was welcomed with chants of ‘Modi Modi’. As he arrived to join the meeting, the Prime Minister respectfully touched the copy of the Constitution with his forehead.

While BJP has won 240 seats in the Lok Sabha alliance, the NDA has 293 MPs, comfortably above the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha. The alliance also submitted the list of its MPs to the President today.

Audrey Truschke attempts to intimidate donors of Hindu American Foundation, was earlier exposed by US court for making “arguably verifiably false” claims

OpIndia Staff
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Audrey Truschke attempts to intimidate donors of Hindu American Foundation, was earlier exposed by US court for making “arguably verifiably false” claims

Dubious ‘historian’ Audrey Truschke, who has a track record of spreading hate against Hindus, has now been eyeing to intimidate supporters of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF).

HAF is a Hindus rights and advocacy organisation, based in the United States. On Thursday (6th June), its Executive Director Suhag A Shukla informed that Audrey Truschke has been scaremongering donors of the Hindu American Foundation.

The dubious ‘historian’ has been falsely claiming that a recent court ruling would expose the names and information about the donors of HAF.

“Right now, Audrey Truschke is contacting HAF friends, seemingly to intimidate them—and on social media, implying that HAF donors names will be revealed in the wake of our defamation lawsuit from 2021. This is false. Our supporters do not need to worry. Not a single bit of identifying information exists in court documents,” Shukla added.

“HAF never gave up donor names nor identifying information. We know about Audrey’s ethical failings, so we were very careful in protecting our donors & supporters. No one is surprised by this social media tactic of hers,” she pointed out.

The HAF founder informed, “Audrey has done this in the past, contacting even elected leaders, threatening them that she will now “research” them for working with us. Harassment is how she works, using her academic credentials to threaten & intimidate.

The Executive Director of the HAF expressed disappointment that the defamation suit filed against Audrey Truschke was rejected on ‘procedural grounds.’ “We will never stop fighting for our community and we will always stand up for the truth!” she concluded.

It must be mentioned that on Wednesday (5th June), a federal judge in Washington DC, identified as one Amit Mehta, directed the unsealing of all discovery documents submitted by the Hindu American Foundation in its lawsuit against Audrey Truschke and 4 others.

The development was confirmed by Truschke and an Islamist named Raqib Hameed Naik. A vicious fake news peddler, Raqib Hameed Naik is the founder of anti-Hindu disinformation outlet ‘Hindutva Watch.’ He is also infamous for denying the Hindu genocide, perpetrated by radical Islamists in the Kashmir Valley, in the early 1990s. Naik had also mocked the Hindu ‘Shivling’ found inside the Gyanvapi mosque in Kashi

When US court exposed lies of

In the case Hindu American Foundation Vs Sunita Vishwanath (2022), Justice Amit Mehta noted that allegations levelled by Audrey Truschke against the HAF’s Board of Director Rajiv Pandit were “arguably verifiably false.”

The dubious ‘historian’ had falsely claimed that Rajiv Pandit was going after her “along with a growing list of people in recent days.” Justice Amit Mehta said, “The court notes that some of Truschke’s statements are arguably verifiably false.”

The court had also exposed the false claims of Sunita Vishwanath, the co-founder of ‘Hindus for Human Rights’ – an anti-Hindu outfit known to have ties with the Islamist organisation ‘Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC)’.

“The court notes that Viswanath’s claim that HAF has “parent organisations” in India is plausibly verifiably false,” the federal court judge has said in his verdict on 20th December 2022.

After Lucknow, women in Delhi demand Rs 1 lakh promised by Rahul Gandhi from INDI leaders, Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh’s car gheraoed

OpIndia Staff
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After Lucknow, women in Delhi demand Rs 1 lakh promised by Rahul Gandhi from INDI leaders, Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh’s car gheraoed

Women in Delhi seem to have taken a cue from their counterparts in Lucknow after they surrounded INDI alliance leaders Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh flashing the ‘guarantee cards’ of Rs 1 lakh and demanding them to pay the money promised during the poll campaign by the Congress party.

