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UP: Woman’s body found inside a suitcase on Yamuna Expressway in Mathura

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A woman’s body was found stuffed inside an abandoned suitcase on a service road of the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district on Friday, police said.

The woman, who is yet to be identified, appeared to be 22-25 years old, Superintendent of Police (Rural) Trigur Bisen said. 

The officer said the woman’s body was found inside a red-coloured trolley bag and was covered in a plastic sheet. The victim was five feet and two inches tall, the officer added. 

The police received information about a bag lying abandoned on the service road near the Agricultural Research Centre in Raya and it was seized in the afternoon, Bisen said.

It appears that she was shot dead and was later stuffed inside the bag which was found on the road, Bisen said. He also said that two sarees were also found in the bag. 

The information about the woman’s death has been sent to all police stations in the nearby districts, Circle Officer Alok Singh said, adding that the body has been sent for post-mortem and efforts are underway to identify the victim. 

The incident comes hot on the heels of similar such incidents in the last few days. On November 15, a dead body of an unidentified man in his 30s was found stuffed in an abandoned red-colours suitcase outside the Railway Station in Jalandhar at around 6 AM. A worker had noticed the bag and alerted the railway officials. Police were informed about the bag. As per reports, the Railway Police team seized the bag and sealed the area. The forensic investigation team was called on the spot to collect evidence.

Shraddha Walkar murder case

In another case that shook the nation to its core, the Delhi Police solved the six-month-old murder case of Shraddha Walkar and arrested Aftab Poonawala for murdering her, and then chopping her into 35 pieces to dispose of her body. Aftab executed the murder on May 18 and stored her body parts in the refrigerator. He then disposed of the body pieces in Delhi’s Mehrauli forest during the next 18 days.

The accused was arrested based on the complaint filed by Shraddha’s father on November 10. He stated in the complaint that the accused and the deceased had rented an apartment in Delhi and were staying in an unhealthy live-in relationship, which was also abusive. He said that he had always opposed their relationship as Aftab is a Muslim.

The girl, a resident of Palghar was adamant about continuing her relationship with accused Aftab and shifted to Delhi with him. Three days after they shifted to Delhi, they engaged in a quarrel and Aftab happened to kill Shraddha. He confessed his crime on November 14 and stated that they used to fight a lot. He said that he murdered Shraddha on May 18 as she was forcing him to get married to her.

Madhya Pradesh: Mosque caretaker booked for converting Hindu man to Islam taking advantage of his problems

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On Friday (November 18), in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district, the caretaker of a mosque was booked on the charges of forcefully converting a Hindu man named Akshay Gaur to Islam. On Thursday evening, police said they had filed a case against Alim Ameenudin Qadri of Khandwa’s Noorani Mosque under relevant sections of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act and the Indian Penal Code. 

Notably, the accused has not been arrested yet. Akshay Gaur of Prabhu Prem Puram locality filed a police complaint alleging that Alim Qadri converted him to Islam taking advantage of his family problems.

On Thursday victim Akshay Gaur told the media that he went to Nagchun five months ago as he was stressed over a family feud. Akshay met the accused Alim Ameenudin Qadri of Noorani Masjid there, who asked him to accept Islam claiming that it would bring him peace and help him get rid of his problems, he added.

“After that, I began offering Namaz and accepted Islam as a religion,” he explained. Gaur further said, “He also threatened me that I will go to hell and burn in hellfire (Dozakh Ki Aag) if I did not follow Islam. He told me that if I follow Islam, I will receive everything and reach Jannat. After that, I began offering Namaz at home on a regular basis. In addition, I began to spread Islam and send messages to my relatives.”

“I later changed my name from Akshay Gaur to Mohammad Fahim Khan and announced it on Facebook.” When my Hindu friends found out about it, they called me and persuaded me for three days. “They helped me get rid of the illusion I was caught in,” he added.

