On October 25, goons associated with the left-wing Student Federation of India (SFI) issued threats to a college principal in the presence of police officials. The incident took place at the Maharajas Technological Institute in the Thrissur district of Kerala.
As per reports, five SFI goons led by their Thrissur district secretary Hassan Mubarak barged into the Principal’s room and threatened the acting Principal, Dr. P Dileep, with physical harm.
A video of the incident has now gone viral on social media. “We will tell you one thing. If you continue to show hooliganism against the students here, I will break your legs,” Hasaan was heard saying in the video.
അധ്യാപകരുടെ കൈയ്യും കാലും വെട്ടാൻ എത്തുന്ന SFl തൃശുർ ജില്ലാ ഘടകം. അതും തൊപ്പി വച്ച് നിൽക്കുന്ന പോലീസ് ഏമാൻ്റെ കൺമുന്നിൽ. നല്ല അടിപൊളി സംസ്കാരം. കേരളത്തിൻ്റെ ഭാവി എങ്ങോട്ടെന്ന് പ്രത്യേകം പറയേണ്ടല്ലോ pic.twitter.com/Pvo7nQ5jD4
“I’m warning you. It won’t be like what you have been doing against the students so far. It will be completely a new game that you are going to witness from tomorrow. I will show you what I can do when you step out of the campus,” he continued his threats against the Principal.
Hassan Mubarak further warned, “Don’t show hooliganism to students. If you dare to touch the students again…you should beg pardon in writing…I will break your legs. Dare to show hooliganism? will set you ablaze.”
The threats continued for well over 5 minutes but none in the room chose to intervene. Two police officers, including a sub-inspector, stood as mute spectators during the incident.
The background of the controversy
The Thrissur unit of the SFI (the student unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)) has alleged that on October 21, 2022, Dr. P Dileep manhandled a student for wearing a cap to college.
It claimed that the unnamed student was wearing the cap (for scalpal sclerosis) on the recommendation of the doctor but the acting Principal of the college refused to entertain him.
When the student refused to remove his cap, SFI alleged that Dr. P Dileep forcibly took it away. The Student Federation of India also accused him of assaulting the victim.
The supposed use of ‘force’ against a student ‘motivated’ Hassan Mubarak and his 5 accomplices to issue death threats to the Principal of Maharajas Technological Institute, in the presence of other teachers and cops.
After the video of the incident went viral on social media, a case was registered under bailable charges against the Thrissur District secretary of SFI and his 5 companions. They were booked for unlawful assembly and voluntary obstruction in the path of duty of a public servant.
SFI goons lock the Principal after he denies admission to their leader
In August this year, SFI goons locked up the principal of the Karyavattom Government college in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. The Principal’s only mistake was that he refused re-admission to an SFI leader in the same course, after the completion of his degree the previous year.
It must be mentioned that the SFI is the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Reportedly, the student activists demanded that their leader be enrolled in the same course as he had some papers to clear.
However, the principal of the Karyavattom Government college refused to entertain their request. Miffed by the decision, the SFI activists locked the Principal in his cabin for over an hour. They also raised slogans demanding the re-admission of their leader.
#Breaking#SFI students lock up principal in office, create ruckus: #CPIM student-wing students also tried to prevent police officials from entering college campus, demanded readmission of their leader to a course he had completed.
The student activists also accused the Principal of acting out of political interests. On being informed about the matter, the police rushed to the college, but the student activists tried to forcibly stop them from entering the college campus, thereby leading to a scuffle.
The police had to resort to a lathi charge to pacify the situation. Reportedly, 4 cops including Kazhakootam Assistant Commissioner were injured during the chaos that broke out in the college. Nonetheless, the police were able to rescue the Principal and escort him to safety.
They also arrested the student activists, who were responsible for the illegal confinement of the college Principal. A large contingent of police personnel was deployed at the Karyavattom Government college to keep the situation under control.
On Monday, October 31, a special court in Bengaluru held Faiz Rasheed, an engineering student, guilty of celebrating the Pulwama terrorist attack and sentenced him to 5 years in prison. Rasheed, who was a 3rd-year student of Electronics & Communications Engineering, was arrested in 2019 from a bakery near his house. Rashid is a resident of HRBR layout in eastern Bengaluru.
