"Those who created ruckus came from Bangladesh," claims local BJP leader on Cooch Behar clash 2
Reacting to the clash between two groups in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar on Tuesday, a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader claimed that the people who created the ruckus came from neighbouring Bangladesh. Local BJP leader Ajay Roy said, “Those who have created the ruckus and the person who died came from Bangladesh. There was a scuffle between them regarding the exchange of money and no politics was involved.”
Meanwhile, a local TMC leader alleged that BJP workers attacked people belonging to his party at midnight leading to the clash. TMC leader Anarul Haque said, “TMC workers were sleeping at midnight and suddenly few BJP supporters entered their home, fired bullets at six persons, and mercilessly killed one person.”
One person was killed and four persons sustained bullet injuries in a clash between two groups in Gitaldaha village, Dinhata subdivision of the West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district on Tuesday morning. The injured were taken to hospital for treatment. Sumit Kumar SP, Cooch Behar said, “A clash broke out between two groups in Gitaldaha, Cooch Behar this morning. As per info, five people have received bullet injuries, of which one Babu Hoque has died. The situation is peaceful. Police present on the spot.”
Local BJP leader Ajay Roy said, “Those who have created the ruckus and the person who has died belonged from Bangladesh. There was a scuffle between them regarding the exchange of money and no politics was involved.” Gitaldaha is near Jaridharla, one of the most interior places in the Coochbehar district and is very close to the International Border. The only mode of communication is via boat. The police have reached the area and are speculating about the use of Bangladesh-based criminals by local leaders.
The situation is now peaceful at the site. Ahead of the Panchayat elections, scheduled to be held on July 8, the state is witnessing continuous clashes in various parts of the state.
Vaani Kapoor excited to share stage with Hrithik Roshan at UK Tour 'Stars on Fire' 4
‘War’ co-stars Vaani Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan are all set to reunite for the UK Tour ‘Stars on Fire’. Vaani will be seen performing with Hrithik for her first-ever UK tour ‘Stars On Fire’ in London & Leeds. It will take place on September 1 at OVO Arena, Wembley, London, and September 2 at First Direct Arena, Leeds.
Excited about the show, Vaani said, “It’s a special moment and feeling to share the stage with Hrithik Roshan. He is immensely talented and I am elated at this opportunity to set the stage on fire alongside him. Hrithik is not only an exceptional performer but also an inspiration. I can’t wait to create unforgettable moments and give our fans an electrifying experience they will cherish forever.” She added, “I’ve been blessed to have super-hit songs as part of my filmography be it Gulabi, Nashe Si Chad Gayi, or Ghungroo. Indian song and dance is celebrated worldwide and has a massive fandom.”
Meanwhile, on the acting front, Vaani will be seen headlining YRF Entertainment’s streaming series, ‘Mandala Murders’, a gritty crime thriller created and directed by the acclaimed Gopi Puthran, known for his work on ‘Mardaani 2’. This multi-season show is a part of YRF’s ambitious OTT slate that already comprises the much-awaited The Railway Men based on the deadly 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy. This series features R Madhavan, Kay Kay Menon, Divyendu and Babil Khan in the lead roles and is a tribute to the brave railway workers who saved scores of lives on this ill-fated night of devastation and horror.
Vaani also has ‘Sarvagunn Sampanna’ in her kitty. ‘Sarvagunn Sampanna’ will supposedly be set in the 90s with Vaani essaying the role of a porn star lookalike.The film promises to be a laughter-filled ride with a unique storyline set in the 90s. The film blends comedy and social commentary, offering a fresh perspective on contemporary issues with a touch of nostalgia. On the other hand, Hrithik will be seen in action-packed ‘Fighter’. Helmed by Siddharth Anand ‘Fighter’ stars Hrithik alongside Deepika Padukone, and Anil Kapoor in the lead roles and is all set to hit the theatres on January 25, 2024.
