Greater Noida: An unreported incident has come to light, where Hindu residents objected to a small group of Muslim occupants of the same residential society, from holding congregational prayers in the evening after the end of the day’s fast, during the recently concluded month of Ramzan in the Greater Noida Township in the NCR.
The Muslims of the residential society were also forced to stop Taraveeh, the special congregational prayer organized solely during the holy month of Ramzan after the fasting hours.
Even though the prayer was being held in the common commercial building within the society after securing prior permission from the concerned authorities, the police were summoned to stop the prayer promulgating Section 144 in the area.
This has happened in a middle-class upscale gated apartment complex in Greater Noida, part of the Delhi NCR.
In most residential complexes, such common spaces are either used – without objections from any quarter – for small family parties or community functions, including religious ceremonies, especially of the Hindus, but in this case, since Muslims were involved in religious activity, their held congregational prayers become a public row.
The incident in Greater Noida points to the onset of a systemic and institutional bias against Muslims for any form of assembly even if it is for devotional purposes in India.
The message behind the protest by local residents of the society was their diktat that Muslims can live in Hindu majority colonies provided they do not ‘look’ like Muslims in public spaces. They must not publicly flaunt their religious identity or do any collective religious activity in public spaces.
The latest incident of protest in Greater Noida was from relatively ‘well-off’ people who were reasonably educated and can speak English comfortably. This group of people does not comprise the traditional political constituency of the Sangh Parivar but in fact, represents intelligentsias and white-collar communities.
The incident in Greater Noida highlights the grand design of invisibilisation of Muslims in the public space. This design is being attempted by middle-class Hindus in cities and towns across several states of India.
This design has a spiraling impact as it is seen that innumerable Muslims do not like to be identified as Muslims in public places. This could be because of their common demeanor, attire, or other characteristics they can be singled out. As a result, they have stopped acting in ways that they can be identified as Muslims. This invisibilisation of Muslims is a new trend in the changing India.
Islamabad: After much bickering and dithering, Pakistan’s political leaders on Thursday began talks to end the deadlock over holding elections in the country.
The government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the main opposition party led by Imran Khan, have been wrangling over the issue of whether to hold elections on the same date in the country or first go for polls in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa only.
The government has nominated senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders – Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique, Law Minister Azam Tarar and Ayaz Sadiq – and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders Yousaf Raza Gillani and Naveed Qamar as members of the committee holding the talks, the Express Tribune newspaper reported.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Kishwar Zehra is also a part of the government-nominated committee.
PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Barrister Ali Zafar and senior leader Fawad Chaudhary are representing their party.
Importantly, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), the ley government ally and coalition partner, has decided to skip the talks.
Speaking to the media ahead of the talks, Qureshi said that the “one-point agenda of the talks was elections”.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in his address to parliament also said that the two sides would discuss the date for holding elections in the entire country.
The talks began following the invitation by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani to the rival groups to come forward for parleys to end the ongoing unrest and uncertainty in the country.
The Supreme Court had also asked the government and the PTI to sit together for talks but the advice was not heeded to and the court in its hearing of a case on Thursday observed that it would not push them for talks.
Though it is not clear how long the negotiations would go on, time is limited as the Supreme Court had already given May 14 for elections in Punjab and the two sides should agree sooner on a new date to postpone the Punjab polls.
The PTI is determined to press for polls in the provincial legislatures, but the government maintains its stance on simultaneous elections across the country.
The National Assembly will complete its five-year term in August this year. According to the Constitution, elections shall be held within 90 days after the dissolution of the lower house. This means that the election must be held by mid-October. The last general election was held in July 2018.
Ankara: As the violent unrest continues to rage in Sudan, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that negotiations are on with the two warring parties in a bid to reach an ultimate ceasefire.
Addressing reporters on Wednesday, the Minister said: “We are negotiating with both parties. We are negotiating to stop the conflict. We are on the field with our friends.
“We are currently meeting with the Vice President. We’re also meeting with the commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to stop the war.”
Cavusoglu further said they expected a ceasefire to be reached on Thursday ahead of Eid al-Fitr on Friday.
He also noted that Turkey will evacuate its citizens from Sudan after its airspace opens on Thursday.
The fighting that erupted on the morning of April 15 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Kharotum has so far killed about 270 people and injured more than 2,600 others, with gunfire and explosions still heard across the capital city.
The violence, which is a result of a bloody tussle for power between Sudan’s military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF head Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, has also spread to other areas in the country, including in Darfur to the west.
As a result of the unrest, thousands of civilians have fled Khartoum and foreign nations are trying to evacuate their citizens, amid a sixth day of fierce fighting.
Witnesses reported people leaving the capital in cars and on foot on Wednesday morning, as gunfire and deafening explosions rocked the city.