Rasheed had reportedly created a Facebook account just to post provocative posts following the terror attack. Several internet users tagged Bengaluru Police below his provocative posts. Following that, a complaint was registered against him at Banaswadi Police Station and he was subsequently arrested on February 17, 2019. Rasheed is currently in judicial custody inside Parappana Agrahara central prison.
Rasheed has been sentenced under Indian Penal Code sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 124A (sedition), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), and section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He also been fined Rupees 25,000, failure to pay which will add 6 months to his prison sentence.
Following the Pulwama terrorist attack, several people were arrested around India for expressing glee, and celebrating the suicide bombing.
Pulwama terrorist attack in Jammu & Kashmir
On 14 February 2019, more than 2,500 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, many of them returning from leave to rejoin duty in the Kashmir Valley, were travelling in a convoy of 70 vehicles when they were ambushed on the Srinagar-Jammu highway at Latoomode in Awantipora in south Kashmir around 3.15 pm
A terrorist belonging to the Pakistani Army-backed Islamic terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad, identified as Adil Ahmad Dar, rammed an SUV laden with over 300 kg of explosives into the CRPF bus carrying about 40 personnel. The collision exploded the bus and the vehicle, causing the deaths of more than 40 CRPF soldiers.
Following the terror attack by the Pakistan-backed terrorists, India launched the Balakot airstrikes across the border which resulted in the death of several terrorists inside Pakistan-occupied territory.
The National Investigation Agency, which is investigating the Coimbatore bomb blast case, stated that they will investigate the accused persons’ foreign links. According to India’s counter-terrorist task force, the incident does not appear to be a one-off module designed to carry out a terror attack. It bears all the hallmarks of a module that has received funding from a variety of sources, reports Oneindia.
The federal agency said that it is suspected that one of the accused Feroz Ismail has foreign links and whether there is any connection to the current case would be explored in detail.
Reportedly, the agency would be taking accused Mohammed Thalka, Mohammed Azarudeen, Mohammed Riyaz, Feroz Ismail, Mohammed Nawaz Ismail and Afsar Khan into their custody shortly. Their questioning would be crucial for further leads into the case.
An official privy to the case said that the agency was also keeping a close watch on the funding that was received by the deceased Jamesha Mubin. While the initial findings suggested that Mubin was self-radicalised, the NIA would look into the larger conspiracy considering the amount of money that was spent on procuring such a huge quantity of explosives.
Notably, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) officially commenced the probe into a cylinder explosion in a car in which one person was killed in front of a temple in the city on October 23 on Sunday.
NIA probing the Coimbatore blast case recovers bomb-making material, Jihadi literature
According to the charge sheet filed by the NIA, over a hundred incriminating items have been recovered from the residence of Jamesha Mubin, the man who died in the blast in the car. It is notable that earlier it was thought to be a simple cylinder blast case, but later terror angle emerged in the incident, after which the case was handed over to the NIA.
The NIA team searched the Mubin’s premises and seized 109 articles, including potassium nitrate, black powder, matchbox, cracker fuse length of about 2 meters, Nitro Glycerin, red phosphorous, PETN powder, Aluminium powder, OXY 99 Breathe pure Oxygen cylinder, Sulphur powder, Sterile Surgical blade, and other bomb-making materials, as well as notebooks with information on Islamic ideology and Jihad.
According to media reports, Mubeen was also in contact with Sri Lankan Islamic cleric Zahran Hashim on Facebook, the mastermind of the Easter bombing in Sri Lanka in 2019. NIA had questioned him at that time regarding the issue. The police also stated that Jamesha Mubeen was a close friend of Muhammed Azharuddin, who is currently in a Kerala jail in connection with the IS case.
Reportedly NIA is also looking into the possible link of C.A.Rauf, the Kerala state secretary of banned group Popular Front of India (PFI), with Mubin. Rauf was in hiding since PFI was banned, and he was arrested by the NIA from his residence in Pattambi in Kerala on Thursday night.
