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Hate Buster! Kolkata cop was not killed by mob protesting Nupur Sharma’s anti-Prophet comments

Sat, 18 Jun 2022 07:38:53 +0000

Image Courtesy: newindianexpress.com

Claim: Kolkata Police constable shot dead by people protesting Nupur Sharma’s comments against Prophet Mohammed

Busted! Police had confirmed that the constable shot himself dead after opening fire on passersby near the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission, killing one woman who was riding pillion on a bike and injuring two others.

In wake of an outbreak of violence at a demonstration held in Howrah, to protest derogatory comments made by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma, a disturbing image started circulating on social media. It showed a crowd gathered around the corpse of a West Bengal policeman who had suffered a gun-shot wound to his head. Some social media accounts claimed that the policeman was killed by protesters, and the fake news spread like wildfire!

Luckily after police started taking action against people spreading fake news, these posts were taken down. In fact, the Kolkata Police even issued a warning against spreading hate and fake news:

pic.twitter.com/Crhhd7ipyr

— Kolkata Police (@KolkataPolice) June 12, 2022

India Today’s Fake News War Room (AFWA) and fact-checking website Alt News, both investigated the matter and discovered that he had actually died by suicide. The deceased policeman, identified as constable Choudup Lepcha, who was part of the Fifth Battalion of the Kolkata Armed Police, had actually died by suicide after opening fire with his service weapon.

The incident took place on Lower Range Road near the Bangladeshi High Commission located at Park Circus, where Lepcha was posted. He opened fire and injured at least two people, and killed one woman, identified as a physiotherapist named Reema Singh, who was passing by, riding pillion on a bike.

The actual circumstances of his death were also reported by other news media outlets including NDTV, The New Indian Express, and Hindustan Times.

NDTV filed this video report shortly after the shocking incident took place:

Praveen Kumar Tripathi, Additional Commissioner of Police, Kolkata, told The New Indian Express, “It seems Lepcha who shot himself on his neck was suffering from depression. It is yet to be ascertained whether his act was because of his mental condition.”

Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal told Hindustan Times that Lepcha’s father had died in service in 2017, and he had therefore been recruited on compassionate grounds in 2021. He had resumed duty after a 10-day leave of absence on the day he took his life.

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Kashmir: Migrant labourer shot dead by militants in Budgam

Fri, 03 Jun 2022 09:16:59 +0000

Image Courtesy:rediff.com

Militants have struck again in Kashmir, this time firing at two non-local labourers, hailing from Bihar who were working at a brick kiln at Magraypora in Chadoora area of the central Kashmir district. According to news reports, the labourers, identified as Dilkush Kumar (17) and Guri, were rushed to the hospital. Kumar was shifted to SMHS hospital in Srinagar where he succumbed. However, officials told the media Guri has been discharged.

According to a news report, Home Minister Amit Shah is chairing a high-level meeting today, Friday, June 3, to discuss the Jammu and Kashmir situation. This is reportedly the second such meeting in less than a fortnight. However the tragic terror attacks on individuals beling to minority communities in the Union Territory, migrant workers, and policemen are continuing at an alarming rate. Kashmiri Pandit, and Hindu government employees have also begun an exodus from the valley, protesting the lack of security provided by the authorities.

The Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS) president Sanjay K. Tickoo who is at the forefront of the human rights fight in the Valley, especially for the members of the Kashmiri Pandit community who never left, has written to the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, invoking Article 21 – Right to Life. KPSS has sought the court’s intervention and cognisance of the minorities living in Kashmir Valley now becoming victims of terrorism. They also put on record the “failure of UT / Central Administration”, and have asked that the courts take that into cognisance.

The letter recalls that in 1990, it was “political turmoil and armed insurgency” that led to the targeting of Kashmiri Pandits / Hindus living in Kashmir Valley. This, they recalled, “led to the mass migration of the Kashmiri Pandits / Hindus from the Valley and as per the Government Census conducted in the year 2009, only 808 Kashmiri Pandit / Hindu families living in the Valley stayed back and faced all sorts of odds for survival.”