Atiq Ahmed's sister moves SC, seeks probe by retired judge over "encounter killings" of brothers, nephew 6
Sister of the gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf Ahmed, who were shot dead while in police custody in Uttar Pradesh on April 15, has moved the Supreme Court seeking a comprehensive probe headed by a retired judge or by an independent agency into the alleged “extrajudicial killings” carried out by the government. The plea filed by Aisha Noori also seeks an investigation into the encounter killing of her nephew and Atiq Ahmed’s son.
She has sought a comprehensive inquiry by an independent agency into the campaign of “encounter killings, arrests, and harassment” targeting her family being carried out by the government of Uttar Pradesh. The plea stated that an independent probe into the “custodial and extra-judicial killings” was necessary to catch high-level state agents who have planned and orchestrated the campaign to kill her family members.
In the plea, she apprised the court about the incident and called it state-sponsored killings. It sought a comprehensive inquiry by a committee headed by a retired judge of the top court or in the alternative by an independent agency into a campaign of extrajudicial killings carried out by the respondents. “The respondents are responsible for the deaths of the petitioner’s brothers, the late Khalid Azim alias Ashraf and the late Atiq Ahmad; as well as other members of the Petitioner’s family all of which occurred just a few days apart from each other,” she said in the plea.
The plea also said that the respondents-police authorities are enjoying the full support of the UP government which appears to have granted them complete impunity to kill, arraign, arrest, and harass members of the petitioner’s family as part of a vendetta. The petitioner highlighted the fact that the deaths of the petitioner’s family members and other persons are connected parts of a vicious, arbitrary, and unlawful campaign by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. In the absence of such a comprehensive and independent inquiry, the rights of the Petitioner and her family members under Article 21 of the Constitution would stand violated because Article 21 of the Constitution casts a positive procedural obligation on State authorities to effectively investigate the deaths of the petitioner’s family members.
The petitioner sought to issue direction causing a comprehensive inquiry by an independent agency into the campaign of encounter killings, arrests, and harassment targeting the petitioner’s family being carried out by the Government of Uttar Pradesh and to direct the Respondents to comply with the directions issued by the top court while investigating into the custodial and extra-judicial deaths of Petitioner’s family members and their associates. The petitioners also sought to comply with the judgment of the top court and to register FIRs for the offences under Sections 302, 201, 120-B and 193 of the Indian Penal Code against police officers who conducted the alleged encounters leading to the deaths of the petitioner’s family members and their associates.
It has been almost nine years since Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister of India, but in these nine years he has hardly addressed the media or attended press conferences. He goes to his favorite lap anchors and answers that mutually pre-decided questions, which has nothing to do with nationalism or policymaking. The lap anchors are warned not to ask any question that will embrace the PM of India.
To hold a press conference, especially in front of honest or bold journalists, requires serious guts, and in simple, plain words, a BJP leader lacks on this front. PM Modi doesn’t want to take the risk of answering the questions of the media in general. Though he is a great speaker, he doesn’t want to dilute his image as a strong PM by facing genuine press conferences because a couple of hard-hitting questions are enough to cause him damage. The Prime Minister should come out in the open and answer the questions of the journalists, but that is just a fictional scenario considering the current mess in India.
One journalist was fortunate enough to ask a hard-hitting question to Modi, but soon after that awkward moment, the BJP IT cell randomly attacked the journalist, calling her Pakistani. Sabrina Siddiqui, the journalist from the United States who questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on ‘discrimination against minorities in India’ during his visit to the US, was trolled and abused by the BJP’s right-wing social media users. The online attack on Siddiqui, highlighting her Muslim inheritance and connections to Pakistan by giving the impression of having a parent from that country, was led by the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s information cell, Amit Malviya. Malviya referred to Sabrina’s question as “motivated” on Twitter and claimed that Modi gave her a “fitting answer,” which he claimed was a “blow” to the “toolkit gang”—a derisive term used by the head of the ruling party’s IT cell to refer to those who have questioned the BJP and the prime minister on various topics.
At the press conference in the White House, Sidduqe asked Modi, “India has long prided itself as the world’s largest democracy, but there are many human rights groups who say that your government has discriminated against religious minorities and sought to silence its critics. As you stand here in the East Room of the White House, where so many world leaders have made commitments to protecting democracy, what steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and to uphold free speech?”