Mohammad Thalka, another accused in the case, is the son of Nawab Khan, who is the brother of Syed Ahmed Basha, founder of the banned group Al Ummah. This group was behind the 1998 Coimbatore bombings that claimed 58 lives.
Afsar Khan, the sixth accused arrested in the Coimbatore blast case, is reportedly Mubeen’s cousin. He appeared in Judicial Magistrate Court yesterday and was sentenced to 14 days in judicial custody. Police and the NIA are operating to uncover a larger conspiracy that may have interstate or international connections.
A video has gone viral on the internet, with several people claiming that it is of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has supposedly converted 10 Downing Street into an ‘Asian Wedding Venue.’ UB1UB2 Southall shared the video on Twitter on October 30. Sharing the video, the user wrote, “Rishi Sunak’s turned 10 Downing Street into an Asian wedding venue.”
Several people, dressed in Indian traditional attire, were seen arriving at 10, Downing Street, the official residence of the British PM.
Remarkably, the popular video has nothing to do with any wedding. A fact check by OpIndia indicates that it is a video from the Diwali celebration hosted by new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street and has no connection with any wedding. The video has been shared by Daily Mail on its YouTube channel.
A number of jokes and memes had flooded the internet after Sunak assumed charge. Many of them were about his Indian heritage and were themed around Indian cultural practices, like removing footwear before entering a house.
Along similar lines, another video went viral earlier claiming that Rishi Sunak celebrated as Liz Truss resigned from her post. That video was also shared by the same Twitter user in a tweet. Sharing the video, the user wrote, “Rishi Sunak hearing Liz Truss has resigned:”
This video was also not an original one as the man in the video resembled Sunak but was not him. Also, the video is not a recent one. It was shared in 2019 from an Instagram account that was verified.
Rishi Sunak recently succeeded Liz Truss as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. This move came only days after Truss announced her departure in the wake of many policy shifts, Cabinet reshuffles, and disagreements within her own party.
Liz Truss resigned on 20th October 2022. She resigned from the Prime Ministerial post on the 45th day of joining the office. Liz Truss announced her resignation following the collapse of the markets after her controversial economic policies.
Sunak is now the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first person of color to hold the position. He is also the first person of Indian heritage and the first Hindu to become the PM of the UK.
On October 31, following the raids on The Wire’s co-founders and editors Siddharth Varadarajan, MK Venu, and staffer Jahnavi Sen, Delhi Police seized electronic devices from the editors’ residence, including mobile phones and laptops.
In a statement, Delhi Police said that no notice was given to anyone and no inquiry took place on Sunday. The investigation is underway and necessary steps would be taken as required.
The raids sparked a reaction from the left-liberal section of the media. Urban Naxal-linked media association DIGIPUB News India Foundation has issued a statement condemning the raid. In its statement, DIGIPUB said that the media organisation that publishes a false report ought to be held accountable by its peers and civil society. However, “for the police to carry out an immediate and arbitrary search of the media house’s office and its editors’ homes, based entirely on a private complaint of defamation filed by a spokesperson of the ruling party, smacks of mala fide intentions. Moreover, the danger of these searches being used as an excuse to seize and duplicate confidential and sensitive data held by The Wire cannot be dismissed.”
Digipub’s statement on police searches on the homes of the editors and a reporter of The Wire pic.twitter.com/ewZCIZNL4C
— DIGIPUB News India Foundation (@DigipubIndia) November 1, 2022
It further said that such cases “cannot become a tool to further worsen the already fraught state of journalism in India, which has steadily declined in global indices of media freedom and democracy. We have witnessed numerous recent instances where criminal prosecution and harassment by the police have intimidated and prevented journalists from doing their jobs.”
While DIGIPUB categorically warned that such raids and “intimidation” of the journalist would affect India’s ranking in terms of press freedom, the Naxal-linked organisation completely missed the point that the raid happened at The Wire’s editors’ and report’s residence was not for the false stories but for the fraud The Wire has allegedly committed by fabricating documents which is a criminal offence.
