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Random men carrying boxes pose as ‘Twitter employees’ fired by Elon Musk, prank CNBC reporters: Here is what happened

OpIndia Staff
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Random men carrying boxes pose as ‘Twitter employees’ fired by Elon Musk, prank CNBC reporters: Here is what happened

American business news channel, CNBC, fell for a prank by random strangers, who posed as Twitter employees and claimed that they were fired by the company’s new owner Elon Musk. The incident took place on Friday (US local time).

CNBC mistook two strangers for ex-Twitter employees after they were spotted with boxes near the entrance of the company’s headquarters in San Francisco. When quizzed about their ouster, the duo decided to play along.

“I am a data engineer. We were having a lot of problems. And then Elon came and pulled the plug on the whole team,” one of the men, who identified as ‘Daniel Johnson’ was heard as saying.

He claimed to have worked at Twitter for 6 years. “I respect Elon Musk but the kind of stuff that he said lately is concerning. I own a Tesla. How am I going to make car payments,” he emphasised.

‘Daniel’ also expressed concern about how ‘free speech’ on Twitter, under Musk, can empower Nazis who hate transgenders. “Listen, I got to touch base with my husband and wife,” he said before making his way out.

Nonetheless, Daniel’s associate decided to continue the prank and claimed that his name was ‘Rahul Ligma.’ As per Know Your Meme, Ligma is a fictional testicular disease, which is meant to make people say ‘lick my balls’ in response to the joke.

He made bizarre assertions, following his supposed ‘ouster’ from the social media company. “It makes me worry about the future of our democracy… the future of celebrity conservatorship. I mean, when Britney [Spears] happened…” Rahul Ligma claimed.

He continued, “Michelle Obama wouldn’t have happened if Elon Musk owned Twitter. Obama in 2008 wouldn’t have happened without Elon Musk owning Twitter…I even own a Tesla, man. I’m a big fan of clean energy, climate change, even free speech too.”

Other news organisations including Bloomberg and ‘Live Now from Fox’ also fell for the prank and passed if off as ‘genuine news’ about Twitter employees being fired by Elon Musk.

Journalists mistake prank for ‘real news’, goes berserk on Twitter

CNBC ‘Tech Check’ journalist, Deidre Bosa, was one of those who mistook the prank for real news. She exclaimed, “It’s happening. Entire team of data engineers let go. These are two of them. #TwitterTakeover.” The archive version of the tweet can be accessed here.

“They are visibly shaken. Daniel tells us he owns a Tesla and doesn’t know how he’s going to make payments…To be clear – I don’t think the Tesla was top of mind, I think Elon Musk was,” she further claimed.

Later, she informed that the CNBC team could not confirm whether or not the two individuals were Twitter employees.

Elon Musk trolls CNBC

The Tesla CEO did not waste any opportunity to troll the US media for failing to verify the identity of the supposed ‘Twitter employees.’ He tweeted, “Ligma Johnson had it coming (or rathercumming).”

In another tweet, Elon Musk took potshots at CNBC and applauded the media organisation for its ‘ace reporting.’

Netizens also joined Musk in trolling the news outlet. “Friends inside Twitter tell me that Ruhal Ligma’s boss, Dinesh Sukondeez has also been laid off and is walking out of the building now. #TwitterTakeover,” wrote one ‘yoni rechtman.’

Another Twitter user trolled, “So terrible. Just heard a mutual friend Fumunda Deeznuts was also laid off along with his entire team. #TwitterTakeover”

On Friday (October 28), Tesla CEO Elon Musk fired top executives of Twitter Inc. including CEO Parag Agrawal and its legal Head Vijaya Gadde, reported Reuters.

The development came immediately after Musk took over the ownership of the micro-blogging platform on October 28. Besides Agrawal and Gadde, the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Ned Segal was also fired for misleading the Tesla CEO and the investors about fake accounts on Twitter.

Reuters reported that Parag Agrawal and Ned Segal were ‘escorted out’ of Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco after the $44-billion deal came to fruition. “The bird is freed”, Elon Musk had tweeted about the development.

Elon Musk had vowed to eliminate spam bots from the micro-blogging site, protect Twitter from becoming an eco chamber for hate and division and make algorithms open-sourced.