He then went to the City Superintendent of Police (CSP) office and filed a complaint against the conversion, he said.

“A youth Akshay Gaur has lodged a complaint against a Muslim cleric,” Khandwa Superintendent of Police (SP) Vivek Singh said after receiving the complaint. The matter is being investigated, and appropriate action will be taken.”

On Thursday evening, the police stated that an FIR was registered at Moghat Road police station under sections 3 (prohibition of unlawful religious conversion) and 5 (imprisonment for 1 to 5 years for prohibited unlawful religious conversion) of the Freedom of Religion Act and section 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) of the IPC on the basis of the victim’s complaint.

As Aftab’s family goes missing, Shraddha’s father alleges they are also involved in the murder, demands public hanging of Aftab

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While the Delhi police are trying to investigate the chilling murder of 27-year-old Shraddha Walkar, the bereaved father of the deceased has alleged that Aftab Amin’s family is also involved in the brutal murder of his daughter.

Speaking to India TV, Vikas Madan Walkar said, “I now think that the whole family is involved in this crime. They are now absconding. The police should question them too,’ said Shraddha’s father. On their behaviour, he said, “They didn’t even entertain us at their house when we had visited in a hope that they would try to explain Aftab about the situation involving Shraddha.”

Saying so, the father demanded that Aftab is publicly hung and expressed concern over the Delhi Police not questioning Aftab’s family.

In another interview with India Today, Sharddha’s father reiterated that when they had gone to meet Aftab’s family, his younger brother did not entertain them. “I last spoke to Shraddha in 2021. She never told me directly that Aaftab abused her. But she had mentioned her abusive relationship with her mother. Later on, my son told me about this,” Vikas Walkar told India Today.

He added, “I along with my wife and her sister, went to meet Aaftab’s family but his brother did not allow us to meet his family. They never contacted us,” he said.

According to the report, Shraddha’s parents and brother had gone to Aftab’s house in Vasai to plead for assistance, but they were not permitted to enter. Aftab’s family called him and asked Shraddha’s father to handle the situation without involving them in the matter.

Meanwhile, the Manikpur police (Palghar) probing the heinous murder said on Wednesday that the family of accused Aftab Amin has fled to an unknown location and is currently untraceable.

“When the Manikpur police took Aftab’s statement after calling him to Vasai, Aftab’s family shifted to an unknown place. Aftab’s family is not in contact with Manikpur police either,” the police told ANI.

Shraddha’s father suspects ‘Love Jihad’ angle in the case, demands the death penalty for Aftab Amin

On November 15, Shraddha’s father, Vikas Madan Walker told ANI that he is suspecting a ‘love jihad’ angle in the case and demanded the death penalty for the accused perpetrator. Speaking to ANI, Shraddha’s father, Vikas Madan Walker said, “I suspected a love jihad angle. We demand the death penalty for Aftab. I trust Delhi Police and the probe moving in the right direction. Shraddha was close to her uncle and didn’t talk to me much. I was never in touch with Aftab. I lodged the first complaint in Mumbai’s Vasai.”

Shraddha Walkar was hospitalized in 2020 with severe back pain and bruises on her face

Earlier in the day, the Police revealed that Shraddha, who was strangled to death and chopped into 35 pieces by her live-in partner Aftab, was hospitalized in 2020 with severe back pain in Vasai, Maharashtra.

Shraddha was admitted to Ozone Multispeciality Hospital in Vasai on December 3, 2020, with acute pain in her back and spine. It is suspected that she was assaulted by Aftab, which prompted the back discomfort that necessitated her to be hospitalized. Shraddha’s medical reports and also her picture from 2020 are going viral over social media platforms.

The woman in the image can be seen having bruises on her face with an injury mark highlighted on her nose. The medical reports also reveal that she had been suffering from severe pain for 4 to 5 days before she was admitted to the hospital. Earlier, it was reported that Shraddha was in an abusive relationship with Aftab.

