Archives for April 2025

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday criticised the state government for permitting a protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Act while the matter is still under consideration by the Supreme Court.

Justice M Nagaprasanna observed that allowing such a demonstration was inappropriate given the ongoing proceedings before the apex court.

“The state shall bear in mind that the matter is seized by the apex court qua the amendment to the Waqf Act, and a protest of this kind should not be permitted,” the judge stated.

The court directed the government to ensure public roads are not obstructed by such events and emphasised that protests must be held only at designated locations and with official approval.

“If there is no permission, there is no protest,” the court asserted.

These observations came during the hearing of a petition filed by Rajesh A, a resident of Mangaluru.

The plea challenged a communication issued by the city’s Police Commissioner, directing both private bus operators and the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation not to operate services along a section of National Highway 73 from noon to 9 PM on Friday, due to a protest against the Waqf Act amendment.

According to the petitioner, the advisory caused undue disruption to public transport. Advocates Hemanth R Rao and Leelesh Krishna represented him.

In response, the state government told the court that the initial communication had been revised and normal traffic flow would be maintained.

However, authorities advised that heavy and medium commercial vehicles take alternative routes as a precaution.

The matter will be heard again on April 23.

Belthangady: Another incident involving individuals allegedly dancing indecently, dressed in a denigrating manner, and insulting the Azan (Islamic call to prayer) has come to light under the jurisdiction of the Venoor Police Station. A case has been lodged against 17 accused persons and 20 to 30 others who were allegedly involved in the act.

Based on a complaint filed by Mohammed Rafiq, a resident of Poyyegudde house in Padangady village, a case has been registered at Venoor police station against Savya residents Vasantha, Rajesh, Harish, Peradi residents Dayanand, Ranganath, Mohan, Shamit, Ravi, Ramesh Kulal, Suresh, Ashoka Kulal, Dhanush Haradottu, Harish Banthottu, Ramesh R.K, Suresh Barottu, Pramod, Prakash Peradi and 20 to 30 other individuals.

A case has been registered under Section 353(2) along with Section 3(5) Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 for disrespecting Islam, Prophet Muhammad and the Islamic prayer Azhan by wearing Muslim attire during a ‘Purusha Kattuna’ event on April 14th.

A video of the incident is reportedly circulating on various social media platforms. In the purported video, a group of individuals can be seen wearing traditional Muslim attire and allegedly insulting the Azan by dancing indecently during a ‘Purusha Kattuna’ (a ritualistic dance performed by men of different castes, typically marking the end of agricultural activities) event held in Peradi near Venoor.

This incident follows a similar episode reported just days ago during a Purushara Puja ceremony, where Islam was allegedly disrespected. A complaint had already been filed with the Venoor police regarding that incident.

Leaders from the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) had also approached the Venoor police and submitted an official complaint, and demanded immediate action against those who are responsible for creating unrest in the society by wearing Muslim attire and hurting religious sentiments.

The Venoor police have now registered a case following widespread outrage over the alleged video denigrating Islam.

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday expressed concern over the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s claim that out of the 327 visa revocation cases of international students collected by it so far, 50% are Indians, and asked whether External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will take up the issue with his US counterpart.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared on X a press statement issued on Thursday by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and said it is “cause for concern to us in India”.

“Out of the 327 visa revocation cases of international students collected by the organisation so far, 50% are Indians. The reasons for revocation are random and unclear. There is growing fear and apprehension,” Ramesh said.

“Will the External Affairs Minister take note and raise the concern with his US counterpart? Ramesh said and tagged Jaishankar.

“The Department of State (DOS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are aggressively targeting international students, including those without a history of protest, for visa revocation, termination of their status, and removal,” the American Immigration Lawyers Association statement said.

AILA collected 327 reports of visa revocations and Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) terminations from attorneys, students, and university employees, it said.

“Of these reports – 50 percent of these students were from India, followed by 14 percent from China. Other significant countries represented in this data include South Korea, Nepal, and Bangladesh,” the statement said.

Thane: A surveyor from the government land records office in Maharashtra’s Raigad district has been arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000, an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) official said on Friday.

Accused Vishal Bhima Rasal (29), posted at Mhasla, had allegedly demanded the money to measure a plot and issue documents concerning the land in Varvatne village, the official said.

ACB’s Deputy Superintendent of Police Sashikant Padave said in a release that they laid a trap after the land owner approached the anti-graft agency.

The accused was arrested on Thursday at a state transport bus stand while accepting the bribe amount, he said. Rasal has been booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh

Bhopal: Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Tuesday said the BJP should appoint a Muslim as its party president instead of suggesting his party to do so, and added that prominent leaders from the Muslim community held that position in the grand old party in the past.

He also alleged that a “disturbing trend” was being observed in the country wherein minority communities were being treated as enemies and falsely implicated by the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in states.

His statement comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in Haryana that if the Congress really has sympathy for Muslims, it should appoint a Muslim as its president and give 50 percent tickets to people from the community.

When reporters asked Digvijaya Singh about the PM’s remark, he said, “Muslims had earlier held the position of presidents (of Congress) and we are proud of it. If they (BJP) are so concerned, why don’t they make a person from the Muslim community its party president?”

During the pre-Independence period, prominent Muslim leaders, including Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari, Syed Hasan Imam and Nawab Syed Mohammed Bahadur, had served as Congress presidents.