Muslim girls above 15 years can marry, it would not violate the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act: Punjab and Haryana HC cite Sharia law

OpIndia Staff
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Muslim girls above 15 years can marry, it would not violate the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act: Punjab and Haryana HC cite Sharia law

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently reaffirmed that a Muslim girl who reaches the age of 15 can marry whoever she wants, and such a marriage would not violate the Prohibition of Child Marriage (PCM) Act. Notably, according to the personal laws in Islam (Sharia), the age of attaining puberty is 15. The High Court has also reassured that Muslim girls will continue to be governed by Islamic personal laws.

In his order, Justice Vikas Bahl stated, “Such a marriage would not be void in terms of Section 12 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006.”

A 16-year-old had asked a childcare agency for permission to reconcile with her 26-year-old spouse. The remark was made during the hearing of Javed’s habeas corpus case, in which he was challenging the ‘imprisonment’ of his 16-year-old wife in a children’s care home.

The girl informed the court that she had fled her home to marry the person of her choice and reside with him. However, her family members had forcibly engaged the girl to her maternal uncle. Uday Chauhan, appearing for the minor girl told the court that the girl had performed Nikah with the 26-year-old man on July 27, 2022.

The court relying on Yunus Khan vs. State of Haryana & Ors ruled that their marriage was legal under Islamic law and that the petitioner had legal custody of the detenue. In the petitioner’s case, his marriage to his wife was consummated voluntarily and was recognized as genuine because both parties were Muslims, despite the fact that the detenue was a minor and under the age of 18.

The single bench of Justice Vikas Bahl ordered her release from the child care agency and custody transfer to the petitioner after reviewing the relevant records, legal arguments, and the detenue’s statement given pursuant to Section 164 of the CrPC.

A similar High Court decision that relied on the Yunus Khan case ruling to say that a Muslim girl over the age of 15 is competent to enter into a contract of marriage with the person of her choice has been challenged in the Supreme Court by the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

The NCPCR argued in its appeal that the ruling violated the PCM Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 (POCSO Act) by effectively allowing child marriage and sexual intercourse with children. The Supreme Court has appointed Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao as Amicus Curiae in the case, and it is expected to be heard soon November 7.

Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment Bill) 2021

It is worth noting that the Parliament previously introduced the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021, which would raise the marriageable age for girls to 21, the same as for boys. Furthermore, when introducing the bill, the government stated that it would apply to all girls, irrespective of their religion. The Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports examining the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021 was recently granted an extension.

The much-discussed ‘Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021’ proposes raising the marriage age for girls from 18 to 21 years and consequential amendments in laws pertaining to the age of marriage i.e. ‘the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872’; ‘the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936’; ‘the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937’; ‘the Special Marriage Act, 1954’; ‘the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955’; and ‘the Foreign Marriage Act, 1969’. 

After deporting 3 Swedish preachers, Assam police detain 7 Germans for giving religious speeches on tourist visas, to be deported

OpIndia Staff
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After deporting 3 Swedish preachers, Assam police detain 7 Germans for giving religious speeches on tourist visas, to be deported

Assam is seeing a dramatic rise in instances of foreign nationals caught violating the terms of their visas by attending religious events and giving speeches at gatherings sponsored by church organizations. After three Swedish preachers were detained and deported for violating visa norms by indulging in conversion activities, now seven German nationals have been detained on 28th October 2022 near the Kaziranga National Park for a similar alleged offence.

The seven Germans, visiting Assam on tourist visas, were found delivering speeches at church-organised functions in several places in Assam, and were detained in the Golaghat district. The detained persons have been identified as Christian Reiser, Michael Erich Schaper, Merten Asmus, Cornelia Von Oneimb, Hinrich Luppen-Von Oneimb, Christa Olearius, and Lisa Aimee Bloem. Along with the prisoners, an Indian named Mukut Bodra from Jharkhand is also detained with these Germans.

All seven of the foreign citizens, who entered India on a tourist visa, were detained in accordance with Section 14 of the Foreigners Act. They will bear a penalty of $500 each and be deported. If they fail to pay the penalty, they will be arrested. They have been detained as they were indulging in religious preaching activities on tourist visas, as missionary visa is needed for foreigners to take part in such activities.