In an unusual occurrence, PM Modi answered questions during a joint press conference on June 22 with US President Joe Biden at the White House since he took over India in 2014. It was a rare moment in Modi’s tenure as prime minister when a journalist could pose a question to him, let alone on alleged human rights violations of minorities in India. Modi, in response, expressed “surprise” that people thought minorities during his regime were being discriminated against. “Democracy is our spirit. Democracy runs in our veins. We live in a democracy. Our government has taken the basic principles of democracy and proven that democracy can deliver. And when I say deliver, this is regardless of caste, creed, religion, or gender. There is absolutely no space for discrimination.”
“What steps are you and your government willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in your country and to uphold free speech?” asked Siddiqui. Responding to a question, PM Modi strongly defended India’s record on democracy and his government’s performance and human rights, saying that the basic foundation stone of his government has been ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, and Sabka Prayas, which means together for everyone’s growth with everyone’s trust. “We are a democracy. India and America both have democracy in their DNA. Democracy is in our spirit; we live it, and it’s written in our Constitution. So no question of discrimination on the grounds of caste, creed, or religion arises. That is why India believes in sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas, and sabka prayas and walks ahead with them. These are our foundation principles, which are the basis of how we operate and live our lives in India. The benefits that are provided by the government are accessible to all; whoever deserves those benefits is available to everybody” . Following his election as prime minister in 2014, PM Modi has not addressed the media in a single press conference. He showed up for a press conference in May 2019 but did not take any questions.
Sabrina Siddiqui is one of the most high-profile Muslim American journalists. She is a White House reporter for The Wall Street Journal in Washington, D.C., where she covers the Biden presidency. She also covered the White House and the 2016 presidential election while working at the Guardian before 2019. Siddiqui is a graduate of Northwestern University and lives in Washington with her husband. Her father is proud of India, and on many occasions she was seen supporting and cheering for India. Whatever it is, asking sensible questions is her job, and the BJP IT cell should understand the duties of journalists. By attacking Sabrina Siddiqui, we are exposing how much we care for democratic rights.
(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com)
UP cops register FIR against two for shooting at journalist after two days of the incident 10
Uttar Pradesh Police have registered an FIR against two men for allegedly shooting at a 25-year-old local journalist after two days of the incident.
Journalist Mannu Awasthi resident of PD Nagar, was allegedly shot at by unidentified assailants on Saturday.
Mannu Awasthi was riding his scooter in an area under the Kotwal police station limits at around 10 pm when the incident took place. He was taken to the district hospital with injuries on his right shoulder. From there, he was referred to a hospital in Kanpur, according to statement to police.
The FIR was registered against Anshu Gupta and Deepak Singh at the City police station under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapons), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victim’s father.
The FIR, registered on Sunday, also mentions four-five unidentified accomplices.
Surendra Awasthi, the victim’s father, alleged that the pair had threatened his son before the incident as well and he had sought protection.
The victim is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kanpur and his condition is stated to be out of danger.
The motive behind the attack was not immediately known. The police said all possible angles are being looked into.
Mannu Awasti had submitted a complaint to senior officers, including the Superintendent of Police (Unnao), in March, alleging that he had received threats to his life from suspected land mafia. He also alleged that a BJP MLA was putting pressure on him over a story he had done on the land mafia.
Thunderstorm with light intensity rain likely to occur over Delhi, its adjoining areas 12
Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC) Delhi on Monday issued warnings of thunderstorm with light-intensity rain to occur over Delhi and its adjoining areas.
“Thunderstorm with light intensity rain would occur over and adjoining areas of Rajaund, Assandh, Safidon, Jind, Hansi, Rohtak (Haryana) Shamli, Kandhla, Khatauli, Sakoti Tanda, Daurala, Meerut, Kithor, Garhmukteshwar, Hapur, Siyana (U.P.) Kotputli,” tweeted RWFC Delhi.