“After nearly 20 years in the year 2010, a process of rehabilitation was initiated. In the process, Kashmiri Migrants (Migrant Kashmiri Pandits / Hindus) were given jobs and accommodation so that they could come and stay in Kashmir Valley, but, in the year 2020 a new spree of target killings started and the fear has increased many folds among the members of the Religious Minorities living in Kashmir Valley including those who never left Valley in the even after 1990 mass migration.”

The KPSS says that “on the one hand, every member of the Religious Minority is under direct threat from the terrorists operating in Kashmir Valley, and on the other hand, the UT / Central Administration has failed to secure the life of Religious Minorities staying in Kashmir Valley. Nearly twelve attacks have been done on the local Religious Minorities living in Kashmir Valley apart from those who came to Kashmir for their bread and butter.”

They recalled the 2020, murder of Ajay Pandita (Bharti) who was a Sarpanch in one of the Villages in District Anantnag and stated that “from then till 31.05.2022 nearly 12 persons from the local Religious Minority were attacked out of which 11 died and one was severely injured.” The KPSS also put on record that “apart from target killing number of threat posters and letters” are issued by the terrorist organisations that “warned that they will kill Religious Minorities specifically Kashmiri Pandits / Hindus who are living in Kashmir Valley.”

The KPSS says that “the Government failed to protect” the citizens and the latest killings are now “causing more fear and panic in the Religious Minority Community in the Kashmir Valley.” The community wants to leave Kashmir Valley but “the Government is not allowing them to leave” which can be gathered from news reports and social media statements. It said, “The government blocked the roads, used electric currents to barricade the walls of the transit camps, and the main doors of the transit camps were closed from outside with locks.”

They alleged that some “blue-eyed persons who have access to the power” however, have ensured the “posting of their kiths and kins outside Kashmir Valley despite the fact they were also appointed under PM’s Package which does not permit outside Kashmir Posting.” This they alleged “clearly indicates that the Administration was aware that the situation in Kashmir not conducive for the Religious Minorities but they still made them work in Kashmir Valley without any proper security cover reason to which a dozen of Religious Minority Community members were brutally killed by the terrorists.”

According to KPSS this is “a clear violation of the Right to life which is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.” They added that “on one hand, UT / Central Administration fail to protect the lives of the religious minorities in Kashmir Valley and on the other hand does not let them leave Kashmir Valley so that they can protect their respective lives for the reasons unknown and have created an atmosphere of depression among the Religious Minorities living in Kashmir Valley reason to which one person died due to depression as the Administration is playing with the lives of the religious minorities in Kashmir Valley for some vested interests which need to be investigated.”

The KPSS has asked the court “to intervene and protect lives”. They have also asked that the “the UT / Central Government be directed to move / relocate Religious Minorities living in Kashmir Valley outside Kashmir Valley” and investigate all the targeted killings as well as “investigate all the transfers prior to 12.05.2022”.

The letter may be read here:

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Al Jazeera’s Shireen Abu Akleh shot dead in West Bank

Wed, 11 May 2022 13:35:50 +0000

Image Courtesy:arabnews.com

Shireen Abu Akleh, a veteran journalist best known for her reportage of the Israel – Palestine conflict, was shot dead, allegedly by Israeli security forces while covering a raid on a refugee camp in the city of Jenin in the Israel-controlled West Bank area on Wednesday. While the 51-year-old Palestinian journalist died from a gun-shot wound to the head, her colleague Ali al-Samoudi, was wounded in the back, reported Al Jazeera, the organisation for which them both worked.

In a formal statement condemning the killing, Al Jazeera said, “In a blatant murder, violating international laws and norms, the Israeli occupation forces assassinated in cold blood Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Palestine, Shireen Abu Akleh, targeting her with live fire early this morning, Wednesday, May 11, 2022, while conducting her journalistic duty, clearly wearing a press jacket that identifies her a journalist, covering the Israeli occupation forces storming of Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank.”

The network minced no words while holding the Israelis accountable for their horrifying actions, “Al Jazeera Media Network condemns this heinous crime, which intends to only prevent the media from conducting their duty. Al Jazeera holds the Israeli government and the occupation forces responsible for the killing of Shireen. It also calls on the international community to condemn and hold the Israeli occupation forces accountable for their intentional targeting and killing of Shireen.”