Several women in Delhi surrounded the car of AAP leaders Raghav Chadha and Sanjay Singh, who were on their way to meet Shiv Sena UBT’s Sanjay Raut, demanding that they get their compensation of Rs 1 lakh as promised by the Gandhi scion in a bid to woo women voters.

The development comes after numerous women in Lucknow lined up outside a Congress office to request the ‘guarantee cards’ promised during the campaign.

Before the elections, Congress had distributed ‘guarantee cards’ to many households, pledging Rs 1 lakh annually to the female head of every impoverished family.

Footage revealed a substantial number of Muslim women standing in line outside a Congress office in Lucknow, braving the scorching heat.

Some women demanded ‘guarantee cards,’ while others who had already received them submitted forms to get the promised money deposited into their accounts. Some claimed they received receipts from the Congress office after providing their details.

The Congress launched the ‘Ghar Ghar Guarantee’ program to reach nearly 80 million households with 25 guarantees. Among these was the Mahalakshmi scheme, which promised Rs 8,500 per month directly to the accounts of female heads of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

NIT Srinagar redux: Muslim mob pours onto streets in the name of ‘Blasphemy’ again, leads to suspension of student from medical college in Srinagar

OpIndia Staff
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NIT Srinagar redux: Muslim mob pours onto streets in the name of ‘Blasphemy’ again, leads to suspension of student from medical college in Srinagar

On the 6th of June, the Jammu and Kashmir Police filed an FIR against a student of Government Medical College in Srinagar for allegedly uploading “blasphemous” content about Prophet Mohammad. The post sparked protests on the college campus.

The accused non-local student has been booked under the IPC Sections 153 (promotion of enmity in society), 153A (promoting disharmony on the grounds of religion), 295A (malicious acts to insult religious beliefs), and 505(2) (publishing or circulating any statement or report containing rumour or alarming news).

“The police take cognizance of the incident of posting of sensitive content against religious sentiments of a particular community by a student of GMC, Srinagar. Common public is appealed to desist from spreading rumours/false information. They shouldn’t fall prey to false propaganda of anti-social elements. A legal action shall be taken against those who are found to be involved in provocative act/instigation,” the police said.

The police action came after hundreds of students staged a protest on the GMC campus in Srinagar, alleging that a non-local student posted “blasphemous remarks” on social media. The protestors raised “our prophet out pride” slogans among others.  

Meanwhile, GMC Srinagar issued a statement over the matter and said that the accused non-local student has been suspended. “It is to inform that immediate cognisance of the matter was taken by GMC Srinagar administration. Pending enquiry the concerned individual has been suspended with immediate effect. An enquiry comprising 13 HOD’s/HOU’s (Head of Departments) has been initiated for necessary action under the rules. All concerned are requested to maintain peace and tranquillity on the campus,” GMC Srinagar said.

In the wake of the protests, the Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar discontinued undergraduate classes on Thursday until Saturday. Meanwhile, the National Institute of Technology (NIT) also declared a suspension of class work on the 6th of June and stated that undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students residing outside will be permitted to enter the college campus.

It is pertinent to recall that a similar incident of alleged ‘blasphemy’ was reported in November last year, a Hindu student at Srinagar National Institute of Technology (NIT) was booked for alleged blasphemy after he shared a video of the son of the former Hamas chief criticising Prophet Mohammad. The accused NIT student named Prathmesh had shared an already viral video of Mosab Hassan Yousef making critical comments about Islam and the Prophet Mohammad to his Instagram story.

Lok Sabha elections: BJP’s vote share dropped in all constituencies in Uttar Pradesh except two, here is how the party performed in the state compared to 2019

Raju Das
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Lok Sabha elections: BJP’s vote share dropped in all constituencies in Uttar Pradesh except two, here is how the party performed in the state compared to 2019

Although PM Narendra Modi-led NDA government is returning to power for the third term, this will be the first minority govt headed by Modi. Against the expectations and predictions of comfortable victory, BJP won only 240 seats, compared to 303 seats in 2019.