In such cases, the police have to reach the root of the conspiracy, which in this case, involves everyone who is either directly associated with The Wire or the so-called “investigation” that The Wire did in the matter. As Siddharth not only took byline in the Meta reports, he categorically said he was involved throughout the “investigation”, it was obvious that the police would seize the devices that might have been used in the alleged crime of forgery, fabrication and defamation. As a matter of fact, it was their forgery in the name of reporting that had led to India’s rank falling.
It is also pertinent to note that while the Media association says that the investigation into The Wire’s fabrication and forgery would lead to India declining in press freedom and democracy indices, it was the forgery and fabrication that had led to India being downgraded in the first place.
Days after The Wire retracted its reports on the Meta story and ordered an “internal inquiry” into the fiasco, the leftist propaganda website also quietly pulled down its months-old reportage on Tek Fog, an app it claimed was used by the BJP to manipulate trends and automatically spew hate online.
Relying on an August 2020 tweet and some ‘source’, The Wire had claimed that the BJP was using one software named Tek Fog, led by BJP leader Devang Dave, that had unprecedented powers of manipulating online trends and churning out hate to attack its detractors. Even though Dave vigorously rejected the allegations in an email to Wire, they still proceeded to publish the story.
In the report published in January 2022, Wire claimed that the so-called Tek Fog app allowed BJP to ‘hijack’ the Twitter trends, allowed managing multiple WhatsApp accounts and direct online harassment of anti-BJP journalists. The report claimed that the app could bypass all kinds of security features that major social media platforms have. According to The Wire, Tek Fog had some kind of superpower that granted it capabilities that even the NSA of the USA did not have. The Wire alleged that hacking top apps like Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp etc child’s play using Tek Fog, and all security features of those platforms vanish with this magical piece of software.
Freedom House, a dubious Human Rights ‘watchdog’ that supported violent protests against a law that gave citizenship rights to persecuted minorities like Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians from Islamic states neighbouring India, dropped the country from ‘free’ to ‘partly free’ in 2021. In 2022, too, the organisation maintained India as ‘partly free’, leaning on prejudiced reports and unfounded allegations, including The Wire’s story on Tek Fog (now taken down by The Wire), to claim that members of the BJP used it to shape public narratives and manipulate social media opinions.
Likewise, other organisations that have been pathologically averse to India, especially after Modi became the prime minister, cited the Tek Fog story as one of the examples to lower India’s ranking on their farcical indexes. Therefore, for Digi Pub to threaten and claim that India would be downgraded if it investigates the fabrication by The Wire, only seems like an arm-twisting tactic to protect a platform, that indulged in illegality, merely because they seem ideologically aligned.
DIGIPUB reissued the statement as the previous statement contained wrong Sections against The Wire
Interestingly, DIGIPUB’s statement that was issued on October 31 had mentioned wrong Sections imposed against The Wire based on Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT Cell Chief Amit Malviya. Several netizens pointed out the error, after which DIGIPUB deleted the previous statement.
The correct Sections imposed in the FIR based on the complaint by Malviya are cheating and dishonesty (section 420), forgery (section 468), forgery for the purpose of harming reputation (469), using a genuine a forged document or electronic record (471), punishment for defamation (500) r/w 120B and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
However, for some unknown reason, DIGIPUB published that Sections of cheating (Section 415), forgery (section 463), defamation (section 499), and criminal conspiracy (section 120A) under the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Now-deleted statement by Digipub with wrong sections. Source: Archive.org
Twitter users like Udit Kulshrestha mentioned the error in a Tweet thread.
Indian Penal code Sections quoted by @DigipubIndia shared by @dhanyarajendran and Amit Malviya’s complaint vary. Digipub mentions 1. Sec 415 2. Sec 463 3. Sec 499 4. Sec 120A of the IPC. While in the complaint: 1. Sec 420 2. Sec 468 3. Sec 469 4. Sec 471 5. 500 r/w 120B & 34 pic.twitter.com/u1FZ1VzbVm
The raids sparked a reaction from the left-liberal section of the media. Wall Street Journal writer and Siddharth’s brother Tunku Varadarajan said on Twitter, “The Delhi Police Crime Branch just searched the house of my brother Siddharth Varadarajan and seized his phone and laptop. Why seize these when his publication has acknowledged/retracted a mistake? This seizure is repugnant in a democracy. Indians should raise their voices in fierce protest.”