Meerut, Nandgaon, Barsana (U.P.) Tizara, Khairthal, Kotputli, Alwar (Rajasthan) . Light intensity rain/drizzle would occur over and adjoining areas of few places of Delhi ( Ayanagar, Deramandi), during next 2 hours. pic.twitter.com/noHj7On5YC
Heavy rainfall with lightning and thunderstorm lashed parts of the national capital on Sunday, bringing respite from the scorching heat. The NCR (National Capital Region) like Nodia, Gurugram, Faridabad and Ghaziabad also witnessed heavy rainfall. Regional Weather Forecasting Centre (RWFC) predicted, light to moderate intensity rain would occur over and adjoining areas of entire Delhi and NCR.
The RWFC provides the weather forecasts for North-West India and the Delhi NCR region. Earlier June 22, the national capital woke up to pleasant weather after receiving light rainfall.
Earlier on June 21, several parts of Gurugram witnessed waterlogging following heavy rainfall in the morning. The water especially clogged the expressway after the rains, causing a traffic jam for up to 5 kilometers. People were highly inconvenienced as massive delays were caused, and public transport was also hindered.
A bus full of passengers was stuck in the waterlogged conditions for more than an hour and could do nothing but wait.
Odisha: 12 members of marriage party killed and 7 injured in bus collision 14
Twelve members of a marriage party were killed and seven others injured as two buses collided head-on in Odisha’s Ganjam district, police said on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed grief over the death of people in the accident and announced ex gratia to the next of kin of each deceased.
They wished for the speedy recovery of those injured in the accident. “Pained by the bus accident in Ganjam district, Odisha. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.
Patnaik also announced ex gratia of Rs 3 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and free treatment of injured persons.
He also asked state Finance Minister B K Arukha to rush to the accident site.
The accident occurred late Sunday night near Digapahandi area on Berhampur-Taptapani road, around 35 km from here, when the bus with the wedding party members on board collided with another passenger vehicle, Berhampur Superintendent of Police Saravana Vivek M said.
After attending a wedding ceremony at Berhampur, they were returning to Khandadeuli near Digapahandi when the accident took place.
A team of police personnel rushed to the spot and rescued the injured persons and shifted them to hospitals, the SP said.
“Seven members of a family and their relatives were among the 12 deceased,” another police officer said.
The injured persons are undergoing treatment at MKCG Medical College and Hospital here and Digapahandi Hospital, he said.
“Two of them have been shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, the special relief commission has sanctioned Rs 30, 000 to each of the injured persons for their treatment.
'What's happening in India', PM Modi asks BJP chief Nadda after returning from foreign visit 16
After returning to India from his foreign visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked BJP president J P Nadda and other leaders what was happening in India, party leaders, who had gone to receive him at the airport, said.
Modi returned to India in the early hours of Monday after his six-day visit to the US and Egypt during which several landmark agreements were signed.
He was received at the Delhi airport by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakashi Lekhi and BJP chief Nadda. BJP leaders and party MPs from Delhi such as Harsh Vardhan, Hans Raj Hans and Gautam Gambhir were also present.
“He asked Nadda ji how it is going here, and Nadda ji told him that party leaders were reaching out to people with the report card of the nine years of his government, and the country is happy,” BJP MP Manoj Tiwari told reporters when asked what the prime minister asked them after meeting them at the airport.
Speaking to reporters, BJP MP Parvesh Verma said the prime minister asked what was happening in the country and how was the party’s public outreach programme going on.
Greece's conservative New Democracy party wins landslide election victory for second 4-year term 18
Greece’s conservative New Democracy party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis vowed to speed up reforms following his landslide victory on Sunday in the country’s second election in five weeks that granted him a comfortable parliamentary majority to form a government for a second four-year term.
Jubilant supporters gathered outside party headquarters in Athens, cheering, clapping, setting off fireworks and waving blue and white party flags. Near complete results show his party has won just over 40.5 per cent of the vote, crushing his main rival, the left-wing Syriza party, which was struggling to reach 18 per cent, 2 percentage points lower than the last elections in May.
“With today’s electoral result, Greece opens a new, historic chapter in its course,” Mitsotakis said in a televised statement. Voters, he said, ”gave us a strong mandate to move faster on the course of the big changes our country needs. In a loud and mature way they have permanently closed a traumatic cycle of lies and toxicity that held the country back and divided society.” His second term as prime minister “can transform Greece at a dynamic pace of development which will increase salaries and reduce inequality, with better and free public health care, with a more effective and digital state and a strong country,” he added.