Talking about the incident, Special DGP of Assam Police GP Singh said, “They were certainly involved in religious activities though I’m not competent to say if they were indulging in conversion or not. They came here on tourist visas. For taking part in religious activities, they needed to take missionary visas. For now, we have detained them, asked them to pay the fine for flouting visa norms, and leave the country, as per the law.” He informed that they participated in religious events at various places like Tinsukia, Margherita, Karbi Anglong, and they were to attend a similar program at Tezpur tomorrow. He said that they violated visa norms as they visited on tourist visas, whereas preachers need to obtain Missionary (M) visas, and also need to register themselves with the local administration.

Reportedly, the group had delivered religious speeches in several districts in Assam including Tinsukia and Karbi Anglong, and halted in Golaghat. They were going to visit other places too, but they were detained by police when they were on their way to a resort in Kaziranga from Rangagora. According to police, the seven Germans are currently staying at Kaziranga National Park’s Wild Grass Resort. They were due to go to Tezpur after giving speeches at church-sponsored events in Golaghat and Karbi Anglong districts. The German nationals are in the state since October 21st.

The police further informed that all these areas are dominated by tea garden workers and indigenous tribals. The DGP said that restraining orders have been issued to the Germans asking them not to leave the resort for the time being. If they pay the penalty of $500 each for violation of visa norms and produce proof of obtaining tickets of leaving India, they will be released and arrangements will be made for them to leave the country. However, if they fail to do so, appropriate action will be taken.

It is being reported that the Germans will be shifted to Guwahati and then to Kolkata, from where they will be sent back to Germany on Saturday.

Earlier on October 26, Assam police arrested three persons from Sweden for violating visa norms by indulging in conversion activities. The three Swedish nationals had entered India on a tourist visa, but they were found to be involved in religious preaching activities, following which they were arrested from Naharkatia in the Dibrugarh district in eastern Assam. The arrested Swedish nationals were identified as Hannah Mikaela Bloom, Marcus Arne Henrik Bloom, and Susanna Elisabeth Hakanason.

The three were trying to lure people to convert to Christianity in tea garden areas in the region, and they were arrested while running a proselytization event. They were trying to lure people in the area to Christianity under the pretext of a program titled “Peace and Healing Prayer Festival” scheduled from October 25 to 27. The event was organized at Achabam Ghinai 1 No. playground in Nakarkatia by United Churches Fellowship and Bless Assam Mission Network.

The Swedish nationals were also fined US $500 each and were sent to Stockholm via Qatar on Friday, October 28. They were produced before a court and were found guilty under the Foreigners Act, which directed police to arrange for their deportation. The recently detained German preachers are also likely to go through a similar procedure.

Assam has seen a massive increase in violations of tourist visas by peachers and terrorists in the state. Earlier while busting jihadi modules run by Ansarullah Bangla Team Al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), it was found that several Bangladeshis had entered India on tourist visas, took jobs in mosques and madarsas, and were working as jihadi sleeper cells.

What is a missionary visa?

Indian law prohibits foreigners with tourist visas from participating in any religious activities, including lectures and gatherings. A missionary visa is one of the 18 different types of visas the Indian government offers to foreigners who want to work as missionaries in India or who want to enter the nation for other religious or humanitarian purposes. Missionary visas are provided for a single entry into India for the maximum amount of time that the Indian government permits.

Govt takes another step in preventing arbitrary suspension of social media accounts, amends IT Rules to form Grievance Appellate Committees

OpIndia Staff
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Govt takes another step in preventing arbitrary suspension of social media accounts, amends IT Rules to form Grievance Appellate Committees

The central government on Friday, October 28, notified amendments to the IT Rules 2021 that will grant it the ability to rule on the validity of content moderation decisions taken by all intermediaries, including social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and others.

The latest amendments make it mandatory for social media intermediaries to comply with the Constitution of India provisions and the country’s sovereign laws.

With the new amendments, any person aggrieved by a decision of the Grievance Officer related to blocks, suspensions, etc. may prefer to file an appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of communication from the Grievance Officer. 

The government’s amendments stemmed from users’ complaints about being de-platformed or being removed from a social media site, without companies giving them an adequate avenue of hearing or a satisfactory explanation.

“The Central Government shall, by notification, establish one or more Grievance Appellate Committees within three months from the date of commencement of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2022,” the Gazette notification issued by the Centre said. 