However, BJP has not lost seats across India, in fact, it has gained seats in some states like Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The party lost most seats in Uttar Pradesh, which came down from 62 seats in 2019 to 33 this year. Last time its ally Apna Dal won 2 seats in the state. This year, Apna Dal won one, while another NDA ally LRD won 2 seats. Therefore, total NDA tally un UP came down from 64 to 36.

BJP’s vote share in Uttar Pradesh in 2019 was around 50%, and in the 2024 elections the same was over 41.4%, which means the vote share shrunk 8.6%. Therefore, BJP’ vote share in UP fell by 17.3%. Notably, of the all seats in UP where BJP fielded candidates, the party lost vote share in all seats except two. The party’s vote share went up in only two constituencies, Gautam Buddha Nagar and Kaushambi, where the vote share went up from 59.64% to 59.69% and from 39.28% to 40.21% respectively.

Despite an increase of vote share from 39% to 40% in Kaushambi, BJP actually lost the seat to SP. Of the 75 seats that BJP contested in Uttar Pradesh, its vote share decreased in all the remaining 73 seats by various extents. This means even though the party has won 33 seats, its vote share has decreased in 32 of those seats.

5 seats were allotted to alliance partners, Apna Dal, RLD and Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, of which Apna Dal won one and RLD won two seats.

Interestingly, the BJP won the constituency where its vote share decreased the most, Fatehpur Sikri. BJP’s vote share reduced from 64% to 43%, marking a decrease of 33%, but BJP’s Rajkumar Chahar managed to retain the seat. The second highest drop in margin was in Banda, 46% to 32%, where the party lost the seat to Samajwadi Party.

The most talked about constituency where BJP lost is Faizabad, which includes the Ayodhya assembly constituency. BJP received 4,99,722 votes this time against 5,29,021 in 2019, and the vote share went down from 49% to 44%. The vote share went by almost 10% in the constituency. Faizabad has 5 Assembly segments, Ayodhya, Bikapur, Dariyabad, Milkipur and Rudauli. The assembly constituency-wise voting pattern is not known yet, as the same will be published later when ECI publishes the detailed statistical reports of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In the 2019 elections, BJP was ahead in 4 assembly segments, except Milkipur where it was behind SP.

BJP’s vote share dropped by over 10% in as many as 53 seats, however, the party won 21 of those seats. The rest 32 were won by INDI Alliance partners SP and Congress. Apart from Fatehpur Sikri and Banda where its vote share reduced by 30%, the same went down by between 20%-30% in seven constituencies. BJP won only two of those seats, Marajganj and Aligarh.

In Amethi, Smriti Irani’s vote share went down from 50% to 38%, reducing by 24%, where Gandhi family loyalist Kishori Lal secured a surprise win. On the other hand, in Rae Bareli, the same went down by 25% from 38% to 29%, ensuring the win of Rahul Gandhi. BJP lost the Allahabad constituency to Congress with its vote share coming down by 23% from 56% to 43%.

In as many as 44 constituencies, BJP’s vote share went down by from 10% to 20%. Among these, BJP won 18 seats, while SP won 24 and Congress won the rest 2. This includes PM Modi’s Varanasi, where his vote share went down from 64% to 54%. PM Modi polled 6,12,940 votes this time against 6,74,664 votes last time.

In the balance 20 constituencies, the vote share of the BJP decreased by less than 10%, and it won 11 of those seats.

Please note that the vote share reductions mentioned here are percentage decreases in vote shares, not the difference of vote shares in 2019 and 2024. For example, in Fatehpur Sikri, BJP’s vote share went down from 64% to 43%, which means although the difference is 21%, the percentage of vote share actually went down by 33%. This is arrived at by using the following formula:

The analysis of vote share of BJP in 2019 and 2024 has shown that the party has lost vote share in the entire state and in all constituencies where it contested, apart from 2 exceptions. This resulted in a massive drop in the party’s number from the UP, which contributed to the party not crossing the majority mark alone.

The reason for such bad performance of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh will be analysed extensively in the coming weeks and months. However, it is notable that in the 2019 elections, SP and Congress were not allies, they contested elections separately. This time they were part of the INDI Alliance, and the opposition alliance has been most successful in the state, which resulted in the alliance almost reaching the majority mark.