Sunday’s vote came just over a week after a migrant ship capsized and sank off the western coast of Greece, leaving hundreds of people dead and missing and calling into question the actions of Greek authorities and the country’s strict migration policy. But the disaster, one of the worst in the Mediterranean in recent years, did not affect the election, with domestic economic issues at the forefront of voters’ minds.
Mitsotakis’ party was projected to win 158 of Parliament’s 300 seats, thanks to a change in the electoral law that grants the winning party bonus seats. The previous election in May, conducted under a proportional representation system, left him five seats short of a majority despite winning nearly 41 per cent of the vote, and he had decided to seek a stronger mandate in a second election rather than to seek to form a coalition government with a smaller party.
Voter turnout, however, was low on Sunday, at just under 53 per cent of eligible voters, compared to just over 61 per cent in the May vote.
In all, eight parties were surpassing the 3 per cent threshold to enter Parliament, including an ultra-religious party and far right party backed by a jailed former lawmaker from the Nazi-inspired, and now outlawed, Golden Dawn party.
Mitsotakis, 55, campaigned on a platform of securing economic growth and political stability as Greece gradually recovers from a brutal nearly decade-long financial crisis.
His main rival, 48-year-old Alexis Tsipras, served as prime minister from 2015 to 2019 — some of the most turbulent years of Greece’s financial crisis. His performance Sunday leaves him fighting for his political survival. After his poor showing in May elections, he had struggled to rally his voter base, a task complicated by splinter parties formed by some of his former associates.
“The electoral results is obviously negative for us,” a subdued Tsipras said in a televised statement. “We have suffered a serious electoral defeat. But I believe that the electoral result is mainly negative for society and for democracy,” he added, pointing to the three small right-wing parties winning enough votes to make it into Parliament.
It would be up to the party members, he said, to decide on his fate, and the course the party itself must now take.
The party members will “be called on to judge us all and to devise the strategy that meets these difficult circumstances,” Tsipras said.
Mitsotakis, a Harvard graduate, comes from one of Greece’s most prominent political families. His late father, Constantine Mitsotakis, served as prime minister in the 1990s, his sister served as foreign minister and his nephew is the current mayor of Athens. The younger Mitsotakis has vowed to rebrand Greece as a pro-business and fiscally responsible eurozone member.
The strategy, so far, has worked. New Democracy routed Syriza in May, crucially winning Socialist strongholds on the island of Crete and lower-income areas surrounding Athens, some for the first time.
Despite scandals that hit the Mitsotakis government late in its term, including revelations of wiretapping targeting senior politicians and journalists, and a deadly February 28 train crash that exposed poor safety measures in public transport, voters appear happy to return to power a prime minister who delivered economic growth and lowered unemployment.
“Our expectations are that the country will continue the path of development that it has had in recent years,” said insurance company employee Konstantinos, who arrived early in the morning at a polling station in northern Athens with his newly wed bride Marietta, still in her wedding dress, straight from their wedding reception. He asked that his surname not be used.
Sunday’s vote was held under an electoral system that grants a bonus of between 25 and 50 seats to the winning party, depending on its performance, which makes it easier for a party to win more than the required 151 seats in the 300-member parliament to form a government.
Lightning strikes across Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province killed at least 10 people, officials said Monday as heavy pre-monsoon rains lashed the region. The strikes on Sunday mainly took place in the Sialkot and Sheikhupura districts of Punjab. Lightning strikes are frequent across Pakistan, especially in Punjab’s mountainous areas and plains.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department said more rains were expected this week, bringing some respite from the ongoing heatwave. The National Disaster Management Authority warned the ongoing rains could trigger flash flooding. Every year, many areas of Pakistan struggle with the annual monsoons, drawing criticism for poor government planning. The season runs from July through September.
Last summer, floods triggered by rains killed 1,739 people across Pakistan. The deluge displaced about 8 million people and caused USD 30 billion in losses.