The exodus followed Tuesday’s collapsed ceasefire between the warring factions.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Bareilly: Barelvi cleric and head of the Ittehad-e-Millat Council Maulana Tauqir Raza Khan on Wednesday alleged he has been put under house arrest to prevent him from staging a protest over the killing of gangsters Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf.
City Magistrate Renu Singh, however, said additional security was deployed outside the house of Maulana Tauqir Raza and people were prevented from gathering at the Islamia ground in compliance with prohibitory orders under CrPC section 144 which are in effect.
Khan later held a press conference and hit out at the government.
“We want that the investigation of the killing of Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf should be done by a judge of the Supreme court. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should be made an accused in the case under section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC,” he said.
The cleric also criticised Prayagraj police for failing to protect Atiq and Ashraf.
Hyderabad: The Cyberabad Police on Saturday said they arrested a person who was allegedly involved in stealing, holding and selling of personal and confidential data of 66.9 crore individuals and organisations belonging to 24 states and eight metropolitan cities.
A press release from the police said the accused, Vinay Bhardwaj, was found possessing data of students of edu-tech organisations and also holds consumer/ customer data of major organisations like GST, Road transport organisations of various states, major eco-mmerce portals, social media platforms and fintech companies.
“The accused who was arrested on Friday was found selling personal and confidential data of about 66.9 crore individuals and organisations maintained in 104 categories,” it said.
Some of the important data held by the accused includes the data of defence personnel, government employees, PAN card holders, data of 9th, 10th, 11 & 12th standard students, senior citizens, Delhi electricity consumers, D-MAT account holders, mobile numbers of various individuals, NEET students, high net worth individuals, insurance holders, credit card and debit card holders among others, the release said.
The accused was operating through a website “InspireWebz” at Faridabad, Haryana and selling database to the clients through cloud drive links.
The police seized two mobile phones and two laptops and data of 135 categories containing sensitive information of government, private organisations and individuals, it added.
Noida: The Noida Police has booked eight men for flouting CrPC section 144 rules by carrying out a religious procession on motorcycles without permission, officials said on Tuesday.
The FIR was lodged in the case at the Expressway Police Station on the complaint by a constable after the rally took place around 7 pm on Monday, amid restrictions on unapproved political or religious processions in Gautam Buddh Nagar due to imposition of CrPC section 144.
“The police received information about 8-10 youth living in villages Chhaprauli and Wajidpur taking out a religious procession without any permission from competent authority.
“They were on motorcycles carrying the national flag, bhagwa (saffron) flags in their hands and raising religious slogans as they went past Chhaprauli, Mangrauli and Wajidpur villages,” according to the FIR.
The participants of the rally have been identified on the basis of CCTV footage and videos of the procession that have surfaced online, the police said.
The suspects have been identified as Pradeep, Ravi, Ravi (two suspects of the same name), Raj, Prince, Piyush, Rohan and Sachin- all residents of Chapprauli village of Noida and aged between 19-21 years, according to the FIR.
The FIR has been lodged under Indian Penal Code sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 143 (member of an unlawful assembly).
The accused have been served notices and further legal proceedings are underway, a local police official said.
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court allowing the State Election Commission to issue a notification regarding the urban local body polls in the state.
In a tweet in Hindi, Adityanath said, “Accepting the report of the OBC Commission by the Honourable Supreme Court, and the orders to conduct the urban local body elections is welcome. The UP government is committed to conduct the urban local body elections in a time-bound manner, while following the rules of reservation in a lawful manner.”
The Supreme Court on Monday paved the way for holding the urban local body polls in Uttar Pradesh as it allowed the State Election Commission to issue a notification in this regard in two days with an OBC quota in terms of a report of the Uttar Pradesh Backward Classes Commission.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala said, “This court, in an order dated January 4, 2023, noted that in view of the decisions of this court, the government of Uttar Pradesh issued a notification for setting up the Uttar Pradesh Backward Classes Commission in December 2022. Though the tenure of the commission was six months, it was to complete its task by March 31, 2023.”
It further said, “The solicitor general informs that the report has been submitted on March 9, 2023 to the cabinet. The process of notifying the local body elections is going on and will be done in two days. The plea is disposed of. The direction in this order is not to be used as precedent.”
On January 4, the top court stayed an Allahabad High Court order directing the holding of the urban local body polls without any reservation for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
It had also ordered that the panel appointed by the state government to decide on issues related to the grant of the OBC quota for the local body polls will have to conclude its exercise within three months (by March 31), instead of six months as stipulated earlier.
Earlier, the state government had moved the apex court with its appeal against a December 27, 2022 order of the high court, saying the latter cannot quash the draft notification issued on December 5 last year, which provided for reservation of seats in the urban civic body polls for the OBCs, apart from those for the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and women.