Aftab and Shraddha used to fight over petty issues and he had physically assaulted Shraddha several times in the past. After the murder, many of Shraddha’s friends came up and confirmed to the police that she was not happy with Aftab and wanted to desperately break her relationship with the accused.

Madhya Pradesh: Dalit family converted to Christianity by paying money, preachers harass them and demand 4 times money back for not attending church

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“Multiple cases of fraudulent conversions have been recently reported from several districts of Madhya Pradesh. The very recent one was from Damoh in which 10 members of a Christian organisation were booked for executing forceful religious conversions. The case had come to the fore after National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had taken cognizance of the incident and filed an FIR.

On Friday, a novel case of alleged forceful conversion appeared from the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh after a Dalit victim couple revealed that they were first forcefully converted to Christianity by Bishop Dr Ajai Lall and now were being harassed by the Church authorities. The Legal Rights Observatory happened to share the video in which the woman is heard saying that her family was offered money by Bishop Ajai Lall and his people to convert to Christianity. “➕

Church authorities threatened, demanded four times interest

She said that she and her family were also asked to attend Church and follow the Christian religion and its practices. Later they were harassed by the Church authorities for failing to attend Church regularly. The Dalit woman alleged that they also threatened her and her family and demanded four times as much money as they had given earlier during the time of conversion.

“They initially converted us forcefully and gave us money Rs 1,20,000. They also asked us to attend the Church service and stop following the Hindu religion. We initially attended the Church sessions but later we could not. So they began threatening us that if we fail to follow the Christian religion, they’ll recover the amount they had offered earlier, with four times of interest”, the woman said in the video.

She added that she has already returned Rs 90,000 and intends to pay the balance amount soon but the Church members- Thomas, Keviju, Flexen, Rinu, and Sajan were harassing her to pay four times Rs 1,20,000. “They dipped me and my husband in some water tank together and put their hand on our heads. Then they asked me to get my other family members to the Church after conversion”, she said.

People being converted at Damoh (Image obtained by OpIndia)

Police, Administration failed to take action against Bishop

The woman said that she registered the complaint against the Church authorities and Bishop Dr. Ajai Lall at the Damoh Police Station but the administrative authorities failed to take any action against the Bishop and his followers. The Legal Rights Observatory (LRO) while talking to OpIndia confirmed that Damoh Collector S Krishna Chaitanya, Superintendent of Police D R Tenivaar, and other administrative officers were making attempts to favor and save Bishop Ajai Lall and his followers from the case. “District collectors follow Bishop Ajai Lall and used to work for one of his FCRA license-attained NGOs”, the LRO said adding that Madhya Pradesh Home Minister needs to look into the matter very seriously.

The National Commission of Women (NCW) also took cognizance of the incident and has directed the DGP Madhya Pradesh to file an FIR in the case. NCW chairman Rekha Sharma also has demanded arrest of the accused and his gang members once the allegations are confirmed.

Members of Bishop Ajai Lall’s Mid India Christian Society have already been booked in similar case

As stated earlier, this is the second case of alleged forceful conversion appearing from the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh. Earlier, NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo had filed a complaint against ten members of a Christian organization named Mid India Christian Society in Damoh. Kanoongo in the complaint had said that several Hindu minor students residing in the children’s home of Mid India Christian Society were converted to Christianity and were forcefully being kept away from studies. They were being lured by the missionary authorities to become a pastor in the future.

The matter came to light after Kanoongo conducted a surprise inspection of a children’s home run by the Mid India Christian Society. He said that massive irregularities were found in the working of the organization and the home also failed to produce legal documents. “There were 91 children registered in Mid India Christian Society, of which 45 were present. Most of these children are Hindus and some are Muslims, but they were all being taught teachings of Christianity. The organization did not even have proper documents for its functioning,” the FIR copy attained by OpIndia read.