Akleh was a US citizen and had earned a reputation for her bold coverage of alleged excesses committed by Israeli forces upon Palestinians. Al Jazeera, in a moving tribute to their fallen colleague, traced her life saying, “Born in Jerusalem in 1971, Abu Akleh, who was a Christian, initially studied architecture before switching to journalism at Yarmouk University in Jordan. After graduating, she returned to Palestine and worked for several media outlets, including Voice of Palestine Radio and the Amman Satellite Channel. She joined Al Jazeera Media Network a year after it was launched in 1996, as one of the Qatar-based Arabic-language network’s first field correspondents and gained fame for her coverage of the second Palestinian Intifada in 2000.”

It further said, “As a television journalist, Abu Akleh covered events big and small, from the Gaza wars of 2008, 2009, 2012, 2014 and 2021 to the daring jailbreak of six Palestinians who escaped a maximum-security prison in northern Israel last September. She also covered regional news, including the war in Lebanon in 2006.”

Meanwhile, Israel has denied killing the journalist and Prime Minister Naftali Bennette issued a formal statement blaming Palestinians instead. “According to the information we have gathered, it appears likely that armed Palestinians — who were firing indiscriminately at the time — were responsible for the unfortunate death of the journalist,” said a tweet from the PM’s office.

Prime Minister Bennett on the sad death of veteran journalist Shireen Abu Akleh:
“According to the information we have gathered, it appears likely that armed Palestinians — who were firing indiscriminately at the time — were responsible for the unfortunate death of the journalist

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 11, 2022

But Akleh’s colleague who was with her when they were both shot at categorically denied this and said, that it was Israeli forces that fired at them and that there were no Palestinian resistance fighters at that specific spot. Akleh’s colleagues have also pointed out that she was wearing full protective gear including a bullet-proof vest and helmet and the angle of the shot was aimed at her head in a portion not covered by the helmet.

Meanwhile, there is growing condemnation of how the journalist was shot dead in cold blood. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed strong condemnation of the assassination of Al-Jazeera the correspondent, stressing that “this crime constituted a blatant violation of international laws and norms.” The State of Qatar issued a statement condemning “in the strongest terms the assassination of the Israeli occupation forces, Al-Jazeera correspondent.”

But in what was arguably more shocking, Israeli forces allegedly stormed the house of the dead journalist where friends and colleagues had gathered to mourn her.

BREAKING | Israeli occupation forces storm the house of Al Jazeera’s slain reporter Shireen Abu Aqleh in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina. pic.twitter.com/Zsk2X0CrfL

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) May 11, 2022

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UP: Lawyer shot dead inside court premises

Mon, 18 Oct 2021 10:51:01 +0000

Image Courtesy:india.com

An advocate was shot dead inside the district court complex in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur district today, on October 18 at around 11:30 A.M. As per a LiveLaw report, the lawyer who has been identified as Bhupendra Singh, was reportedly speaking to someone else in court when he was shot by an unknown person. The reason behind this shooting is yet to be ascertained.

However, S. Anand, Superintendent of Police, Shahjahanpur, has said, “According to initial reports, it appears the man was alone. No other person was seen around him at the time of the incident. The forensic team is at work…Circumstances around killing are unclear.”

According to The Quint, police forces were deployed to control the situation following the firing that took place on the third floor of the court complex. Several lawyers on the site said that the incident was a huge lapse in security.

Just days ago, on September 24, three people including Gangster Jitender Gogi, who was being produced in court, were killed during an attack. According to news reports, Gogi was shot dead by members of a rival gang who had barged into the Rohini court. The attackers were then gunned down by the police officers in “immediate counterfire”. The assailants were “dressed as lawyers” and opened fire at him. It has been reported that a judge, lawyers and many others were also present in the courtroom when the gunshots were fired.

Eventually, the Delhi high court bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh took suo moto cognisance of this incident, calling it a “grave matter”. As per media reports, the bench impleaded the Commissioner of Delhi Police, Ministry of Home Affairs and the Union Law Ministry as parties.