Tweet by Tunku Varadrajan. Source: Twitter
Just like DIGIPUB, Tunku also missed the point that his brother has committed a forgery and published fraudulent information to defame someone.
In a follow-up tweet, Tunku called the people of India to stand with The Wire and called the raids a “political motivated assault”. He further claimed if the people of India do not stand with The Wire, the same will happen to them tomorrow.
Tweet by Tunku. Source: Twitter
However, Tunku did not mention that the call he had been making was for the publication that used fabricated documents to defame a person from the party in power. Tunku, as well as DiGIPUB must explain how and why they are terming forgery, fraud and criminal conspiracy as “press freedom”.
One must not forget that the raids were not for defamation as per some leftist ‘intellectuals’ but for consistently indulging in forgery, cheating, fraud, fabrication, and criminal conspiracy. In fact, there is no civil defamation case against The Wire, Varadarajan, and others involved in the case. They face a criminal case for forgery, fabrication, and hatching a criminal conspiracy.
Even in face of contradictory evidence, and denial from independent experts, Varadarajan refused to budge and continued to place his faith in the Meta stories that have now been retracted by The Wire. At one point during the course of the Meta vs The Wire saga, Siddharth Varadarajan also claimed to have met the Meta sources himself when social media users and domain experts raised questions about The Wire’s story. All such statements by Siddharth and the retraction of the stories after the backlash deserve an in-depth investigation which is not possible without getting to the root of the conspiracy.
Siddharth’s wife, Nandini Sunder, claimed a ‘larger conspiracy’
Irked by the raids, Siddharth’s wife, Nandini Sunder, raised “concerns” about the possibility of a “larger conspiracy” behind the whole Meta Vs The Wire saga. In a tweet thread, she said, “It is not clear whether he was acting on his own or as part of a larger conspiracy.” Interestingly, she is one of many from the liberal cabal that has pointed towards a possibility of a “larger actor” behind the fiasco.
The Wire is a victim of criminal fraud by Devesh Kumar. it is not clear whether he was acting on his own or as part of a larger conspiracy. It is interesting that he was not named in Malviya’s complaint and FIR. The sequence of events is as follows
The investigation is not just about the “wrong story”
The liberal cabal is trying to insinuate that the complaint filed by Malviya and the raids that happened following the FIR based on Malviya’s complaint was made only because The Wire published a false story. They are suggesting that as The Wire has apologised, there is no need to file criminal charges against The Wire.
However, everyone from the cabal is missing one important aspect of the whole Meta Vs The Wire fiasco. The Wire and its associates have intentionally forged and used the documents. In an interview with the Platformer, Siddharth categorically said he was involved in the reports and that Devesh should not be the only one to be targeted. However, it seems after seeing things taking turns against them, they decided to throw Devesh under the bus.
It is noteworthy that under the Indian Penal Code, cheating, forgery, forgery for the purpose of harming reputation and defamation etc., are punishable offences. The FIR against The Wire includes all these charges that require investigation, and of course, the investigation into electronic documents cannot happen without checking the electronic devices of the accused.
On Wednesday (October 26), a 19-year-old celebrity chef named Mehrshad Shahidi breathed his last after he was beaten by the Iran security forces in the custody amid the seventh week of ongoing anti-Hijab protests in several parts of Iran. The deceased had participated in the protest and was arrested by the Revolutionary Guard in Arak city. He was later beaten with batons while in the custody, resulting in his death.
According to the reports, the now-deceased chef was detained at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence’s detention center. His family members said that the 19-year-old chef was killed after he received baton blows on his head. His family members also said that his skull was damaged but the authorities have insisted that he died of a heart attack.
“Our son lost his life as a result of receiving baton blows to his head after his arrest, but we have been under pressure by the regime to say that he has died of a heart attack”, one of the relatives of Mehrshad said. The incident resulted in thousands of protesters taking to the streets on Saturday, during the funeral held for Shahidi. “Everyone who is killed will be supported by thousands more”, the demonstrators chanted.