Kashmir: Anantnag administration refutes reports of Muslim neighbours stopping Hindu family from building house, clarifies it was dispute over construction on govt land

OpIndia Staff
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Kashmir: Anantnag administration refutes reports of Muslim neighbours stopping Hindu family from building house, clarifies it was dispute over construction on govt land

The District Administration of Anantnag in Kashmir has denied reports that a Kashmiri Hindu family that returned to the state was prevented from constructing a house on their land. As per the administration, the viral video on the issue was showing argument between two families over building a wall on govt land.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that a Kashmiri Hindu family was targeted by the radical Muslims in the valley. As per reports, the family was trying to return to their roots and settle in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir when they were attacked by their neighbours. Media reports stated that the family was building a house but it didn’t go down well with the locals who prevented them from doing further construction and even destroyed their belongings. They also threatened the Kashmiri Pandits to leave from there.

According to a Navbharat Times report, a Kashmiri Pandit named Sanjay Wali in the Verinag area of ​​Anantnag had mustered up the courage to rebuild his house after the 1990 anti-Hindu massacre there. He returned to his hometown, leaving the brutal past behind and started the construction on his land. Notably, just like the rest of Kashmir, this neighbourhood is also surrounded by Muslim households.

He complained that the Muslims are creating problems for him as he tries to build a house for his family. They are mentally harassing him. His family is also being subjected to abuse as his neighbours are not happy with his decision to settle among them. He highlighted that his family was assaulted after the Lok Sabha election result was declared on 4th June. Some people arrived there and misbehaved with his family as well as thrashed them. All the material he brought to build his house was thrown away and taken by other individuals.

Sanjay Wali was threatened to depart from the area and not erect a house there. The footage of the incident has been going viral on social media in which some people including are seen fighting with another female. The Kashmiri Pandit family is now scared for their safety. He is afraid that something similar to the 1990 violence might occur to him. Concerns have been raised about the security arrangements as the occurrence transpired within 24 hours of the election results.

Clarification from district administration

After the video and reports went viral on social media, the Anantnag Administration issued a statement refuting the claims. They said that the video was blown out of proportion, and issued the clarification to avoid any misunderstanding and misinformation.

As per the statement, the dispute was over approximately 3 Marlas of state land, which was being used as a parking place by the parties involved in the incident. One party in the dispute attempted to construct a boundary wall on the state land, which was objected to by the other party, and this led to the argument, which was seen in the viral video.

The statement reads:

It has come to our attention that a video is being circulated on social media platforms with the caption suggesting that a family is being prevented from building a house on their own land. We wish to clarify the actual situation to avoid any misunderstanding and misinformation. The incident in the video is being blown out of proportion. The issue is not about a family being barred from constructing their house on their private property. Instead, the situation arose from a minor dispute between two neighbors over the use of approximately 3 Marlas of state land. This portion of land was being used for private parking by the parties involved. The conflict emerged when one party attempted to erect a boundary wall on this state land, which the other party objected to, leading to a heated exchange. Upon being informed, the civil and police administration promptly reached the spot, mediated between the parties, and resolved the matter amicably on the spot. We urge the public to verify information before sharing it on social media to prevent the spread of inaccurate narratives that can lead to unnecessary concern.

Claims of land dispute on social media

Many social media posts have used the name Sunil Wali instead of Sanjay Wali and claimed to settle the issue. Ravinder Pandita of an organization named “Sharda Committee” working in the valley has given an update on the matter and informed, “We the Verinag Committee promptly intervened in the matter and talked to the district administration about the conflict that happened with the Pandit family at Verinag. The administration assured us there was nothing to worry about, and the culprits involved had been booked under the law.”

He further alleged that Sanjay/Sunil Wali’s family had cleared up the issue with the attackers and both parties have come to an understanding to prevent future conflict. However, the administration has not offered any statement on the instance.

On 4th June, Mian Altaf Ahmed became victorious in the Anantnag area where Sanjay Wali’s family was targeted. He is a National Conference candidate who triumphed over Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti.

