INDIA

The Lucknow police have registered a case against AIMIM leader Uzma Parveen for offering namaz at the Metro station in Hussainganj. The matter came to light after the AIMIM leader posted a photograph on Twitter. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Zone, Aparna Rajat Kaushik, said that Uzma had falsely shown the place of offering prayers to be Vidhan Bhawan which is misleading. Last year, eight people were spotted offering namaz inside a prominent mall in a video that had gone viral on social media days after the inauguration of the international chain outlet. Later, all of them were arrested. Kaushik said that Uzma offered prayers at metro station and later tweeted that “one is free to offer prayers at any place as one is free to express his/her view”. “A case under ch...

A mosque was allegedly vandalized and properties of Muslims were targeted during Ram Navmi procession in Biharsharif in Bihar's Nalanda district, forcing the authorities to suspend internet in the area for two days. As per reports, a procession of a Hindutva group marched through the town and vandalized the property of Muslims on Friday and also set ablaze a Hotel, owned by a Muslim. Several such incidents have been reported from India including the Sasaram area of Bihar. The confrontation started on Friday noon when a mob of around 500 people attacked a mosque with stones injuring at least two people. As Muslims retaliated to these attacks, the Hindu mobs set on fire Hotel City Palace, a business owned by a Muslim. They mob also burnt several automobiles. The goons also torche...

Mayor Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) Rajinder Sharma on Friday said that the proposed property tax will not be imposed in Jammu from April 1 as the corporation has not yet registered all the households. As per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Sharma while speaking to the media person on the sidelines of an event, said, “For imposing property tax, JMC has to register all the households in municipal limits.” “JMC will provide digital door numbers and QR (Quick Response) codes for every house, which is still under the process, so we are not imposing the property tax from April 1,” he said. On people’s opposition to property tax, the mayor said, “There is no opposition to the tax and people have accepted that for progress, they have to pay nominal taxes.” The mayor s...

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Friday that an illiterate or less educated Prime Minister was dangerous for the country. Reacting to the Gujarat High Court’s decision to set aside an order of the Central Information Commission that had directed the Gujarat University to “search for information” regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degrees, Kejriwal tweeted, “Doesn’t the country even have the right to know how educated their PM is? They were opposed to showing his degree in court. Why? Those who demand to see his degree will be fined? What is happening? An illiterate or less educated PM is very dangerous for the country.” The court also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on Kejriwal, who had requested information on Modi’s degrees under the RTI Act. The amount has to be deposit...

At least 35 people have been killed and 16 others injured after the roof of a stepwell collapsed at the Hindu temple in Madhya Pradesh as the rescue operations are still underway. The incident occurred in Madhya Pradesh state as devotees gathered at a temple in Indore to celebrate the Hindu festival of Ram Navami on Thursday. "We have rescued 18 people, 35 have been found dead and 16 are injured," Ilayaraja T, a top local government official, told the Reuters news agency on Friday. At least 75 armies and rescue personnel worked through the day to remove debris, using ropes and ladders to pull out people who had fallen into the well, local media reported. Television footage showed emergency workers using ropes and ladders to reach those trapped in the well. Temples across Ind...

Four Muslim men accused of Jaipur blasts in the year 2008 and had been previously convicted and rewarded a death sentence have been acquitted by the Rajasthan High Court. The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday acquitted four men who were given the death sentence by a lower court for the 2008 serial Jaipur blasts that killed 71 people and slammed the investigating agencies over their "shoddy investigation". It also affirmed the acquittal of a fifth accused by the trial court. Jaipur was rocked by a series of blasts on May 13, 2008, when bombs went off one after another at Manak Chawk Khanda, Chandpole Gate, Badi Chaupad, Chhoti Chaupad, Tripolia Gate, Johri Bazar, and Sanganeri Gate. The explosions in the evening left 71 people dead and 185 injured. According to advocate S S Ali,...

Jammu Kashmir has nearly ten lakh drug addicts, as per the National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use in India conducted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment India through National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC) of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi. The data revealed in the parliament after National Conference Member of Parliament Hasnain Masoodi in Lokh Saba sought details of total number of suspected drug-addicts in Jammu Kashmir. As per a report by Daily Excelsior, 1,08000 males and 36,000 females were found using cannabis while 5,34,000 males and 8,000 females were found in the dragnet of opioids and 1,60,000 males and 8,000 females were found using sedatives of different kinds. Likewise, 1,27,000 males and 7,000 femal...

A new video of 'Waris de Punjab' chief Amritpal Singh has surfaced online, which has been blocked by Youtube in India. In this short video message that has been shot at an undisclosed location, Amritpal is heard appealing to the Sikh community in India and abroad to "fight against injustice." As per media reports, the video is said to be at least two days old. Speaking of the crackdown and his escape, he said, "If the government wanted to arrest me, I would have surrendered. But, the path followed by the government is not right. They brought thousands of force personnel to Punjab to arrest me, using brute force. However, no one can touch my hair either. Wahe Guru (God) supported me in this difficult journey,” said Amritpal Singh. In this video, Amritpal Singh says, “The Sikh co...

A video of alleged cow vigilantes and Ashok Chhabra, the state government of Haryana’s media coordinator, and a BJP worker shutting down mutton shops in Krishnapur, Panipat in Haryana, has gone viral on social media. According to a Muslim Mirror report, cow vigilantes and Chhabra can be seen threatening owners to close meat shops and Muslim restaurants in the name of Navratri. A person could also be seen closing down a chicken meat store owned by Gafoori Khan. They also shut down a Muslim hotel, stating it was mandatory to shut this one down because they cook wrong things inside( Yeh hotel to zaroori hai bandh karwana zaroori hai; yeh toh ulti seedhi cheezein banate hai). In addition, they were seen threatening the restaurant cook, saying that it was necessary for all meat shops t...

An Imam who led the prayer at a mosque in Maharashtra's Anwa village was attacked by goons individuals who entered the place of worship and beat him up for refusing to chant 'Jai Shri Ram', reported India today. The Imam, Zakir Sayyed Khaja, said the incident took place on Sunday at around 7.30 pm when he was sitting inside the mosque reading the Quran. Unidentified individuals entered the mosque with cloth over their faces and forced the Imam to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' while he was reading the Quran. When the Imam refused to do as he was told, three individuals took him outside the mosque and beat him up. The Imam said his attackers used a chemical-laced cloth to make him unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he realized that his beard had been cut off. When people arri...