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Muslim families in Agra deny embracing Hinduism, say they were lured

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Conversion_Agra

Agra: A Bajrang Dal leader said Tuesday that all the 300 poor Muslims who he said had embraced Hinduism here will be given ration cards they badly lacked.

Amid claims by one of the 300 that they were forced to give up Islam, Bajrang Dal’s Ajju Chauhan said everyone in the group would be now taught Hindu rituals.

The Bajrang Dal organised the conversion ceremony Monday.

Chauhan, the group’s co-convener, said Tuesday that all those who converted to Hinduism would be “Sanskritised”. They would be registered as voters and would get ration cards.

He said the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), to which the Bajrang Dal is allied, had been working “hard for three months to persuade them to convert to Hinduism”.

The 300 members of some 60 Muslim families who reportedly embraced Hinduism Monday evening live in a slum on the outskirts of the Taj city — and are miserably poor.

Most of them had lived near Madhu Nagar on Gwalior Road for 17 long years after migrating either from West Bengal or Bangladesh.

Munira, one of the 300, alleged they were lured to the event on the promise of giving them a plot of land and ration cards.

“We were taken to a place where a fire ceremony was on,” Munira told ABP news channel. “We were made to sit there. We became panicky. We were told to pray to Hindu gods. We did whatever they told us…

“But now we are again reading the Holy Quran and our family members offered namaz today,” he added.

Some of the converts, picked from a colony of rag-pickers, claimed that they had been lured with incentives like a ration card and other cards that would entitle them to subsidized welfare schemes.

“We were told we will get ration card, Aadhar card, the police will not bother us. We are poor so what do we do?” said one of the converts.

Others like Sufia Begum got emotional and said, “Please forgive me and let us remain Muslims.”

However, the groups, which undertook the conversion ceremony, remain undaunted.

“Come to Aligarh on 25th, both Christians and Muslims will be converted under Adityanath’s blessings,” said Rajeshwar Singh, area chief of the Dharam Jagran Samanvay Vibhagh.

The episode, which has come after days of protests revolving around the ‘hate speech’ of Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, has provided the opposition with fresh ammunition. Parliament is scheduled to debate on the rising cases of communal tension on December 17.

BSP chief Mayawati has said that these events were being organised by communal forces and that her party was against it. Rajiv Shukla of the Congress said that this was being done keeping in mind the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in 2017.

Cases of cheating and promoting enmity have now been filed by policemen who visited the families late last night.

(With input from IANS)

Belagavi session: Karnataka Assembly adjourned twice as BJP raises farmers' issue

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The Suvarna Vidhan Soudha in Belagavi where the Winter Session commenced from Tuesday, December 9, 2014. Photo: D.B. Patil.

The Suvarna Vidhan Soudha in Belagavi where the Winter Session commenced from Tuesday, December 9, 2014. Photo: D.B. Patil.

Belagavi: The Karnataka Assembly was on Tuesday adjourned twice after BJP MLAs demanded adjournment motion to discuss problems faced by farmers, including sugarcane price issue, as the winter session of the Legislature began.

Former Chief Minister and Opposition Leader, Jagadish Shettar sought adjournment motion and criticised the government for failing to keep its promise on payment to sugarcane growers made on the floor of the House in the last winter session.

The government had come under intense pressure to increase the State Advised Price (SAP) after a protesting sugarcane farmer committed suicide in front of the state secretariat during last winter session at Belagavi.

Sugarcane growers, who had rejected the price of Rs 2,500 a tonne fixed by the government, had staged protests, demanding that it be raised to Rs 3,500 per tonne.

The government is neglecting farmers’ problems even as they are on the streets, Shettar alleged.

Speaker Kagodu Thimappa said he would not allow adjournment motion, but the issue could be discussed under a different rule. Not satisfied with Thimappa’s assurance, BJP members who were staging protest in the well of the House raised slogans against the government.

Thereafter, Thimappa adjourned the proceedings till 3 PM.