The amendments mandate social media companies to acknowledge user complaints within twenty-four hours and resolve such them within a period of fifteen days from the date of their receipt. If users deem social media intermediaries’ actions unsatisfactory, they can approach the Grievance Appellate Committees for redressal.

The Grievance Appellate Committee is expected to deal with such appeals in an expeditious manner and seek to resolve the appeal within a span of 30 days from the date of receipt of the appeal. 

Each Grievance Appellate Committee shall consist of a chairperson and two whole-time members appointed by the Central Government, of which one shall be a member ex-officio and two shall be independent members.

“The Grievance Appellate Committee shall adopt an online dispute resolution mechanism wherein the entire appeal process, from the filing of an appeal to the decision thereof, shall be conducted through digital mode,” the notification read.

The social media intermediaries are ordained to comply with the order passed by the Grievance Appellate Committee and a report to that effect shall be uploaded on its website.

UP Global Investors Summit 2023: Mexico and Thailand to become partner countries as Yogi Adityanath plans to visit multiple nations to pitch summit

OpIndia Staff
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UP Global Investors Summit 2023: Mexico and Thailand to become partner countries as Yogi Adityanath plans to visit multiple nations to pitch summit

In order to boost the economy of Uttar Pradesh and create employment opportunities in the state, the Yogi government is going to organize the UP Global Investors Summit (UP GIS 2023) from February 10 to 12 next year. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has set a target of attracting investments of Rs 10 lakh crore in the state through the summit.

For the UP Global Investors Summit, the government aims to connect 19 countries as partner countries, of which five countries have already joined Uttar Pradesh. Mexico and Thailand are also going to join as partner countries for the UP Investors Summit 2023. Talks are in the final stages. It is notable that more than 10 thousand delegates from all over the world are going to attend Uttar Pradesh for the Global Investors Summit.

The Yogi Adityanath government has hit the ground running to attract major business and industrial groups of the world to invest in the state. Senior officials of the UP government have also held extensive discussions in this regard with the Indian High Commissioners and Ambassadors appointed to 118 countries of the world who visited India recently. The government’s entire emphasis is on vigorously promoting UP GIS 2023 through Indian missions working abroad. For this, there is a plan to publicize UP GIS 2023 through the websites of all embassies, high commissions, and consulates of India.

Senior officials of the Yogi Adityanath government are sharing information about the targeted companies, especially those who want to invest in India, with Indian missions working abroad. Apart from this, discussions are also going on continuously to invite foreign companies interested in investing in India to UP GIS 2023. Discussions are also being held with Indian High Commissioners, Ambassadors, and Consulates on investment-centric policy. The state government is also preparing a new policy for various sectors at a rapid pace.

The government’s focus is on influential NRIs living abroad, whose roots are connected to Uttar Pradesh. The Yogi Adityanath government is also considering bringing migrants from Uttar Pradesh living in all the target countries on one platform. Apart from this, talks have also started with important business organizations and departments of host countries for the roadshow. Indian mission officials have also been asked to appoint nodal officers for UP GIS, whom UP government officials can always be in touch with.

England, Mauritius, France, Denmark, and Singapore are set to become partner countries at the UP Global Investors Summit. Talks with Mexico and Thailand are in the final stages. Apart from this, top officials of the government are also engaged in mission mode to enlist America, Germany, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Netherlands, Japan, Israel, Russia, Belgium, Brazil, Australia, and South Africa as partner countries. In November, roadshows are scheduled to be organized by the government in 21 cities in all the targeted 19 countries. For this, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath himself along with his key ministers will visit different countries.

Amit Malviya to lodge FIR against The Wire and its management for fake Meta story, says it was a criminal conspiracy to tarnish his image

OpIndia Staff
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Amit Malviya to lodge FIR against The Wire and its management for fake Meta story, says it was a criminal conspiracy to tarnish his image

A day after BJP’s IT cell head Amit Malviya said that he will initiate criminal and civil proceedings against The Wire for their fake XCheck Meta story targeting him and BJP, Malviya has said that he will now lodge an FIR against the leftist propaganda portal. In a statement issued today on Twitter, Malviya said that he will lodge the FIR against Wire and its management and reporters at the concerned police station.

Amit Malviya said that he will file the FIR under sections that deal with forgery, forgery for the purposes of cheating, forgery to harm reputation, defamation, cheating and criminal conspiracy, among others. Apart from this, he will also initiate civil proceedings for damage caused to him by The Wire and its associates.