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Assam Police Firing: 12-year-old shot dead while returning home from Aadhaar centre!

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 12:26:58 +0000

One of the most gut-wrenching images from the September 23 police firing on evicted families in Assam, was that of an unconscious young boy with a blood-soaked shirt. That young boy was 12-year-old Sheikh Farid who succumbed to a hail of bullets fired by the Assam Police. It is now learnt that he was only there, as he was on his way back from an Aadhaar centre.

“He had gone to the Dhalpur Aadhaar centre. He was on his way back when the police shot him dead,” says Amir Hussain, brother of Sheikh Farid.

The boy, a resident of Kirakara village of the Dhalpur region, was one of the two people shot dead by Assam Police personnel who opened fire on people protesting eviction from Gorukhuti village that falls in the Sipajhar circle of Darrang District of Assam.

“We didn’t even know that he had been shot until the Facebook video began circulating,” recalls Hussain, adding, “After that, the entire family has been in shock.” Sheikh Farid’s parents, Khalek Ali and Golbhanu, have not been able to utter a single word since the day their son died! “What can they say? Their hearts are broken,” says Hussain.

The evictions, demolitions of the modest huts of deeply impoverished families and the eventual violent crackdown by the police, are all being seen by rights groups and civil society as a form of ethnic cleansing. Almost all families left homeless amidst a raging Covid-19 pandemic and the punishing monsoon season in this flood-prone riverine region of Assam, hail from the Bengali-speaking Muslim minority community.

CJP, has been working on the ground in Assam since 2017, to help our fellow Indians of all faiths navigate the complex citizenship crisis, so that nobody is victimised, especially on account of socio-economic backwardness. During our work, we have discovered how Bengali-speaking minorities are the most vulnerable as many are dubbed “Bangladeshi” or “foreigner” by a xenophobic regime.

Bengali-speaking Muslims stand at the intersection of two persecuted groups and are thus targeted with impunity by a regime that gains strength by fostering division instead of unity. Which is why, the forced removal of Bengali Muslims from a place where their families have lived for 40-50 years, seems motivated. But is someone who shoots a child dead, merely motivated, or full of hate and drunk on power?

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Mentally challenged man killed in UP on suspicions of being a cattle thief

Sat, 16 Jan 2021 13:31:51 +0000

Image Courtesy:timesnownews.com

A 20-year old was killed in Mainpuri, district of Uttar Pradesh. The victim is said to be mentally challenged and was shot dead by villagers who suspected him of being a cattle thief. According to a report in Times Now, this horrific murder took place in the Nagla Sawaj village, under Oncha police station on Wednesday.

The victim was identified as 20-year-old Sunny Yadav, a resident of Kheria village under Jasrana police station in Firozabad district, who had come to Mainpuri two days ago. The police have registerd a case of murder against villagers.

On Wednesday morning at 5 am, the victim reportedly strayed into the nearby fields in Mainpuri village as there was low visibility due to heavy fog. However the villagers apparently thought he was a cattle thief, and began thrashing him. According to the news report the victim managed to escape the beating somehow, but as he ran into the fields someone shot and killed him. He was shot fatally in the stomach, collapsed near a brick kiln and died.

According to a report in Hindustan daily, senior police officials reached the spot, took custody of the body and sent it for postmortem. Mainpuri SP Avinash Pandey was quoted as saying: “Police reached the spot after receiving information about the incident. The villagers beat him up and shot him dead thinking he was a thief. We have filed a murder cased based on the complaint of the victim’s father. We will soon arrest the accused,”

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Advocate-activist Babar Qadri shot dead by militants in Srinagar

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 03:37:03 +0000

Image Courtesy:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Jammu and Kashmir residents were shocked as news came in of an attack on advocate and activist Babar Qadri at his Hawal residence on Thursday evening. Advocate Qadri was shot at, from close range, allegedly by militants. The attackers, who could not be identified, fled the spot after opening fire on Qadri.