Earlier also, Thimappa adjourned the House for ten minutes after he assured the members that he would take up the issue after the Question Hour.

Intervening in the matter, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the intentions of the opposition is “nefarious” to derail democratic norms by demanding adjournment motion before the Question Hour.

Objecting to Siddaramaiah’s remarks, BJP raised slogans which prompted Thimappa to adjourn the House for ten minutes.

Meanwhile, BJP leaders and party workers staged protest outside Suvarna Soudha, the state secretariat building here, to highlight the government’s ‘failure’ in protecting interests of farmers. The protest was led by BJP’s National Vice President and former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.

BJP is also seeking resignation of four ministers – HS Mahadeva Prasad, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Qamarul Islam and KJ George for alleged land grab and failure of the Siddaramaiah government in preventing sexual assaults on women and children.

(PTI)

Clashes erupt in Pakistan 'shut down' protest

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Supporters of Imran Khan clash with police as they heed his call and attempt to shut down Faisalabad city.

Ex-cricketer Khan called for "shut down" protests to pressure the federal government to step down [AFP]

Ex-cricketer Khan called for “shut down” protests to pressure the federal government to step down [AFP]

by Al Jazeera

Police have clashed with hundreds of protesters from the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, who were attempting to shut down the eastern city of Faisalabad as part of its leader Imran Khan’s movement against the federal government.

Police used water cannons, wooden batons and tear gas on Monday against protesters in several areas, including the central Millat Chowk area, local news television footage showed.

The situation remains tense, as supporters of the PTI, also known as the Movement for Justice party, refuse to back down.

Protesters conducted sit-ins at main intersections in the city, a major economic hub, and shouted slogans against the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) government.

They burned tyres and blocked roads, while PML-N workers threw rocks and used wooden batons, prompting owners of businesses in areas where the protests were taking place to shut down their shops.

Small groups of PTI supporters have clashed with PML-N workers as well.

The protest is part of a call Khan made on November 30, calling for “shut down” protests to be held in several Pakistani cities to increase pressure on the PML-N government, before a countrywide strike on December 18.

Khan, a former cricketer, alleges that the PML-N government rigged the 2013 general elections, internationally recognised as largely free and fair, in order to sideline his party.

Since August this year, he has been leading protests around the country calling for Nawaz Sharif to resign as prime minister.

At least 13 killed in failed US bid to rescue hostages

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yemen

by Reuters

A woman, a 10-year-old boy and a local Al-Qaeda leader were among at least 11 people killed alongside two Western hostages when US-led forces battled militants in a failed rescue mission in Yemen, residents said.

US special forces raided the village of Dafaar in Shabwa province, a militant stronghold in southern Yemen, shortly after midnight on Saturday, killing several members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

American journalist Luke Somers, 33, and South African teacher Pierre Korkie, 56, were shot and killed by their captors during the raid intended to secure the hostages’ freedom, US officials said.

AQAP, formed in 2006 by the merger of the Yemeni and Saudi branches of the network, has for years been seen by Washington as one of the movement’s most dangerous branches.

Western governments fear an advance by Shi’ite Muslim Houthi fighters.

However, since Islamic State in Syria and Iraq began distributing films of its militants executing Western hostages, the focus on AQAP, which has traditionally used hostage-taking as a way to raise funds, had diminished until now.

At least one Briton and a Turkish man are still held by the group.

“AQAP and Daesh (Islamic State) are essentially the same organisation but have different methods of execution and tactics,” a senior Yemeni intelligence official said on the sidelines of a conference in Bahrain this weekend.

Reports on social media feeds of known militants also said one of those killed was an AQAP commander and two members of the group. Six other people from the same southern Yemen tribe also died, the reports said, although they could not be immediately verified.

Senior US officials have said the raid was carried out by US forces alone, but both Yemen’s government and local residents said Yemeni forces also participated in the raid and engaged militants holding Somers and Korkie.