Copy of FIR obtained by OpIndia

The Police then registered an FIR under sections 42 and 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act and 3 and 5 of the MP Freedom of Religion Act, along with 370 of IPC against the 10 members. Notably, Lall sought anticipatory bail in the case which the Damoh Court happened to reject on November 17. The investigation in the case is still underway and police’ appropriate action against Lall is awaited.

Journalist who exposed relations between Damoh District Collector and Bishop Ajai Lall threatened

LRO told OpIndia that the Damoh District collector’s wife looked after the accounts of one of the FCRA licensed NGOs which belongs to accused Bishop Ajai Lall. She was also engaged in NGO activities for around one and a half years until the Centre launched an investigation into the financial transactions of the NGO. The Centre in the year 2021 stated that the organization was engaged in evangelism-related activities and had violated the FCRA laws.

The source added that Bishop Ajai Lall also has maintained good relations with the district administration including Collector S. Krishna Chaitanya. Further, Lall was awarded on August 15 this year at the hands of Minister Govind Singh Rajput for his ‘social service’ activities. According to the information received, he was nominated for the award by Collector S. Krishna Chaitanya in the year 2021 when the former’s NGO was under scrutiny.

Reportedly, one of the IBC24 reporters named Jitendra Gautam who exposed the relations between Bishop Ajai Lall and Damoh Collector was issued threats by DC PRO Y Qureshi. This information was also made public by the Legal Rights Observatory on November 17.

In the current case, the Dalit woman who claims to have been forcefully converted to Christianity has filed a police complaint against Bishop Ajai Lall and his followers for the third time. She has requested Damoh SP D R Tenivaar to look into the matter who has assured an investigation into the case.

As Prakash Raj spreads fake news, here are the statements of Raghuram Rajan about the Modi govt consulting RBI before demonetisation

Two days after the Centre informed the apex court that it had consulted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before going forward with the demonetisation policy in 2016, actor-turned-activist Prakash Raj on Friday (November 18) tried to insinuate that the Modi government had lied to the Supreme Court.

In a tweet, Raj asked, “Dear citizens…Who is telling the Truth?…#justasking” His tweet was accompanied by a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.

“We did demonetisation after extensive consultation with the Reserve Bank of India,” the actor attributed the statement to the Union Government. “I was RBI Governor during the time of demonetisation. RBI was not asked to make a single decision on demonetisation,” he attributed another statement to Rajan.

Source: Twitter

Prakash Raj tried to suggest that there is an ‘inherent contradiction’ between the claims made by the former RBI Governor and the incumbent government at the Centre.

For starters, Raghuram Rajan was not the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India at the time of demonetisation. According to the website of the RBI, Rajan held the position of Governor between September 4, 2013, to September 4, 2016.

On the last day of his tenure, Dr Udit R Patel officially took charge as the RBI’s Governor. As such, it was during the term of Dr Udit Patel that the Modi government rolled out the demonetisation of its ₹500, and ₹1000 currency notes on the night of November 8, 2016.

Modi government’s response to SC over demonetisation

In its affidavit to the Supreme Court on Wednesday (November 16), the Union Ministry of Finance said that demonetisation was implemented in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, starting in February 2016.

It further emphasised that the policy to demonetise ₹500 and ₹1000 rupee notes was a “well-considered decision… (taken after) extensive consultation with the Reserve Bank and advance preparation.”

After listing the benefits of the exercise, the Ministry of Finance pointed out that the consultation with the RBI and the subsequent decision-making process was kept confidential by the government.

Remarks of Raghuram Rajan about the government keeping the RBI in loop

As stated earlier, Raghuram Rajan was not the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India at the time of demonetisation. His term had ended 2 months prior to the historic event i.e. on September 4, 2016.

It is thus clear that RBI, under him, was not asked to ‘make a decision’ about the policy (given its implementation in November of that year). The confusion seems to stem from a remark that Rajan made in his 2017 bookI do what I do.’