Heute, Arak, Beerdigung von dem 19 jährigen #MehrshadShahidi, der bei den Protesten totgeschlagen wurde.
Das Video hat mir ein Kontakt geschickt: “Schau Mina, man konnte das Ende der Demo nicht sehen”
Meanwhile, Iranian authorities have denied claims that the chef was murdered in custody and stated that the cause of his death will be revealed later. “There are no signs of fractures in the arms, legs, skull, or any brain injury”, said Abdolmehdi Mousavi, the province’s Chief Justice. Also, the Deputy Governor of the province, Behnam Nazari said that rumors were being spread by the anti-Iran media and that no bullets were shot at Mehrshad Shahidi. However, the locals confirmed to the media that the chef was arrested during a protest and was taken to custody where he was beaten to death.
The deceased was known as Iran’s Jamie Oliver and was reportedly killed a day before his 20th birthday. He had 25000 followers on Instagram and had posted quite a few videos of him cooking. “He was a talented young chef at Boote Restaurant. He was ruthlessly killed by security forces in Iran. Tomorrow would have been his 20th birthday. We will never forget it. We will never forgive”, Iranian American author Dr. Nina Ansary was quoted saying.
As per the reports, Shahidi’s funeral was conducted on Saturday in the city. Thousands of protesters took to the streets to protest against Shahidi’s death. “Everyone who is killed will be supported by thousands more”, the demonstrators chanted. Meanwhile, the security personnel used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Violence erupted across Iran in response to the death of Mahsa Amini, who was beaten to death by the IRGC for failing to comply with the country’s mandatory hijab regulations. At least a dozen doctors, journalists, and artists have been arrested in Iran as a result of the outrage over Mahsa Amini’s death.
Mahsa Amini’s custodial death sparks anti-hijab protests across Iran
According to the reports, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was abducted by the ‘morality police’ in Tehran for not complying with the mandatory hijab laws of the country. Amini who was on a pleasure trip to Tehran had not covered her hair ‘properly’ with the hijab. She was arrested by the police and then beaten in the police van while being taken to a detention center, dubbed as a ‘re-education class’ for not conforming to the country’s mandatory hijab rules.
The police took the woman to the police station on Vozara Avenue where already dozens of other women were being held for not following the hijab rules. They beat the women and schooled them about the proper dress rules of the country. Mahsa was brutally beaten and taken to the hospital after she stopped responding in the custody. The doctors at the hospital stated that her heart continued to beat but her brain was no longer functioning. The woman breathed her last three days after the incident.
Her killing sparked massive protests in Iran, with women taking to the streets to up raise their voices against the regime. Several women, including school-going girls, burnt their hijabs in sympathy with the tragedy, while women all throughout the world trimmed their hair in the protest. Protests erupted in dozens of places around the country in the aftermath of her death after which the government retaliated with a harsh crackdown.
However, three weeks after the death of Amini, Iran’s Forensic Organisation revealed a report stating that the woman had died due to illness and not due to blows and beatings given to her in police custody. Earlier, the Police had also tried to cover up the matter claiming that Mahsa was already suffering from a heart problem and that she was never beaten in the custody.
Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who was arrested by Delhi Police in the Rs 200 crore extortion case, confessed to providing Rs 10 crore as “protection money” to incarcerated Aam Aadmi Party minister Satyendar Jain. Chandrashekhar stated in a letter to Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena that he has known the AAP leader since 2015.
The hand-written letter of Chandrashekhar sent to Saxena through his lawyer stated, “After my arrest in 2017, I was lodged in Tihar Jail and was visited multiple times by Mr Satyendar Jain, who held the portfolio of jail minister. In 2019 again, I was visited by Jain, whose secretary asked me to pay Rs 2 crore every month as protection money and to get basic facilities inside the jail.”
Notably, Delhi Health Minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Satyendra Jain was also arrested in May this year. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in a money laundering case connected to the hawala transactions by Kolkata-based companies. The companies have reportedly laundered money to the tune of Rs 16.39 crores from 2010 to 2014.
Meanwhile, Chandrashekhar’s letter further revealed that a total of Rs 50 crore was paid to the AAP in exchange for a key party position in south India.