UN Reveals Israeli Links With Syrian Rebels

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Reports by UN observers in the Golan submitted to 15 members of Security Council detail regular contact between IDF officers and armed Syrian opposition figures at the border.

Israeli soldiers stand near the border with Syria in the occupied Golan Heights as they prepare to evacuate a wounded Syrian let in for medical treatment, September 23, 2014. Photo by Reuters

Israeli soldiers stand near the border with Syria in the occupied Golan Heights as they prepare to evacuate a wounded Syrian let in for medical treatment, September 23, 2014. Photo by Reuters

by Barak Ravid, Haaretz

Reports by UN observers in the Golan Heights over the past 18 months reveal the type and extent of cooperation between Israel and Syrian opposition figures. The reports, submitted to the 15 members of the UN Security Council and available on the UN’s website, detail regular contacts held on the border between IDF officers and soldiers and Syrian rebels.

The observer force, UNDOF, was established in 1974 as part of the separation of forces agreement between Israel and Syria. The agreement set up a buffer zone several kilometers wide. About 1,000 UN observers supervised the implementation of the agreement until 2013, when the Syrian civil war severely reduced the force’s ability to function.

While Croatia and Austria pulled out and Ireland, Fiji and India agreed to send troops, the increase of attacks on UN forces in recent months caused the force to abandon many of its positions along the front and to transfer its command to the Israeli side of the border.

The observers have continued to file reports to New York, which were relatively mundane; but their content changed in March 2013, when Israel started admitting injured Syrians for medical treatment in Safed and Nahariya hospitals. The Syrian ambassador to the UN complained of widespread cooperation between Israel and Syrian rebels, not only treatment of the wounded but also other aid.

Israel at first asserted the injured were civilians reaching the border of their own initiative and without prior coordination because they could not obtain suitable treatment in Syria. Later, as the numbers increased, Israel said it was coordinating with civilians but not opposition groups. However, the reports reveal direct contact between the IDF and armed opposition members.

According to a report from December 3, 2013, a person wounded on September 15 “was taken by armed members of the opposition across the ceasefire line, where he was transferred to a civilian ambulance escorted by an IDF vehicle.” Moreover, from November 9 to 19 the “UNDOF observed at least 10 wounded persons being transferred by armed members of the opposition from the Bravo side across the ceasefire line to IDF.”

Further reports indicated similar incidents. However, cooperation between the IDF and Syrian rebels that was revealed in UN observer reports does not just include transferring the wounded. Observers remarked in the report distributed on June 10 that they identified IDF soldiers on the Israeli side handing over two boxes to armed Syrian opposition members on the Syrian side.

The last report distributed to Security Council members, on December 1, described another meeting between IDF soldiers and Syrian opposition members that two UN representatives witnessed on October 27 some three kilometers east of Moshav Yonatan. The observers said they saw two IDF soldiers on the eastern side of the border fence opening the gate and letting two people enter Israel. The report, contrary to previous ones, did not note that the two exiting Syria were injured or why they entered Israel.

This specific event is of particular interest in light of what happened on the Syrian side of the border in the exact same region. According to the report, UN observers stated that tents were set up about 300 meters from the Israeli position for some 70 families of Syrian deserters. The Syrian army sent a letter of complaint to UNDOF in September, claiming this tent camp was a base for “armed terrorists” crossing the border into Israel. The Syrians also warned that if the UN would not evacuate the tent camp, the Syrian army would view it as a legitimate target.

India strike late blows but Warner puts Australia ahead

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Photo: Getty Images

Photo: Getty Images

Adelaide: Indian bowlers took four wickets in the final session of the opening day of the first Test but Australian opener David Warner’s belligerent knock of 145 put the home team in a slightly better position with a total of 354 for six at the Adelaide Oval here Tuesday.

Left-handed Warner got good support from skipper Michael Clarke (60) and Steve Smith (unbeaten 72) to help Australia snatch the initiative on the first day of the emotionally charged Test as India was made to toil without much result in the first two sessions of play.