“At no point during my term was the RBI asked to make a decision on demonetisation,” he had written. However, this line, in particular, is just a small excerpt from his ‘disclosure’ about the demonetisation plans.

In September 2017, Raghuram Rajan was quoted as saying, “I was asked by the government in February 2016 for my view on demonetisation, which I gave orally.

Source: Hindustan Times

“I was asked by the government in February 2016 for my view on demonetisation, which I gave orally. Although there might be long-term benefits, I felt the likely short-term economic costs would outweigh them,” the book excerpt read.

“Although there might be long-term benefits, I felt the likely short-term economic costs would outweigh them…I made these views known in no uncertain terms,” he had written back then.

It is thus evident that the affidavit submitted by the Union Government in the apex court is in line with the book excerpt of Rajan, dating back to 2017. The Centre had indeed begun consultations with the RBI in February 2016.

During his tenure, the RBI was not tasked to take a decision, given that the nationwide exercise was rolled out two months after he demitted office.

Source: The Hindu

In April 2018, Raghuram Rajan dismissed the allegation that the RBI was not consulted by the Modi government prior to the demonetisation. He made the remarks at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge.

“I didn’t ever say that I wasn’t consulted (on demonetisation). In fact, I have made it quite clear that we were consulted and we didn’t think it was a good idea,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Prakash Raj defends himself with a cryptic tweet

It must be mentioned that RBI is owned by the Government of India and reservations expressed by the Governor are not binding on the Centre’s policymaking.

Thus, it becomes evident that Prakash Raj quoted Raghuram Rajan out of context to suggest that the Modi government unilaterally decided on the demonetisation policy and mislead the apex court.

Screengrab of the tweet by Prakash Raj

After being called out on social media for peddling disinformation, Prakash Raj suggested that both the Modi government and the former RBI governor had been lying about demonetisation.

In a tweet, he claimed, “The answer is both are LIES.” In reality, it is the Singham actor who had been quoting the Centre and Rajan out of context to further his agenda. As he stood exposed for purveying malicious fake news, Raj tried to salvage himself by claiming that both the pieces of information in his earlier tweet were lies, which was another lie to cover up his fiasco and promote the misleading claim that the Centre had no consulted with the RBI before going ahead with demonetisation.

‘Honeytrapped’ driver working in India’s External Affairs Ministry arrested for passing confidential information to Pakistan

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In a joint operation, the Delhi Police and security agencies have apprehended a man for passing sensitive and confidential information to the ISI, the intelligence agency of Pakistan.

Citing sources, ANI reported that the accused used to work as a driver at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The man was reportedly honey-trapped by Pakistan’s intelligence agency. A probe has been initiated into the matter by the Delhi police.

This is, however, not the first time that such an incident has come to light.

Earlier in June this year, a contractual employee of the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad was arrested for passing confidential defence information on India’s missile development to an alleged ISI operative in Pakistan through social media.

The 29-year-old accused, identified as Dukka Mallikarjuna Reddy alias Arjun Bittu was arrested from his residence in Triveni Nagar, Balapur, Hyderabad during a joint operation by the Special Operations Team, LB Nagar Zone, Rachakonda, and Balapur police on June 17.

The arrest was made under the supervision of Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh M Bhagwat, Additional Commissioner of Police G Sudheer Babu, LB Nagar DCP Sunpreeth Singh, DCP (SOT) K Muralidhar and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Operations Team, Rachakonda.

Reddy was booked under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 3 (1) (C), 5 (3), 5 (1) (A) of Official Secret Act-1923 at Balapur Police Station of Rachakonda Police Commissionerate. His two mobile phones, a SIM card, and a laptop were also seized by the authorities.

Medianama founder Nikhil Pahwa says he never wrote the article The Wire published in his name

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On 18th November 2022, the leftist propaganda website The Wire published an article in the name of Nikhil Pahwa – the founder of Medianama. The website also tagged him in the tweet in which it shared the said article. However, Nikhil Pahwa responded to the tweet by saying that he never wrote the article ‘The Wire’ published in his name.