Opening up about the issue for the first time after Wire published the stories alleging that he was given a special privilege by Meta to take down content on Instagram and post content without any moderation, Malviya said that it is clear that The Wire and some unknown persons entered into a criminal conspiracy with the intent to malign and tarnish his reputation.

He said that The Wire deliberately inserted his name into the story about Instagram taking down an image minutes after it was uploaded due to an algorithm falsely flagging the image for nudity, and then fabricated evidence to implicate him. It is notable that the account where the image was private, had very few followers, and was not followed by Malviya. The operators of the account themselves had blamed faulty AI on Instagram for taking down the image, and the initial Wire report had reported exactly that.

But in a follow-up report, The Wire claimed that it was taken down by Amit Malviya, claiming that he has been given ‘XCheck’ special privileges by Instagram owner Meta to take down content, and post any content he wants. After Meta had denied the claims made in the story, Wire produced the screenshot of a purported email from Meta official Andy Stone to his team that seemed to show that the allegations were true.

But Andy Stone denied writing that email and said it was fake. Even before Stone had issued the denial, social media users had pointed out evidence in the screenshot that proved that it was fake, including language not typically used by Americans. After that, Wire produced more screenshots from two independent experts, including a Microsoft official, which claimed that they have verified the email of Stone to be true.

But the entire story fell apart after both experts denied that they had verified the email, and said that screenshots of their emails published by Wire were fake. After this, The Wire was forced to retract the stories and announced a review of the episode. The portal also took down its earlier stories on Tek Fog, where they had made similar claims of BJP having an app with superpowers to manipulate social media platforms.

Wire has also issued an apology to its readers, but is yet to apologise to Meta, Malviya and others who were dragged into their fake story. Amit Malviya said, “even while retracting the story, The Wire refrained from apologising to me, despite maligning and tarnishing my reputation and causing serious harm to my professional career.” He said that his role requires him to vociferously advocate the BJP’s point of view on national issues, across platforms. This role is based on trust and camaraderie, between him and his interlocutors across platforms and more importantly with the public, he said.

“However, The Wire’s stories have vitiated the atmosphere and severely dented relationships and trust built over the years for me to carry out the functions of my responsibility,” Malviya added.

Talking about the entire episode, Malviya said, “This also undermines the democratic and informed choices that the public makes, through a carefully calibrated campaign of disinformation and calumny, and does irreparable harm to the democratic right of dissent.”

He said that given this backdrop, he is left with no option other than to seek appropriate legal remedies against The Wire’ and its management/ reporters.

As ‘censor chief’ Vijaya Gadde is fired, read how Twitter had refused to take down child porn even as victim’s parents begged for its removal

OpIndia Staff
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As ‘censor chief’ Vijaya Gadde is fired, read how Twitter had refused to take down child porn even as victim’s parents begged for its removal

On Friday (October 28), the Head of Legal Policy, Trust, and Safety at Twitter, Vijaya Gadde, was booted out of service by the company’s new owner Elon Musk.

Gadde, who spent 11 years at the social media giant, had earned the distinction of being the ‘censor chief‘ of Twitter. She was responsible for terminating the Twitter account of US President Donald Trump and killing the ‘Hunter Biden story’, which impacted voting in the 2020 US elections.

However, during her tenure, Twitter failed to remove videos of child sexual abuse despite repeated requests by the minor victim and his parents.

The Background of the controversy

In 2021, a 17-year-old boy, alias ‘John Doe’, filed a lawsuit against Twitter for not removing two child pornography videos featuring him, despite multiple requests to the social media giant.

The victim informed us that the videos were shot when he was just 13 years old. He accused Twitter of allowing the dissemination of disturbing videos and profiteering from his traumatic experience.

The teen had alleged that sex traffickers, posing as a 16-year-old female classmate, had lured him for a chat on Snapchat. After exchanging nude photos with the traffickers, he was subjected to blackmail.

The accused had coerced him into sending more sexually graphic images and videos by threatening to send the nude images to his pastor, coach and parents. The victim was made to include another child in sexual acts.

Eventually, he mustered the courage to block the traffickers. Later in 2019, the videos of his abuse surfaced on Twitter. They were reported several times to the moderation team, which refused to take them down.