The appeal said the OBCs are a constitutionally-protected section and the high court erred in quashing the draft notification. After the high court’s order, the Uttar Pradesh government appointed a five-member commission for going into the entire gamut of issues for providing reservation to the OBCs in the urban local body polls.
The panel was headed by Justice (retired) Ram Avtar Singh. The four other members of the panel were retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers Chob Singh Verma and Mahendra Kumar, and former legal advisors to the state government Santosh Kumar Viskarma and Brajesh Kumar Soni.
The Lucknow bench of the high court had ordered that the state government notify the polls “immediately” as the term of several municipalities was going to expire by January 31, while annulling the December 5, 2022 draft notification. The high court had directed the State Election Commission to hold the elections by January 31, after transferring the OBC seats in the draft notification to the general category.
The high court’s order had come on pleas challenging the preparation of the OBC reservation draft without following the “triple test” formula prescribed by the Supreme Court.
The triple test requires setting up a commission to hold a “rigorous empirical inquiry” into the nature of the “backwardness” in the context of the local bodies, specifying the proportion of reservation based on the commission’s recommendations and ensuring that it does not exceed the overall 50-per cent quota limit.
The high court had held that the triple test condition formulated by the Supreme Court 11 years ago was mandatory.
“Until the triple test is completed in all respects by the state government, no reservation for a backward class of citizens shall be provided,” the order had said.
Lahore; Observing that the recent pitched battles between the security personnel and defiant supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan in Lahore have “tarnished the image of Pakistan across the world”, a top court on Thursday prohibited the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party from holding a rally at the historic Minar-e-Pakistan here.
On Tuesday, Khan, the chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, announced that he would stage a public gathering at the Minar-e-Pakistan — considered the national emblem of the country and an expression of post-colonial identity — on March 19 as part of his party’s ongoing election campaign in Punjab province.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh of the Lahore High Court (LHC) presided over the hearing and said the current situation in the provincial capital “tarnished the image of Pakistan across the world.”
Justice Sheikh ordered that authorities should be informed about a rally at least 15 days in advance so that necessary security arrangements can be made, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.
Justice Sheikh also directed the PTI leadership to hold a meeting with Inspector General Police Punjab and the additional chief secretary to reach a consensus on their concerns that include “implementation of Imran Khan’s non-bailable arrest warrant, security plan and imposition of Section 144”, it added.
Lahore’s upscale Zaman Park area, where Khan, 70, resides, turned into a battleground after his defiant supporters engaged in pitched battles with policemen on Tuesday to stop them from arresting their leader in the Toshakhana case, resulting in injuries to more than 60 people.
Following the LHC order, police and other law enforcers withdrew from Khan’s residence on Wednesday, putting a halt to clashes.
Khan, the former Pakistan Prime Minister has been in the crosshairs for buying gifts, including an expensive Graff wristwatch he had received as the premier at a discounted price from the state depository called Toshakhana and selling them for profit.
Meanwhile, a district court judge in Pakistan said on Thursday that he would halt attempts by the Islamabad police to arrest Khan in a corruption case if the ousted premier surrendered before the court.
Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician, was ousted from power in April last year after losing a no-confidence vote, which he alleged was part of a US-led conspiracy targeting him because of his independent foreign policy decisions on Russia, China and Afghanistan.
Since his ouster, Khan has been asking for early elections to oust what he termed an “imported government” led by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Sharif has maintained that elections will be held later this year once the parliament completes its five-year tenure.
Jes Staley, the former boss of Barclays, has been accused of holding discussions with the late billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein about photographs of young women in sexually suggestive poses.
Staley, 66, is accused in a US lawsuit of exchanging more than 1,200 emails with Epstein, including messages about “women who they referred to by the names of Disney princesses that Epstein [allegedly] procured for Staley”. It is also claimed that Epstein “emailed Staley photos of young women in seductive poses”.
The allegations, which Staley denies, are included in fresh court documents filed in the US Virgin Islands’ (USVI) lawsuit against Staley’s former employer the US investment bank JPMorgan Chase. Staley is not a party to the lawsuit.
The USVI lawsuit accusesJPMorgan of helping Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking of women and girls. As part of that claim, it alleges that Staley continued to communicate with Epstein even after the financier had been charged with soliciting a minor for prostitution and was sentenced to house arrest in 2008.
The lawsuit claims that: “In July 2010, Staley sent an email to Epstein, saying: ‘Maybe they’re tracking u? That was fun. Say hi to Snow White.’ Epstein responded: ‘[W]hat character would you like next?’ When Staley said ‘Beauty and the Beast’, Epstein replied: ‘well one side is available’.”