For the visitors, pacers Mohammed Shami and Varun Aaron picked up two wickets apiece but their economy rates took a beating against a destructive Warner, who grabbed all eyeballs with some scintillating strokeplay.

Experienced medium fast bowler Ishant Sharma only managed the solitary wicket of Chris Rogers, but looked stand-in skipper Virat Kohli’s best bet to inflict damage on the hosts.

India surprisingly fielded debutant Karn Sharma instead of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. The leggie didn’t get much help from the turf and Clarke and Warner punished him, dispatching several weak deliveries to the fence.

But the Meerut youngster accounted for big-hitting Warner, who danced down the track and was caught at deep mid-wicket by Ishant.

After losing Chris Rogers (9) and Shane Watson (14), Australia rode on the 118-run Warner-Clarke third wicket partnership before the latter retired hurt due to back spasms, which have been bothering him for the last couple of years.

However, Warner continued his aggression on his way to his 10th century as the Indian bowlers failed to control him. The 28-year-old cut, pulled, drove and sliced to collect 17 boundaries which helped him to grab his fifth Test century in 2014.

Later, Mitchell Marsh (41) and Smith stitched a useful 87-run partnership to provide comfort to the Australians.

However, Marsh was caught at gully by Kohli off a Varun Aaron delivery and the next two batsmen – Nathon Lyon and Brad Haddin – fell to Shami quickly.

While Nyon had his stumps dismantled, wicketkeeper-batsman Haddin edged it to glovesman Wriddhiman Saha. Play was called off after the final wicket with four deliveries of the 90th over still to be bowled.

Earlier, Clarke won the toss and decided to bat – a decision justified by Warner. He tore the Indian bowling apart in the first four overs as Australia raced to 40 runs. Warner milked three boundaries in the second over, bowled by Aaron, to make his intentions clear.

He smashed Shami in the next over for three more boundaries and continued to hit the fence regularly, forcing Kohli to replace an erratic Aaron with Ishant in the sixth over.

Ishant responded to the challenge brilliantly, dismissing Rogers. The batsman lost his wicket while trying to cover drive a ball which teasingly moved away from him. He played it into the waiting hands of Shikhar Dhawan at second slip.

Watson (14) joined Warner in the middle with the team’s score reading 50/1 but the right-hander didn’t last long as he guided an Aaron delivery to Dhawan while attempting a slice towards the point region.

Despite two wickets tumbling, Warner remained his usual self and reached his fifty with a pull off Aaron in the 15th over.

Prior to the match, a rousing 63-second standing ovation marked a tribute to Phillip Hughes, who died Nov 27 after being hit by a bouncer during a domestic match.

Both teams wore black armbands in memory of the 25-year-old Hughes, who was batting on an individual score of 63 when a Sean Abbot bouncer hit him on the neck at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) Nov 25 and he died two days later.

The Adelaide Oval crowd stood in silence as Richie Benaud paid a stirring video tribute to Hughes on the big screen. The crowd then erupted into applause for 63 seconds.

(IANS)

RSS 're-converts' 200 Agra Muslims, says more in line

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Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh

by Ishita Mishra, TNN

Agra: Members of at least 57 Muslim families were converted to Hinduism at a ceremony called ‘Purkhon ki ghar vapsi’, a mass conversion jointly organized by Dharma Jagran Samanvay Vibhag, an offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and Bajrang Dal in Agra on Monday.

RSS regional head Rajeshwar Singh said more than 200 Muslims were “brought back to Hinduism” in the mass event held in Madhunagar area of the city.

According to organizers, the converts will soon be given new names.

Talking to TOI, Singh claimed that around 5,000 more Muslims and Christians will be “brought back into Hindu fold” in Aligarh on this Christmas. “The grand event will be held at Maheshwari College in Aligarh,” he said, daring anyone to stop it.