According to news reports advocate Qadri, a father of two young children, was rushed to the SKIMS hospital, however he was declared ‘dead on arrival’. Qadri, was a known face from the region and was often seen on television debates, and his sudden death has impacted the lawyer community, almost as much as it has his friends and family.

Qadri was active on social media, and just three days ago, he had tweeted a screenshot and urged the police in Jammu to register an FIR against a Facebook user for spreading a malafide and incorrect campaign against him. He wrote: “I urge the state Police administration to register FIR against this Shah Nazir who has spread wrong campaign that I work for agencies. This untrue statement can lead to threat to my life.”

I urge the state Police administration to register FIR against this Shah Nazir who has spread wrong campaign that I work for agencies. This un true statement can lead to threat to my life.@ZPHQJammu pic.twitter.com/utkurYpRzk

— Babar Qadri Truth (@BabarTruth) September 21, 2020

Qadri’s last tweet, ironically illustrated the vulnerability of activists, lawyers and journalists in the Union Territory. Journalist posted a warm tribute to Qadri, “Having known him since he was a student of Law at Kashmir University, it was an association of about 15 years. Of course, many of our discussions ended in disagreements but there was a level of respect. As a person he was very warm and affectionate, always. He didn’t deserve to die. He didn’t deserve to be shot dead! Shocked and deeply saddened by your death”

I knew him since he was a student of Law at KU. Many of our discussions ended in disagreements but there was a level of respect. He was warm &affectionate, always. He didn’t deserve to die. He didn’t deserve to be shot dead! Shocked and deeply saddened by your death #babarqadri pic.twitter.com/OoHgf7bEB2

— Anuradha Bhasin (@AnuradhaBhasin_) September 24, 2020

Others too posted condolence messages for Qadri, who was laid to rest on Thursday night.

From journalists to advocates, Kashmir saw it all….
Rip Shaheed #BabarQadri pic.twitter.com/l4RohLYrfJ

— MuzafferAhmed (@Muzaffe75887231) September 24, 2020

He had a pen, not gun#BabarQadri pic.twitter.com/RRcovtMkpq

— Ali Keskin (@alikeskin_tr) September 24, 2020

Funeral prayers of advocate #BabarQadri. #Kashmir pic.twitter.com/jU0HOnG3ag

— Bhat Burhan (@bhattburhan02) September 24, 2020

Within a fraction of second these Little buds, who used to play with their father have been turned into ORPHANS !?

Picture of Advocate Babar Qadri with his Daughters who was killed by terrorists today in Srinagar Kashmir.#BabarQadri pic.twitter.com/0tBNTCMyJN

— Asim Khan (@AsimKhanTweets) September 24, 2020

Another Day, Another family left devastated. Yesterday BDC Chairman was shot dead & today Advocate Babar Qadri who stood with pains & miseries of people of Kashmir has been gunned down. Revocation of Article 370 has only brought Bloodshed & Sufferings.

Rest In Peace #BabarQadri

— saima_chowdhary (@ChowdharySaima) September 24, 2020

The advocate is the second political or social activist to be shot dead by militants in 24 hours. As reported earlier, Bhupinder Singh, a member of the block development council in Khag area of Budgam district, was shot dead allegedly by militants at his ancestral village Dalwash on Wednesday night.

The Jammu & Kashmir Reading Room (KRR), a collective of lawyers, doctors, academicians, researchers, activists and journalists – based across the world, had recently raised its voice against the harassment of journalists and lawyers in the Union Territory (UT). The KRR had released a report on the subject on August 5, 2020, a year after J&K’s bifurcation, and withdrawal of its special status enshrined under Article 370. The UT of Jammu and Kashmir, had over the year witnessed the targeting of scores of journalists, lawyers, activists, politicians have been regularly summoned for questioning at police stations, some have been booked under anti terror laws, some allege they may be under surveillance and yet others continue to be jailed or under house arrest, even now. Many, especially political leaders and activists were also targeted by alleged militants.

The information blackout, that was near complete in the early days of the Kashmir lockdown, also had an impact on the working journalists and lawyers, making their job an uphill task. Inadequate The KRR had also recorded that journalists and lawyers had been on the receiving end of extra-judicial actions, “ranging from assassinations, death threats, to intimidation.”