It is important to remember that Kashmiri Pandits were massacred in the Kashmir Valley in 1990 when Pakistan-backed terrorism was at its peak in the region. They were driven out of their houses and lands. Their properties were occupied. The jihadi slogan “Raliv, Tsaliv ya Galiv” (convert, flee or die) echoed in every nook and corner of Kashmir. A large number of Kashmiri Pandits were killed and their women were raped by Islamists as the helpless Hindus were forced to flee Kashmir. Kashmiri Pandits since then have been forced to relocate to different parts of India and the world.

Note: This report has been updated with the clarification from the administration

NEET UG controversy: What went wrong, why are students upset and why are authorities saying there was no paper leak

Shraddha Pandey
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NEET UG controversy: What went wrong, why are students upset and why are authorities saying there was no paper leak

The NEET UG 2024 results have sparked widespread controversy and debate, with suspicions of inflated marks and other anomalies. Following the release of the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) results on 4th June, which announced that as many as 67 students received a perfect score of 720/720 marks to share the All-India Rank (AIR) 1, a large number of medical aspirants and their parents raised numerous concerns about glitches, alleged malpractices, ambiguous implementation of grace marks, above all an alleged paper leak. It is notable that 23,33,297 candidates from all over India appeared for the prestigious exam this year.

Why are candidates dissatisfied with the NEET UG 2024 results

Many candidates are concerned that the mark inflation in the NEET UG 2024 results will make it more difficult to get into medical school this year. Several students have taken to social media to demand that the results be cancelled and a re-examination be held.

It has been reported that 44 of the 67 students achieved a perfect 720/720 score with the highest score being 99.997129 percentile. Questions have also been raised over multiple candidates from one exam centre of the same series roll codes getting AIR 1 and consecutive ranks.

The scorecards of two students achieving 718 and 719 are being posted on social media, with parents and many educators claiming that getting such a score in the NEET exam is impossible since each NEET question carries four marks, with one mark for negative marking.

The perceived lack of transparency in the scoring process and the final results has further fuelled dissatisfaction among students.

Even before a controversy erupted over marks and 67 candidates getting AIR 1, NEET UG candidates were outraged over an alleged paper leak. Last month, Bihar Police arrested 14 solvers posing as candidates, for cheating and alleged paper leaks. 14 people were arrested, including eight from Katihar, four from Purnia, two from Vaishali, and one each from Gopalganj and Patna, for allegedly taking the tests instead of registered candidates. It was reported that separate FIRs were filed against the accused solvers. It was alleged that the gang members paid solvers Rs 5-10 lakh each to appear on behalf of genuine candidates at many exam centres. 

Police in Patna nabbed two examinees at an examination centre as they were solving question papers with seized answer sheets. On 5th May, Patna Police arrested Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand.

Later, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) took over the investigation, which revealed that the brokers received between Rs 30 lakh and Rs 50 lakh from several aspirants in exchange for providing them with NEET UG 2024 question papers. EOU later searched accused Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand’s flats and confiscated several documents including roll numbers of candidates, bank cheques, etc.

In fact, around 35 arrested aspirants, during interrogation confessed that the question paper in the exam was similar to the one they got from the broker a day before the exam. EOU Deputy DIG Manavjit Singh Dhillon revealed that accused Amit Anand ran a educational consultancy firm claiming to help students in NEET-like competitive exams. The accused used to connect with aspirants and their parents over messaging apps. Notably, the police had also arrested a broker named Sikander Yadavendu who was in touch with Amit Anand. Yadavendu, a junior engineer had burnt the question papers at his Ram Krishna Nagar rented flat.

Officer Dhillon even said that the purported NEET paper leak was akin to the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) and Teacher Recruitment Exam paper leak.

Other than Bihar, three persons Tushar Bhatt, Parshuram Roy and Arif Vora were arrested and booked in Godhra district of Gujarat for allegedly receiving money for helping some candidates get good marks in the NEET exam. Tushar Bhatt, a school teacher and deputy centre superintendent confessed that he along with accused Parshuram and Airf struck a deal for Rs 10 lakh. The Police seized 7 lakh rupees from Bhatt’s possession. The police said that Bhatt received 7 lakh rupees in advance and it was decided that he would fill those OMR sheets before sealing them. The 6 candidates involved in the scam were asked to attempt only those questions they surely knew the correct answer of and leave others for Bhatt. Evidence on Bhatt’s mobile phone was found during an investigation by a team that included the district additional collector and the district education officer. The retrieved list of 16 candidates, in addition to their details, was given to Bhatt’s WhatsApp by co-accused Roy.