Meanwhile, the victim was subjected to bullying and harassment by his classmates over his child abuse videos. After several requests, Twitter responded to the victim and claimed that the two videos were not in violation of the company’s policies.

By then, the videos were watched over 1.67 lakh users and retweeted over 2.2K times. It was only after a formal complaint to the Department of Homeland Security that Twitter acted against the user that posted the videos.

Screengrab of the news report by The Verge

In August 2022, The Verge reported how Twitter was planning to start a subscription model for adult content creators, along the lines of OnlyFans. At that time, a team of 84 Twitter employees pointed out how the social media giant lacked tools to identify potentially harmful sexual content.

“Twitter cannot accurately detect child sexual exploitation and non-consensual nudity at scale,” they concluded. Interestingly, the social media giant was quick to terminate the accounts of those individuals who questioned the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines and the mainstream narrative about the pandemic.

‘Human Trafficking Survivor Advocate’ Eliza had documented several cases where Twitter failed to protect minor victims of child abuse.

In May last year, a Russian court fined Twitter for failing to delete illegal content, including posts related to child pornography, drug abuse information, and calls for minors to commit suicide, which was highlighted by the telecom regulator Ruskomnadzor.

With Gadde’s ouster and Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, users are looking forward to drastic changes in moderation policy and prevention of dissemination of child pornography on social media platforms.

‘Politicians are involved’: NCPCR and NCW take cognizance after NHRC issues notice to Rajasthan Govt over auctioning of minor girls

OpIndia Staff
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‘Politicians are involved’: NCPCR and NCW take cognizance after NHRC issues notice to Rajasthan Govt over auctioning of minor girls

A day after National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Congress government in the state over a Dainik Bhaskar report that minor girls are being auctioned off on stamp papers to pay off family loans in half a dozen districts in Rajasthan, Indian statutory bodies like the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the National Commission for Women (NCW) have sprung into action.

Taking cognizance of the reported crime, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanoongo on Friday said he will visit the villages on November 7 and meet families there. Kanoongo also accused state officials and the administration of being part of the nexus.

“We will investigate (the matter). On 7 November, I will visit the village affected by trafficking, meet affected families and try to know who all are involved in this nexus. We will see that nexus gets banned and accused is punished,” Kanoongo told news agency ANI.

“Today we’ll serve notice. It’s clear that govt officials & politicians are involved. Without political & administrative support, child trafficking of this kind cannot happen in an organized way,” Kanoongo said.

Furthermore, the National Commission for Women (NCW) formed a two-member fact-finding team on Friday to investigate allegations of auctioning off girls for loan repayment in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district, according to a press statement.

NCW chief Rekha Sharma also wrote to the Rajasthan chief secretary and demanded an action taken report within four weeks. The Commission has also written to the Director General of Police, Rajasthan to immediately invoke relevant provisions in the FIR and to arrest all the accused at the earliest.

Congress Govt in Rajasthan refutes allegations

Meanwhile, in response to the National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) concern regarding accusations of ‘auctioning of girls’, Rajasthan minister Pratap Khachariyawas stated on Friday that the selling of girls does not occur in the state.

“It’s a matter of investigation. When such information comes out, we can’t know the truth until there is a probe. NHRC should’ve spoken to the Rajasthan police first about this. Selling of girls doesn’t happen in the state,” the Congress leader asserted.

Rajasthan govt faces the ire of NHRC over reports on the auction of girls on stamp papers in the state

Notably, taking suo moto cognizance of a media report that minor girls are being auctioned off on stamp papers and the blatant sexual exploitation in the name of loan payment, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Congress government in the state on Thursday (October 27, 2022). The Rajasthan government has been given 4 weeks to respond to the matter.

An exclusive report by the Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar reported that in Rajasthan, minor girls were being sold off by their family members to pay off loans and the system is prevalent in some districts where certain ‘caste’ Panchayats control the locals. Any objection to the system results in threats and sexual exploitation of other female family members.

As evidence, the media outlet had also shared a screenshot of a stamp paper on which a caste panchayat in Bhilwara conducted a similar deal to resolve an alleged dispute between two parties.