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Second Sarpanch shot dead in J&K in 48 hours; fourth such attack in two months

Thu, 06 Aug 2020 14:07:42 +0000

Image Courtesy:dnaindia.com

Barely 48 hours after Sarpanch Arif Ahmad was shot at in Kulgam area, around 6- kilometers from Srinagar, another Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader has been shot dead. According to a news report by NDTV, Sajad Ahmad Khanday was shot dead near his home in Kulgam’s Qazigund area. He was the party’s district vice president for Kulgam. The news report states that he was rushed to a hospital in Anantnag district where he was declared brought dead.

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and sarpanch was shot dead by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. Sajad Ahmad Khanday was shot near his home in south Kashmir’s Kulgam. pic.twitter.com/y8pSpEy1n1

— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) August 6, 2020

The attack comes less than 48 hours after another BJP sarpanch was shot at, even though the Union Territory (UT) was said to have been under a heightened security cover as it was the one-year anniversary of its creation, and of the abrogation of Article 370.

Pictures of BJP workers carrying coffin of BJP SARPANCH at Vessu village in Qazigund block of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district who was killed by Suspected militants on Thursday.

Photograph: #UmaisarGull pic.twitter.com/xSTrEEEJPI

— Bol Kashmir (@bol_kashmir) August 6, 2020

The attacks have laid bare official claims that terror activities had been curbed since the new laws were enacted. This attack also seems to have exposed a pattern of attacks on sarpanchs, who lead the panchayats, or village level governing bodies. Here are those who have been attacked in the past few months:

August 2020: Sarpanch shot at close range in Kulgam district

Arif Ahmad, was at his home in Akhran village of Kulgam district, when the attackers, allegedly militants, barged in and fired at him. The Indian Express reported that the assailants entered the village on Tuesday evening and opened fire from close range. “He has a bullet in the chest… His condition remains critical,” said Dr Mohammad Iqbal, Medical Superintendent of the Government Medical College in Anantnag where Ahmad has been admitted.

July 2020: Terrorists kill BJP leader Sheikh Waseem Bari, his father and brother in Bandipore.

The young Kashmiri politician Sheikh Waseem Bari, had 10 cops, including eight security commandos guarding him. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Bandipore District President who was just 27-years-old, was shot and killed on July 8, allegedly in a terror attack, along with his father and brother, near the Bandipore Police Station.

June 2020: Larkipora’s sarpanch Ajay Pandita Bharti, was shot dead

Congress Party’s sarpanch Ajay Pandita was gunned down on June 8, 2020, later, Sheen, Pandita’s daughter, had put the Bharatiya Janata Party in the dock blaming them for not providing security. “My father had asked for security. No one asks for security without reason,” she had told news channels, “So why did they not give security?”

The latest killing of a grassroot politician has shaken political workers of the UT. The Sarpanch Association has condemned the killing of Panchayat members, and asked “Why are they killing us if we are working for people. We are a part of your family. We are members of your family. We work for you, we get your roads fixed. If we have committed a wrong ask your family members why they voted for us?” the representative can be heard asking. Perhaps addressing his query to both the attackers, and the administration.

#GANDERBAL: Sarpanch Association Condemns killing of Panchayat memebers, asks why killing us if we are working for people pic.twitter.com/YmOBYCXOGg

— Kashmir Patriot (@KashmirPatriot) August 6, 2020

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UP Hindu Mahasabha president shot dead while on morning walk

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 09:24:14 +0000

Image Courtesy: scroll.in

On Sunday morning, Ranjit Bachchan, president of the Hindu Mahasabha’s Uttar Pradesh unit was shot dead by two men who remain as yet unidentified. Bachchan was on his morning walk near Globe Park in the Hazratganj area when he was shot in the head. His assailants fled the spot and remain at large.

In a statement, Joint CP of Lucknow Police Naveen Arora said, “The attacker had covered himself in a shawl and was on foot. He also snatched Ranjit’s mobile phone.” The UP Police has now formed six teams to investigate the case and has also announced a reward of Rs 50,000/- for information on the assailants. CCTV footage of the attack shows that the assailant was wearing a black shirt with ah light coloured shawl.