Moreover, in New Delhi, the police arrested a coaching centre owner and two medical students for running an alleged NEET-paper-solving racket. The two medical students were allegedly caught with mismatched biometric data at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Mehta Vidyalaya on the exam day (5th May). The arrested students told the police during interrogation about their handlers Prabhat Kumar and Kishor Lal. These handlers identified brilliant students and offered them money to influence the admission process. The Police said that the accused handlers charged Rs 25 to 30 lakh for arranging proxy test takers.

Although the National Testing Agency (NTA) initially denied these allegations, subsequent evidence and arrests have confirmed some of these incidents, leading to further unrest. Multiple arrests made in Bihar and Gujarat alarmed the NEET aspirants who alleged that such paper leaks and cheating undermine the credibility of the exam and the fairness of the results.

National Testing Agency issues clarification over inflation of marks and cut-offs, refutes paper leak claims

As the outrage over NEET UG 2024 results mounted, the National Testing Agency (NTA) issued a statement addressing the issue. In response to a question about how the grace marks were provided and to how many candidates, the NTA clarified that the agency granted grace marks to students based on the loss of examination time as determined using CCTV footage, and such candidates were compensated with marks based on their answering efficiency and loss of exam time. The circular also said that 1,563 candidates had been compensated, and their revised marks ranged from -20 to 720. Due to compensatory marks, the two candidates received scores of 718 and 719, respectively.

“The Committee considered the grievances/representations on the basis of factual reports of the functionaries and CCTV footages from concerned exam Centres. The loss of examination time was ascertained and such candidates were compensated with marks based on their answering efficiency and time lost, as per the mechanism/ formula established by the Hon’ble Apex Court, vide its judgment dated 13.06.2018 in W.P. 551 of 2018. 1563 candidates were compensated for the loss of time and the revised marks of such candidates vary from -20 to 720 marks. Amongst these, the score of the two candidates also happens to be 718 and 719 marks respectively due to compensatory marks. On the analysis of the CCTV footage, it was ascertained that the integrity of the examination was not compromised at these Centres,” the NTA said in its statement. However, there was no clarification on how many grace marks were given to such candidates.

Notably, the decision to grant grace marks came after several aspirants moved High Courts of Punjab and Haryana, Delhi and Chhattisgarh over loss of time at exam centres.

Saying that the number of candidates who appeared in 2023 was 20,38,596, while the number of candidates who appeared in 2024 increased to 23,33,297, the NTA said that the increase in candidates “naturally led to an increase in high scorers due to a larger pool of candidates.” However, an increase of 3 lakh candidates does not appear to be that high a number that such an inflation in ranks can be justified.

Other than compensatory marks for loss of time at examination centres, the NTA said that changes in the NCERT textbooks also caused and an increase in marks of 44 candidates out of 67 candidates who received the perfect score. NTA said that as there were differences in old and new editions of NCERT textbooks, Physics subject experts decided that two options for that particular question be deemed correct instead of one option. It is pertinent to note that aspirants heavily rely on NCERT books for their NEET UG exam preparations.

NTA informed that it received 13,373 challenges to the provisional answer key of one question in Physics. “Due to the differences in the old and new editions of the NCERT textbook, the Subject Expert(s) held that two options be taken as correct in place of one option for this Question. Out of the 67 candidates who got 720/720 marks, 44 are on account of the revision in one Answer Key of Physics and 06 are on account of compensatory marks for loss of time,” the NTA said.

Addressing concerns raised over increased cut-offs, the Agency said that the increase in cut-offs “reflects the competitive nature of the examination and the high standards achieved by the candidates this year.”