In the letter, Chandrashekhar also stated that he told a CBI investigative team last month about payments made to Satyendra Jain, the Aam Aadmi Party, and D-G Prisons. The L-G’s office, however, has not responded to the letter.
Chandrashekhar was arrested and is currently being held in Delhi’s Mandoli jail for allegedly extorting money from high-profile people, including former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Mohan Singh’s wife Aditi. He was transferred from Tihar jail to Mandoli jail in Delhi in August of this year, after requesting multiple transfers. He claimed he had received death threats from inside the Tihar jail.
This month, he petitioned the Supreme Court for his release from Mandoli jail. However, the Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal.
Interestingly, on October 19, just days after the letter was posted, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena granted permission to the Delhi Police’s economic offences wing to investigate 82 officials from the prisons department for their alleged involvement in the organised crime syndicate run by Chandrashekhar from within jail premises.
Sukesh Chandrashekhar is being investigated by the Delhi Police in connection with an alleged Rs 215 crore criminal conspiracy, embezzlement, and extortion case. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police had previously filed an FIR against Chandrasekhar for allegedly defrauding the spouses of erstwhile Ranbaxy promoters Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh of Rs 215 crore.
There are over 20 other cases of extortion registered against the conman who operated a racket from inside his jail cell.
Notably, Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez was also charged as an accused in the extortion case involving conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar by the Enforcement Directorate. According to the central agency, Jacqueline was aware that Sukesh was an embezzler.
On Monday, the Ministry of Home Affairs released a directive allowing collectors in Gujarat’s Mehsana and Anand districts to provide citizenship certificates under the Citizenship Act of 1955 to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
Source: India Today
It should be underlined that the announcement has nothing to do with the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, which has yet to take effect.
In accordance with Sections 5 (by registration) and 6 (naturalization) of the Citizenship Act, 1955, the announcement made on October 31 is meant to assist lawful immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who have previously registered for citizenship.
Ahead of polls, MHA to grant citizenship certificates to refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan in two Gujarat districts- issues a notification.@Sabyasachi_13 shares details.#Gujarat#MHApic.twitter.com/oZLPbErNtg
The most recent notice states that applications must be filed online and must first undergo district-level verification by the Collector before being forwarded to central authorities.
The MHA had previously delegated such powers to district magistrates or collectors. Similar orders issued in 2016, 2018, and 2021 gave District Magistrates in a number of districts of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab the authority to issue citizenship certificates to migrants from the six communities who entered India with valid documents of identity.
In a related vein, 40 Pakistani Hindus received Indian citizenship certificates from Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi at the Ahmedabad collectorate in August of this year. Since 2017, the Gujarati district of Ahmedabad has awarded citizenship to 1,032 Pakistanis.
According to current laws, an individual may be granted Indian citizenship on eight different bases: if a person of Indian origin registers for it; if a person is married to an Indian; if a person’s parents, who are minors, are registered as Indian citizens; if a person, or either of their parents, was a citizen of Independent India; if a person is an Indian citizen of another country; if a person is an Indian citizen of another country; and if a child is naturalized and registered at an Indian consulate.
One of the accused, Altaf Mansuri, who had thrown a petrol bomb at a police officer during the communal violence that broke out during the Diwali celebration at Pani Gate, Vadodara, has now been arrested. As per local media reports, a reconstruction of the scene on October 24 was done along with the accused Mansuri by the police. As of now, 19 accused have been arrested.
During the investigation, the scene where Altaf had thrown the petrol bomb at DCP Yashpal Jagania was reconstructed. Police are now investigating various angles like on whose instructions Altaf created the bomb and who else was involved in this. Police had lodged a case on rioting in the violence. Pani Gate police were investigating the case but now the Crime Branch is investigating it.
A petrol bomb was thrown at a police officer on Diwali night. On basis of CCTV footage, one accused Altaf Mansuri was arrested. He works with a food delivery company Swiggy and he admitted he threw the bomb at the police officer. He is currently in police custody.