Meanwhile, Bachchan’s distraught wife Kalindi told India Today that her husband had been receiving threats. She said, “Ranjit didn’t file a police complaint on the threats he was receiving. He was confident that he will never be harmed under the Yogi Adityanath government. We lost our child a few years ago and now, I have suffered another unbearable pain. The perpetrators behind this brutal murder should be arrested soon and the strictest possible action should be taken against them.” Bachchan originally hailed from Gorakhpur and had also been associated with the Samajwadi Party in the past.

This is the second such high-profile murder of a prominent Hindutva leader in the state. On October 18, 2019, Hindu Samaj Party leader Kamlesh Tiwari had also been killed in a rather gruesome manner at his home in Naka Hindola in Lucknow. His post-mortem report revealed that he was not only shot once, but also stabbed 15 times!

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Mauled Body of Umar Thrown on Rail Tracks, PUCL Rajasthan Accuses Police of Complicity

Mon, 13 Nov 2017 03:06:44 +0000

The PUCL Rajasthan has demanded the arrests of policemen who allegedly also fired at the now dead Umar Muhammad on November 10, 2017 at Ghatmatika Pahadi, near Pahadi Kaman, Bharatpur, Rajasthan. No FIR was lodged till yesterday, two days after the ghastly murder first initiated by so called ‘Gau Rakshaks’. Sabrangindia had reported from the TV 18 story on the incident yesterday.

Now police sorurces clai, that a ‘second FIR’ was lodged Sunday under IPC section 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) following a complaint by Umar’s family members. The first FIR lodged (despite the fact that a human being had been brutally killed) was under The Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, against the alleged cow smugglers on Friday.

The PUCL, a reputed human rights body has accused policemen from the Ramgarh thana (Alwar) also of the murder and also trying to destroy evidence of the killing by throwing Umar’s body to the railway track. PUCL issued the release after speaking to one Sahir who is an eye witness and who escaped, somehow the bloody attack. The Indian Express has also quoted Alwar’s Meo Panchayat chief, Sher Mohammad alleging that the cow vigilantes killed Umar and then threw his body at the railway tracks to make it look like an accident.

Photographs of the dead Ummar shared by his family and one survivor are testimony to the ghastly levels that the perpetrators have gone to commit the act.

The PUCL press note says that, ” The murder of Umar is the complete failure of the Vasundhara Raje Government in protecting Muslims in particular Dairy farmers from the Killer Gaurakshaks. However in this case it was the bullet of the Ramgarh police that killed him and then the police tried to destroy evidence by throwing his body on the railway track. The present state of his body shows the brutality that the police and the so called Gaurakshaks can indulge in.”

The rights body has demanded of the immediate lodging of an FIR against the so called Gaurakshaks and the Ramgarh police. “Nothing short of arrest of the above including one Rakesh whose name was given by Sahir who escaped the bloody madness of the police and the Gaurakshaks” says the press note.

Meo Panchayat leaders in protest on Sunday: Photo Kavita Srivastava

Compensation including cash of 25 lakhs and land to the family has also been demanded as also protection for th lone survivor of the incident and a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs. There are also specific demands fromt he government regarding the local police: that the Ramgarh SHO be dismissed from duty and the SP Alwar be suspended for failing to prevent this incident and worse, for not locating the body for two days. Finally says the human rights body, it is time that the state’s home minister announce a comprehensive plan for the protection of meos in Alwar and Bharatpur districts.

Rajasthan has seen a spurt of such killings of cattle farmers all in the name of cow protection.
In an attempt to the turn the story around and making it an issue of cow smuggling, the SP Alwar told the Indian Express, “Not much is clear at this moment. A vehicle belonging to cattle smugglers was found abandoned at about 6 am on Friday under the jurisdiction of Alwar’s Govindgarh police station,” Alwar SP Rahul Prakash said.

Depth of Hatred Evident in the Crimes (Photos Shared by Kavita Srivastava)

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