When asked if he feels that a minority community was being targeted, Singh said, “A disturbing trend is taking place in the country where minority communities are being treated as enemies by the central government and in states ruled by the BJP’s so-called double engine government.”

“They are being falsely implicated, harassed and the constitutional provisions meant to protect their interests are being ignored. In April 2021, when riots broke out at several places, the Supreme Court had issued detailed guidelines on how states should act to control communal violence,” the Rajya Sabha member said.

Those guidelines clearly outlined the steps governments must take to prevent such incidents, he said.

On a query about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s statement that she will not allow the new Waqf law to be implemented in her state, Singh said, “…I want to say one thing, whoever spreads communalism in this country and whether it is radical Hindu, radical Muslim radical Sikh or any sect, action should be taken against them.”

He alleged that Indian Secular Front was instigating the Muslim youth there.

“For 10 years (as Madhya Pradesh chief minister), I did not spare anyone spreading hatred towards other religions – be it Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Christian. Because of that, not a single riot or incident of disturbance took place in Madhya Pradesh,” he said.

Singh was the CM from 1993 to 2003.

On the issue of a Dalit groom not allowed to sit on a horse during a marriage ceremony in Indore district, Singh said it was a matter of shame for all that untouchability was still in vogue today.

“Yesterday, Chief Minister went to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s memorial and gave a long speech in which he talked about following the path as shown by Dr Ambedkar, but even today a groom from a Scheduled Caste cannot ride a horse and cannot enter the temple, this is a crime. Action should be taken against all those people who stopped his entry into the temple and objected to his sitting on a horse.”

On the controversy surrounding BJP MLA’s son forcibly entering a temple in Dewas district even after it was closed, Singh said even if the people associated with BJP do whatever they want, the police do not take any action against them.

Belthangady: The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has filed a complaint with the Venur Police against a group that recently held a ceremony called ‘Purushara Pooje’ in Perladka near Venur, accusing the participants of insulting Muslims.

While the ceremony shows the group dancing around a mound, video clips where people are seen in costumes typically worn by Muslims, are going viral on social media platforms. The participants include a man wearing a skull cap and a woman in a burqa. The man in skull cap is also seen holding the SDPI flag while dancing.

Social media users have accused the group of showing disrespect towards Muslims by degrading their dress sense. The users have also called it an intentional act by the participants.

The representative of the SDPI has further told the police that the sentiments of the party members have been hurt as the party flag was degraded during the ritual.

The SDPI said that ‘Purusharapooje’ was a convention that was regularly carried out in Perladka of Venur, but the ritual was now being misused as a means to degrade Muslims. The participants were made to don dresses like Muslim men, women and also Maulvis during the ceremony. In addition, the flag of the SDPI was used by one of the participants, which was an insult of the party, the complainant has told the police.

The party has also demanded that the authorities arrest the guilty parties and take legal action on them.

SDPI leaders Hamid Venur, Ashraf Badyaru, Nizam Katte, Aslam Maddadka and Rizwan were present on the occasion.

 Emails claiming that bombs were planted in four district collectorate offices in Uttar Pradesh triggered a security alert on Tuesday, but nothing suspicious was found after the buildings were evacuated and extensively searched.

Soon after the emails were received by authorities in Firozabad, Aligarh, Barabanki and Chandauli, bomb disposal units, anti-sabotage checking teams, dog squads and local police were swiftly mobilised to the respective collectorate premises. All buildings were evacuated and thoroughly searched, officials said.

Authorities in all four districts said that no explosives or suspicious items were found.

Investigations are on to identify those responsible for sending the hoax emails, they added.

In Aligarh, a senior police officer told reporters, “Soon after the email was received, security forces reached the District Magistrate’s office and evacuated the premises. A thorough inspection of the entire complex was conducted. While no suspicious items were found, the inspection is still ongoing as a precaution.”

The official added that the threatening email was received on the official email ID of the Aligarh District Magistrate.

In Barabanki, District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi said, “Today, we received a threatening email on the official ID, claiming that explosives like RDX were planted in the collectorate campus.

“Though the information did not initially seem credible, we immediately alerted the Superintendent of Police and called in the bomb disposal squad, which carried out a thorough search. No suspicious object has been found so far. Efforts are underway to trace the source of the email.”

Barabanki City Circle Officer Sumit Tripathi said the origin and authenticity of the email remain unclear.

“Investigations are ongoing to determine whether this was a mischief attempt or part of a larger conspiracy,” he said.

In Chandauli, District Magistrate Nikhil Tikaram Funde said a person identifying himself as Gopal Swami had sent an email warning of a possible bomb blast at the collectorate, allegedly linked to political issues in Tamil Nadu.

“The sender even listed a Tamil Nadu address. We immediately alerted the Superintendent of Police and launched a complete search of the collectorate premises. Nothing suspicious was found. The email content appeared frivolous and lacked credibility, but we still acted with full caution,” the DM said.

In Firozabad, a similar threat was received via email around Tuesday afternoon, stating that explosive material had been placed in the District Magistrate’s office.

Superintendent of Police (City) Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “Upon receiving the email, a bomb disposal team, dog squad, local police from Matsena police station, and the SOG team carried out an intensive search of the premises. No explosives were found.”

A case has been registered at the cyber police station based on a complaint by the Matsena SHO, and authorities are working to trace the sender of the email.