With saffron flags hoisted on rooftops of makeshift houses in this slum cluster, and matras being recited by priests, members of as many as 57 Muslim families washed feet of Hindu idols to mark their return to the religion. Long vermillion marks were put on their foreheads and they were given Prasad to eat.

Later, RSS and Bajrang Dal activists gave them a ‘mantra’ to chant the whole day and prepared a list of all the ‘converts’, to get their voter IDs and Aadhaar cards made, with their new names.

Sharifa, 40, was seen debating the right way of performing an aarti with her daughter-in-law, Afsha, in a small temple that has been erected by RSS men in the slum in Madhunagar. An idol of goddess Kali has also been placed in the temple, as majority of people living in the area hail from West Bengal.

Sufia Begum,76, who is the oldest woman among the converts, told TOI: “I read Quran and offered namaz five times a day. Now at this age, I will read Ganesh aarti. I don’t find any major difference in the teachings of the two religions.”

“The RSS people assured us that they will provide us better place to live, better food and schooling for my grandsons. I don’t mind change of religion, as religion doesn’t give us food to eat.”

Rajeshwar Singh told TOI that RSS spends Rs 50 lakh every month on conversion of an average 1,000 families. “It spends Rs 8-10 lakh per month on fuel costs alone in west UP,” he added.

“We have re-converted 2.73 lakh Muslims and Christians in Braj region that includes Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Mathura, Firozabad, Etah, Meerut, Mainpuri and Uttarakhand since 2003. The upcoming mass re-conversion event in which some 5,000 Muslims and Christians will be brought back into Hindu fold will be headed by Yogi Adityanath on December 25 in Aligarh,” Singh said.

Singh also claimed that RSS has taken possession of as many as 60 churches across the state, where no Christians worship now, “as they have all been re-converted to Hinduism”.

“Ek din in girijagharo ki deewarein bhi gir jayengi aur hamara desh sirf hinduon ka hoga (one day these churches will crumble and our country will belong to the Hindus alone),” he added.

Ajju Chauhan, the Bajrang Dal leader who zeroed in on the slum in Madhunagar and organized the mass re-conversion event, was overwhelmed after the puja. More than three dozen RSS and Bajrang Dal members were guarding the pandal to avoid any untoward incident.

Talking to TOI, Aslam Qureishi, prominent Sunni leader of the city, said, “This is just a tactic of the RSS to misguide Muslims.”

IPL scam hearing: SC wants BCCI to take action against Gurunath Meiyappan

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Gurunath Meiyappan

Cracking the whip in the Indian Premier League corruption case, the Supreme Court on Tuesday insisted that action must be taken against Board of Control for Cricket in India president in exile N Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan.

The Supreme Court was clear that it did not want to short-circuit BCCI’s working machinery and offered four options to the BCCI:

  1. Srinivasan steps aside and a BCCI committee takes a decision on Meiyappan
  2. Two independent judges are appointed to look into the punishment for Meiyappan
  3. The IPL Governing Council decides on punishment for Meiyappan
  4. The Mudgal Panel decides what punishment to hand out to Meiyappan

Srinivasan was accused of taking no action against Meiyappan and now the apex court wants the BCCI to spell out how the former CSK official should be punished. “Want action against Meiyappan.

What can be done to decide quantum of punishment? We don’t want to bypass BCCI, announce punitive measures,” the Court said on Tuesday.

According to PTI, Supreme Court objected to Srinivasan attending Tamil Nadu Cricket Association Meetings Despite stepping aside as cricket administrator.

Srinivasan admitted it was a mistake and said he should not have attended the meetings.

Earlier on Monday, the Supreme Court observed that it is very difficult to accept N. Srinivasan’s plea that there is no conflict of interest arising out of owning IPL team CSK and heading the BCCI.

A bench headed by Justice TS Thakur said that conflict of interest is equal to bias and even though actual bias may not be in the case but even likelihood of bias is important.
It said purity of cricket has to be maintained and all persons at the helm of its affairs should be above suspicion.