The article titled ‘Meta Layoffs, H-1B and the Life of Immigrant Labour’ was published on The Wire on 18th November 2022 at around 5:50 pm. This article explores the “difficult, stressful time ahead of the immigrant employees who lost their jobs with Meta”, claims The Wire. The portal tagged Nikhil Pahwa in a Twitter post in which the article was shared. The Wire wrote in a tweet, “The ripple effects of the Meta layoffs could be ghastly, especially for the many workers who’ve depended on employment with Meta for their US visas. Nikhil Pahwa writes for Future Tense Now.”

It is notable that a collaboration between Slate, New America, and Arizona State University called Future Tense explores new technology, public policy, and society. The Wire mentioned this at the end of the article. The article was actually written by Nitish Pahwa on the same issue which was published by Slate. It is titled, ‘Where Will the Thousands of Laid-Off Tech Workers Go?’.

Within minutes of The Wire tweeting the article and tagging Nikhil Pahwa in the tweet as the author, Nikhil Pahwa lashed out at the portal. He tweeted, “What the hell! I never wrote this. Dear The Wire, Can you please do your due diligence before you publicly attribute something to someone? Please remove this tweet and please remove any attribution to my Twitter handle or me.”

‘The Wire’ deleted the tweet after this and also changed the name of the author of that article on their website.

They also added a note below the article saying, “An earlier version of this article erroneously attributed the byline to Nikhil Pahwa instead of Nitish Pahwa.” They also expressed regret for the error, and tagged the correct author on Twitter this time.

A large flock of sheep has been walking in a circle for 12 days without stopping in China, CCTV video goes viral

A group of sheep were seen moving aimlessly in a circle for a period of twelve days in China. The sheep can be seen walking continuously in circles inside their fence in northern China in the video, which was captured on security cameras in early November.

People are stunned and perplexed as they try to make sense of the bizarre behaviour seen in the viral video. The sheep are completely healthy, and the cause of the strange situation is unknown, according to People’s Daily, a state-run news organisation in China, which tweeted a video of it on Wednesday.

Ms Miao, the sheep owner, claimed the spectacle began with a few sheep until the entire herd joined in, according to Metro.

Lots of sheep can be seen chasing each other around in a circle in the CCTV footage. Other sheep are lounging in a circle, with some ultimately opting to join in. Others stayed perfectly motionless in the centre of the circle. On November 4, the mystery films were shot in the Inner Mongolian city of Baotou. The flock is seen moving clockwise in an almost perfect circle.

The farm had 34 sheep pens, however only the sheep in pen 13 moved throughout the circling exhibit. Some believe the sheep’s behaviour is caused by Listeriosis, a bacterial ailment often known as “circling disease.” Listeriosis can cause one side of the brain to become inflamed, causing the sheep to behave strangely.

According to a report by News.com.au, “Initially, affected animals are anorectic, depressed, and disoriented. They may propel themselves into corners, lean against stationary objects, or circle toward the affected side.”

Outbreaks are often caused by rotten or low-quality fodder. In sheep and goats, however, death generally occurs within 24-48 hours of the onset of symptoms.

Last year, sheep in East Sussex sparked a similar sensation when they were seen standing in concentric circles. Scientists have long wondered why some species, such as sharks and turtles, move in circular patterns. However, they have yet to reach a conclusion as to why.

While Rahul Gandhi accuses Veer Savarkar of wanting to become ‘obedient servant of British’, MK Gandhi had also used same phrase many times

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi created a massive controversy with his comments on Veer Savarkar in his speeches during his Bharat Jodo Yatra. On November 15, Rahul Gandhi alleged that Veer Savarkar took pension from the British Government to work against the Congress party.