The USVI lawsuit also claimed that Staley appeared to have visited Epstein at his home in Palm Beach, Florida. “On 8 January 2009 – around the time of Staley’s scheduled visit to Palm Beach – Epstein wired $2,000 from his JPMorgan account to a woman with an eastern European surname,” the lawsuit alleges.
In August 2009, Staley is said to have told Epstein that he was coming to the UK. “Epstein inquired whether Staley would need anything while in London, and Staley replied, ‘Yep’. On 31 August 2009, Epstein wired $3,000 from his JPMorgan account to the same eastern European woman Epstein paid in January 2009.”
In another message, Staley told Epstein: “I owe you much”.
It is also claimed that Staley appeared to have visited Epstein’s private island of Little St James in the USVI. Much of Epstein’s abuse is claimed to have taken place on the island and it is why the USVI government has filed the lawsuit against JPMorgan, which it accuses of having “direct and actual knowledge of Epstein’s sex-trafficking venture”.
JPMorgan declined to comment. The bank has previously called on the court to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming it did not participate in or benefit from sex trafficking by its former client.
“Jane Doe 1 is a survivor of Epstein’s sexual abuse, and she is entitled to justice” but has filed meritless claims against the “wrong party”, the bank said in December.
The court filing claimsthat Epstein used accounts at JPMorgan to pay more than 20 of his victims.
“At least 20 individuals paid through JPMorgan accounts were victims of trafficking and sexual assault in Little St James, New York, and/or other Epstein properties,” the lawsuit alleges.
“These women were trafficked and abused during different intervals between at least 2003 and July 2019, when Epstein was arrested and jailed, and these women received payments, typically multiple payments, between 2003 and 2013 in excess of $1m collectively.
“Epstein also withdrew more than $775,000 in cash over that time frame from JPMorgan accounts, especially significant as Epstein was known to pay for ‘massages’, or sexual encounters, in cash.”
The USVI lawsuit also claims that JPMorgan staff regularly raised concerns about Epstein, but the bank failed to act. In 2010 employees at the bank’s risk management division discussed new allegations against Epstein.
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“See below new allegations of an investigation related to child trafficking – are you still comfortable with this client who is now a registered sex offender,” one employee said to others in an internal email.
The lawsuit claims that: “In JPMorgan’s January 2011 review of Epstein’s accounts, the bank concluded there were ‘no material updates’ but noted: A few news stories during 2010 connects Jeffrey Epstein to human trafficking. The coverage team … all met to discuss the situation and agreed to enhance monitoring and document a discussion with the client.
“Jes Staley discussed the topic with Jeffrey Epstein, who replied there was no truth to the allegations, no evidence and was not expecting any problems.”
Staley’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment, but has previously said: “We wish to make it expressly clear that our client had no involvement in any of the alleged crimes committed by Mr Epstein.”
Last month Staley was accused in a separate US lawsuit of “personally observ[ing] the sexual abuse of young women” by Epstein.
Staley, who resigned as chief executive of Barclays in November 2021 after a preliminary investigation by the UK regulators into his relationship with Epstein, is named in a lawsuit filed by one of Epstein’s victims.
The woman, known only as Jane Doe 1, is suing JPMorgan, where Staley was chief executive of its exclusive private bank until 2013 and had Epstein as a client.
In the complaint filed at Manhattan federal court she alleges that Staley knew of Epstein’s trafficking of young women and witnessed his abuse of them.
Epstein was found dead in a New York jail cell in 2019 where he was being held without bail after his arrest on sex-trafficking charges. He was facing trial in Manhattan on federal crimes, having worked out a plea deal in Florida years earlier on charges of sex offences.
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
An argument over selfies quickly escalated into a fight with a baseball bat and a car chase in Mumbai for cricketer Prithvi Shaw, according to a police complaint. Eight people have been named in the police case for allegedly charging at Mr Shaw and his friend, breaking the windshield of their car.
The controversy turned bigger when cricketing god, Sachin Tendulkar also criticised Prithvi Shaw. However, the criticism wasn’t for his behaviour but for the way Prithvi Shaw was holding the bat while breaking the windshield of the car.
Speaking to The Fauxy, Sachin Tendulkar said, “A batsman should try to play in the ‘V’, but Prithvi was playing across the line and there was a problem with his grip also. Prithvi needs more training“. Ravi Shashtri once said “When I see Sachin, Sehwag and Lara in Prithvi Shaw“.
Although Prithvi Shaw hasn’t responded to the controversy but Prithvi Shaw’s lawyer has requested either bail or bat for Prithvi Shaw.
[ Disclaimer: With inputs from The Fauxy, an entertainment portal. The content is purely for entertainment purpose and readers are advised not to confuse the articles as genuine and true, these Articles are Fictitious meant only for entertainment purposes. ]