“Taking all circumstances in account, it is very difficult to accept your contention that there is no conflict of interest. You being MD of India Cements, India Cements owning CSK, an official of CSK involved in betting and you heading the BCCI,” the bench, also comprising Justice FMI Kalifulla, told Srinivasan’s lawyer Kapil Sibal.

Sibal, however, submitted that by that standard, conflict of interest is prevalent in every sphere of activities and noted that Hockey Federation and FIFA allow it.

Not in favour to give SC reservation to Christian and Muslim Dalits: Central govt

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Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot

New Delhi: The Government today said it is not in favour of bringing Dalits of Christian and Muslim communities under the ambit of reservation for the Scheduled Castes.

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot said this during a discussion on a Bill to include more castes under SC category in four states and exclude one from it in Sikkim which was passed by the Parliament today.

“We are not agreeable to it,” Gehlot said referring to a demand by some members in the Upper House to include Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims in reservation for SCs.
Citing a case in the Supreme Court in this regard, the Minister said that discussions can happen based on its outcome.

Responding to demands from several parties on extending reservation in the private sector, Gehlot said this demand has been there for the last 15 years and it would be looked into.

Gehlot was replying to matters raised by members during the discussion on the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014 which has been passed by the Lok Sabha earlier. Rajya Sabha also passed the Bill by a voice vote with most parties supporting it.

The Bill was first tabled in 2012 but lapsed after the previous Lok Sabha was dissolved and the BJP government introduced it August in Lok Sabha.

Gehlot sought to address members’ concerns, saying that diversion of funds from Scheduled Castes Special Component Plan is an important issue and such a practice is not desirable.

Earlier, in the discussion over the Bill, P L Punia (Congress) supported the legislation and said that the population of those in the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) has increased and the percentage of reservation should also be increased in the same proportion.

Punia advocated extending reservations for these sections in private sector as well as the judiciary.

AIADMK member K Arjunan sought to highlight the demand to include Dalit Christians in the list of Scheduled Castes. Husain Dalwai (Congress) sought reservation benefits for Dalit-Muslims saying discrimination on the basis of caste is not confined to only one religion.

Tarun Vijay (BJP) and D Bandyopadhyay (TMC) supported the Bill. Bandyopadhyay said that the Centre should bring out a comprehensive plan for the development of weaker sections adding that at present efforts only constitute disjointed schemes. Vishambhar Prasad Nishad (SP) and Anil Kumar Sahani (JD-U) also participated in the debate.

BJP member Nanda Kumar Sai demanded strict regulations to eliminate fake community certificates and recording the names of communities in officials records in Hindi and regional languages as well to avoid spelling mistakes.

Dilip Kumar Tirkey (BJD), D Raja (CPI), Ambeth Rajan (BSP), Chaudhary Munavvar Saleem (SP) were among those who shared their views.

(PTI)

You created a mess in my life: Shweta Basu Prasad tells media in open letter

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Shweta-Basu-Prasad

The Metropolitan Sessions Court in Nampally in Hyderabad gave Prasad a clean chit in the case by withdrawing all charges and stay order against her that was put in force by a trial court.

Following the accusations, she was sent to a rescue home for 59 days. This came after a prostitution racket allegedly involving her was busted.

In an open letter posted on her Twitter handle, she accused the media of messing her life.

Dear,
Members of Media,

I grew up admiring some great journalists and reporters who, some times report even live from war-torn borders, natural disaster sites, terror attacked locations, etc. without hesitating a bit. These heroes inspired me to pursue my degree in Mass Media and Journalism degree too. I always thought, ‘wow! These guys, the media, actually risk their lives to bring us the truth’. And boom! You create a mess in my very life. Well done.