Then on November 17, he accused Savarkar of being loyal to the British rulers and helping them. He produces a letter written by Veer Savarkar to the British Government, where he had signed off by writing ‘I beg to remain sir, your most obedient servant’.

“I have a document that comprises Savarkar’s letter to British in which he has stated ‘I beg to remain, sir, your most obedient servant’. This is not written by me… but Savarkarji. Let everyone read this document,” Rahul Gandhi said. Displaying a print out of a copy of the letter Rahul Gandhi added, “I am very clear that he helped the British”.

Savarkar’s letter

He alleged that Savarkar betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel by signing the letter out of fear. While at the first glance it seems shocking that Savarkar desired to remain ‘most obedient servant’ of the British, Rahul Gandhi making the allegation actually exposes his shocking lack of knowledge about formal writing during that era.

Because, as already many people have already pointed out, it was the general practice at that time to end letters. Most prominent Indian letters used variations of this phrase before signing their letters to British officials and others.

M K Gandhi had written numerous letters to the British government during the Indian freedom movement that he was leading, and he himself had used such phrases. In one such letter to Lord Chelmsford, he wrote at the end, “I have the honour to remain, Your Excellency’s obdt. Servant”.

In another letter written to Duke of Connaught, MK Gandhi wrote at the end, “I beg to remain, Your Royal Highness’s faithful servant.”

It is not that Gandhi used such phrases only for British officials. In his letter to Russian author Leo Tolstoy, he had written, “I am, Your obedient servant, M. K. GANDHI”.

Gandhi’s letter to Leo Tolstoy

Letters written by other leaders at the time also used such phrases. This is evident that it was a standard practice, and it does not mean Veer Savarkar wanted to become an ‘obedient servant’ of the British, just like M K Gandhi didn’t want to become an ‘obedient servant’ of the British officers he wrote to.

Maharashtra: Two Congress workers booked for vandalising Veer Savarkar’s statue in Pune

On 18th November 2022, Pune police booked two Congress workers for vandalising Veer Savarkar’s statue near Sarasbaug in the Swargate area of the city. Pune police also detained 15 BJP workers for protesting against Rahul Gandhi at the Congress office in the city.

The senior inspector Ashok Indulkar of the Swargate police station said that Congress workers were booked under sections 188, 504, and 153 of the Indian Penal Code for vandalising Savarkar’s statue. These workers raised a banner reading “Maafiveer (mercy seeker) Savarkar” near the Savarkar statue in Sarasbaug.

It was learned that the flex was installed by the Maharashtra Pradesh Youth Congress. It was planted around 1.30 pm on Thursday. It contained documents cited by Rahul Gandhi while his broadsides against the freedom fighter.

The politics in the state seems to be heating up as Rahul Gandhi trained guns at Veer Savarkar during his Bharat Jodo Yatra which reached the Akola district of Maharashtra this week. Many followers of Savarkar demonstrated against the Gandhi scion for his remarks on Savarkar.

In an effort to protest Rahul Gandhi’s comments on late Hindutva philosopher V D Savarkar, a number of BJP demonstrators stormed the Congress’s office in Pune on Friday. They tried to blacken pictures of the party leader. The demonstrators shouted anti-Rahul Gandhi slogans and tacked up posters reading “Mafiveer (mercy seeker) Jawaharlal Nehru” on the Congress Bhavan walls, according to a police officer in the Shivajinagar police station. Inspector Arvind Mane said, “We detained 10 to 15 workers from the premises of Congress Bhavan.”

The Congress scion had gone on a vitriolic tirade against Veer Savarkar during the Maharashtra leg of his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.’ On Tuesday (November 15), Rahul Gandhi claimed that the freedom fighter took a pension from the British government to work against the Indian National Congress (INC).

Again on Thursday (November 17), he reiterated that Veer Savarkar helped the British government and wrote mercy petitions “out of fear”. Rahul Gandhi also accused the Indian freedom fighter of betraying the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, and Mahatma Gandhi.