Notably, the cut-offs for NEET UG 2024 for the unreserved category this year went up to 164, while last year it was 137, in 2022, it was 117, in 2021, it was 138 and in the year 2020, it was 147.

It is pertinent to mention here that although the NTA clarified that the increase in marks and numerous students securing perfect scores due to grace marks for the above-mentioned reasons, several students and educators are not satisfied. Many such people have argued that NTA should have compensated for the loss of time with time instead of grace marks. Questions are also being raised over why the NTA announced NEET UG 2024 results 10 days prior to the scheduled date.

The 2018 Supreme Court judgment based on which NTA gave grace marks

Many people have argued that the last-minute awarding of grace marks was “unfair” and also questioned which 2018 apex court order was the NTA talking about. Moreover, reports say that several parents have also questioned why the policy of grace marks was not clarified beforehand in the NEET UG 2024 information brochure.

In its statement, the National Test Agency mentioned that it gave compensatory marks to some candidates on grounds of loss of time based on the supreme court judgment dated 13.06.2018 in W.P. 551. It should be noted here that writ petition (w.p.) NTA mentioned pertains to the 2018 Disha Panchal versus Union of India case.

On the 13th of June 2018, the Supreme Court bench comprising justices UU Lalit and Deepak Gupta ordered NUALS to award compensatory marks to candidates who lost time during the 2018 Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) due to technical glitches. The formula suggested by V. Giri, Senior Advocate for Respondents 2&3, NUALS, and core committee CLAT 2018, will be applied. Qualified students will be included in the second round of counselling. Compensatory marks are awarded based on the total number of correct and incorrect answers provided by the candidate during the online test.

It is pertinent to note that the NUALS advocate V Giri had informed the court about the formula used to compensate affected students saying that the number of questions attempted by an aggrieved candidate in the allotted time of 120 minutes is used to compute how many questions such a candidate would have attempted if malfunctions had not occurred. It was also determined how many of the attempted questions were right. The final score is derived by multiplying the pro rata ratio of correctly answered and incorrectly answered questions by the number of questions granted for the lost time.

Notably, while the NTA’s statement explains why it gave grace marks to some candidates, some aspirants in online forums have highlighted that the same sequence of roll numbers for some of the high-scoring candidates on the NTA’s declared merit list suggests that they all took the test at the same exam centre. How come candidates with the same sequence roll number scored the same marks? This seems unusual and raises concerns.  The NTA should come up with a clarification on this.

Although the NTA noted that some cases have been registered against impersonators by the Agency and state police, and the outcome of the investigation in such cases is awaited, the Agency “categorically denied any case of paper leak and that the “integrity of the examination was not compromised”.

What next?

The NTA should come up with a more detailed explanation on how come 67 candidates got AIR 1, just because over 3 lakh more aspirants appeared for the exam this year than last year. Also, it should clarify why students should not suspect scams when the same sequence of roll codes of some of the high-scoring candidates from the NTA suggests that they appeared for the test from the same centre. This pattern raises questions. As some students are calling for a re-examination to ensure that everyone is assessed on an equal footing, NTA should seriously look into the allegations of malpractice and paper leaks. The future of a significant number of students is at stake and thus greater transparency in the entire examination and result declaration process including evaluation criteria and handling of discrepancies should be ensured.

Bihar: Police arrest Chinese man travelling illegally in India, finds map of China in his possession

OpIndia Staff
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Bihar: Police arrest Chinese man travelling illegally in India, finds map of China in his possession

On Thursday (6th June), the police apprehended a Chinese man, who was not travelling with valid documents, in the Muzaffarpur district of Bihar.

As per reports, the accused was identified as Li Jiaqi. He claimed to be a resident of Shandong province in China. The police recovered a mobile phone, a map of China and 3 small stone statues.

While speaking about the matter on Friday, SSP Rakesh Kumar informed, “The Chinese man was arrested for not carrying valid travel documents, including visa. A case has been registered against him under the relevant sections of the Foreigners Act.”

The cops are now interrogating the Chinese man to determine the actual purpose of his visit to India. According to Muzaffarpur Now, the accused entered India without a valid visa and passport through the Nepal border.

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