Diwali riots in Vadodara
On 24 October 2022, riots broke out in Vadodara after local Muslim residents objected to celebrations of the Hindu festival of Diwali in the Pani Gate locality. As per locals, there were celebrations on Diwali eve on Sunday as well where a DJ was invited. However, the local Muslim residents objected to the celebrations. They had even hurled abuses.
As per VHP leader Vishnu Prajapati, the Muslim goons in the locality had planned riots and attacked the Diwali celebrations with petrol bombs. He added that the street lights were turned off before the attack took place and petrol bombs were hurled and stones were pelted at Hindus celebrating Diwali.
The situation in this area had heated up earlier in August during the Ganesh Chaturthi as well. 13 people were detained after stones were pelted on the procession during Ganesh Visarjan. Similarly, such clashes took place in the same area during Navratri as well.
On Monday (October 31), India’s Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, slammed CNN in an interview for trying to trick the country into guilt for purchasing oil from Russia (amidst the ongoing war against Ukraine).
At the very onset, CNN journalist Becky Anderson accused India of benefitting from discounted oil imports from Russia and having no qualms about the invasion of Ukraine. The skewed and flawed perspective about India’s oil imports drew the ire of Hardeep S Puri.
“The purchases of Russian oil was 0.2% in the last Financial Year. Europe buys in one afternoon what we buy from Russia in one quarter. Let’s be clear about the perspective,” Hardeep Singh Puri said.
“Absolutely none. There is no moral conflict.”
I asked India’s Minister of Petroleum @HardeepSPuri whether there was any moral conflict around his country’s importing Russian oil, he tells me without Russian oil, prices will only go up. pic.twitter.com/Q6fZ4iN5bX
The Union Minister clarified that the largest supplier of oil to India was Iraq in the month of September this year. “We owe our moral duty to our consumers. We have a 1.34 billion population and we have to ensure that they are supplied with energy (whether it is petrol or diesel),” he pointed out.
Puri further added, “The Government reduced its revenue to ensure that the prices of the petrol pump did not go up… We have 60 million people going to the petrol pumps.”
He dismissed reports of ‘moral conflict’ about India’s decision to buy Russian oil. “We do not buy from X or Y. We buy whatever is available. I don’t do the buying. It’s the oil companies that do…The government does not do the buying. Oil trade is conducted by economic entities,” he emphasised.
I do not answer hypothetical questions: Hardeep Singh Puri to CNN
The Union Petroleum Minister pointed out that India has purchased oil from Guyana, Canada and even the United States. “We will buy oil and gas for wherever we can get it,” he stated
The CNN journalist asked the Indian Minister about the consequences if the US or the European Union coerced the country against buying Russian oil. “I do not answer hypothetical questions. If the EU wants to come up with something, they will talk to us,” Hardeep Singh Puri outlined.
“We have many backup plans and we are not looking at the situation with the same lens as you. We are having healthy discussions with the West and the European Union. I think this is something (conflict) that you are creating in a TV studio,” he added.
We are the 5th largest economy, not under any external pressure: Indian Minister
A rattled Becky Anderson then claimed that the assertion was ‘not fair.’ Hardeep Singh Puri responded, “I have just come back from the United States…I have said that on record – We do not feel any pressure. Modi’s government doesn’t feel pressure. We are the 5th largest economy in the world.”
“When you have an increase in oil prices, they have consequences. One of them includes inflation and recession. This also implies that we will transition to green energy alternatives faster,” he said.
When quizzed about the opportunity for energy diversification, Puri responded, “I think some people are not aware of the fact…We are the one country in the world that has demonstrated that we can bring the cost of solar energy down from 25 cents to 3 cents.”
Hardeep Singh Puri outlines India’s roadmap to energy diversification
“If you want to make green hydrogen, then, what do you need? You need cheap power and electrolysers. We are getting both. We have one of the most comprehensive and ambitious green hydrogen plants in the world,” he emphasised
Puri further informed that biofuel blending has risen from 2% in 2014 to 10% in 2022. “If you want to make the transition from the current position to green energy, then, we have to survive the present. And that is where high oil prices have unintended consequences (such as inflation and recession),” he said.
“The good news is that we are transitioning to green energy faster,” Hardeep Singh Puri told the CNN journalist.