Coimbatore Blast: NIA recovers bomb-making material, Jihadi literature from the residence of deceased Jamesha Mubin

OpIndia Staff
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Coimbatore Blast: NIA recovers bomb-making material, Jihadi literature from the residence of deceased Jamesha Mubin

After NIA filed FIR charge sheet in the Coimbatore blast case, the details of the charges made by the NIA has been revealed. According to the charge sheet, over a hundred incriminating items have been recovered from the residence of 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/

In the incident, a 25-year-old man died on October 22 in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, when an LPG cylinder in a car exploded in the communally sensitive Kottaimedu district. The deceased in the Coimbatore blast was identified as Jamesha Mubin, a resident of Kottaipudur, near GM Nagar in Ukkadam. Mubin is said to be an engineering graduate. Now, shocking details about the case have emerged in the FIR filed by the National Investigative Agency (NIA).

The Maruti 800 car in which the blast occurred at around 4 pm near a Hindu temple belonged to Jamesha Mubeen. The NIA has also recovered materials used in making bombs and notebooks containing information on Islam and Jihad.

Notably, the NIA registered the case after Home Ministry’s  Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalization (CTCR) issued an order directing the agency to initiate an investigation into the case.

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.

FIR filed by NIA (Image credit: Twitter/@shilpa1308)

So far, Tamil Nadu police have arrested six people in connection with the case and have invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). All the arrested persons are said to be associates of Jameesha Mubin. Mubin was also questioned by the central anti-terror agency in 2019 over alleged ISIS links, according to the police. Mubin had made preparations for a blast earlier also, but the plan had been foiled, the police informed. 

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.

Mohammad Thalka, 25, Muhammad Asarudheen, 25, Muhammad Riyaz, 27, Feroz Ismail, 27, Mohammad Navaz Ismail, 27, and Afsar Khan were arrested in connection with the case, and booked under UAPA. Among them, Mohammad Thalka is the son of 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.

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.

Rishi Sunak and PM Modi hold their first conversation after Sunak became UK PM, both agree to sign Free Trade Agreement soon

OpIndia Staff
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Rishi Sunak and PM Modi hold their first conversation after Sunak became UK PM, both agree to sign Free Trade Agreement soon

On Thursday 27th October 2022, Rishi Sunak conversed with PM Modi for the first time after assuming the charge as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. They both agreed that it was crucial to quickly conclude a thorough and fair free trade agreement between the two countries.

Due to a lack of consensus and the change in UK political leadership, India and the UK failed to sign the FTA by the deadline of Diwali. But as the two leaders have discussed this over the call, it is expected to come to a close soon.

After this conversation, PM Narendra Modi tweeted, “Glad to speak to Rishi Sunak today. Congratulated him on assuming charge as UK PM. We will work together to further strengthen our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. We also agreed on the importance of early conclusion of a comprehensive and balanced FTA.”

Rishi Sunak also took it to Twitter to inform about the development. He posted, “Thank you Prime Minister Narendra Modi for your kind words as I get started in my new role. The UK and India share so much. I’m excited about what our two great democracies can achieve as we deepen our security, defense, and economic partnership in the months & years ahead.”

Sunak supported the FTA when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer because he saw huge prospects for both nations in the fintech and insurance industries. The Prime Ministers spoke on the phone the day before James Cleverly, the British Foreign Secretary, visited India.

On Friday, Cleverly paid respects to victims who perished in the 2008 terrorist attack at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai. He will go to New Delhi on Saturday to give a speech at the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee’s Special Meeting. In order to combat global terror recruitment drives and live streaming of attacks, he will urge nations to band together.

He will also meet with S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs, to discuss the latest developments towards the 2030 Roadmap, the historic agreement to increase cooperation between the UK and India over the following ten years through a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said, “Since it was launched last year, huge progress has been made, including the start of ambitious free trade negotiations, the expansion of our defense and security partnership, including through a visit to India last year by HMS Queen Elizabeth and the Carrier Strike Group (CSG), and joint exercises to enhance cyber security collaboration.”

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said, “Our relationship with India is hugely important to me; as the world’s largest democracy, India is a natural partner for the UK in the Indo-Pacific. It is an economic and tech powerhouse. Our deeper ties will boost both our economies and help to tackle global security challenges. I look forward to working even more closely with India when it takes up the G20 Presidency in December.”

On Monday, Prime Minister Modi congratulated Sunak and expressed his willingness to collaborate with him closely on international issues and put the Roadmap 2030 for bilateral relations into implementation.

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