I understand that everything was a chain of reaction and versions of the incident with several mis-leading stories were picked up along with my………..wait, NOT MY ‘statement!’, which said:

“I have made wrong choices in my career, and I was out of money. I had to support my family and some other good causes. All doors were closed, and some people encouraged me to get into prostitution to earn money. I was helpless, and with no option left to choose, I got involved in this act. I’m not the only one who faced this problem, and there are several other heroines who have gone through this phase”

Seriously?? Whoever you are, who imagined this statement, were you smoking funny cigarettes at work? Who talks like that? This sounds like a dialogue from some 80’s Bollywood film. And why so many ‘and’ in that statement, go back to school amateur!

Thankfully my family, my friends and my circle of people didn’t believe this statement. They know I do not speak like that. But, for the rest of India or anyone, anywhere on planet, for the last time : THIS IS NOT MY STATEMENT!

The problem with our society is, as long as I was given sympathy and everyone went ‘awwww’, ‘poor girl’, ‘so sad’ and so on, everybody was supporting me. But, as soon as people understand that they got carried away by a false statement and a girl of 23 can be strong and can stand on her own feet without any sympathies, the society feels that she is lying?? What’s my fault if the news were the way they were? I cannot force anyone to like or respect me. These happen naturally. What happened was beyond my control.

After my detainment, I went straight to the rescue home where I stayed for 59 and a half days. (60th day, I came home), then where and how did I give a statement to media? My phone was confiscated, I made few last calls to Maa and few other close friends. I had absolutely no access to newspapers, television, internet or radio for those 2 months. I had no clue what was going on outside Prajwala rescue home, Mehboob Nagar (outskirts of Hyderabad). Although I had a lovely time there teaching kids Hindi, English and Hindustani Classical vocals. I always do and I always will count those children in my prayers. I also read 12 books in those 2 months. Yes 12. Spent my time very productively.

But, after I came back home in Mumbai on 30th October 2014, I came across all the reports that had been around for those 2 months when I was absent and I was more amused than disappointed!

A report also said that ‘the cops’ said I gave that ‘statement’, which was denied by the Police in Hyderabad when I confronted them. One of the Police said, that no press notes were released by the department of Police, Hyderabad, of any such statement made by me. And anyway, Police is not allowed to reveal identity in such cases, so it was not possible by them to reveal any such statement. It’s against the law. And how could they, firstly this statement does not exist. I was absent in the scene and that was an advantage for it to do the rounds.

And who are these business men in my life? I am just as curious as all of you!
So, here is the riddle: Why were the business men names who were caught ‘along with me’ not revealed?
Clue: Were there any business men with me in that room at the time of detainment in the first place?

Think Think.

PROVE IT!

I was in Hyderabad for Santhosham Awards, which was conducted on 30th August. I was never encouraged to get into commercial sex and no agent booked my tickets and stay there! My tickets and accommodation was done by the award event organizers. The hotel where I stayed with other guests of the award ceremony was a hospitality partner with the event. I still have the itinerary in my email inbox.

My parents did not want me to act after Iqbal (2005). My parents’ bigger concern was me passing my 10th and 12th grade properly and not jumping into movies at 16! We don’t dine at Wasabi every other weekend but that doesn’t mean my parents have not done enough to bring me up well. I had the best possible education, birthday gifts, family vacations, Sports clubs for playing a sport and enrollment at Music Institute for learning music (I learn The Sitar from Sangit Mahabharati, Juhu, Mumbai), everything that a normal upper-middle class parents can do.

I did few south films (Telugu and Tamil) when I was about 18 and then past 3 and half years I had been busy making a documentary film called Roots on Indian Classical music, starring interviews of Ustad  Amjad Ali Khan, Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma, Shubha Mudgal, A R Rahman, Vishal Bhardwaj, Dr L Subramaniam, Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia to name a few. In fact, in June 2014 along with a friend, Adhiraj Bose I also co-produced and acted in a 12 minute short film named INT. CAFÉ NIGHT that starred myself along with Shernaz Patel, Naseeruddin Shah and Naveen Kasturia, which is doing rounds of film festivals right now. I have been auditioning for acting assignments as well. So what ‘doors’ were closed? Please get your facts right before jumping into conclusions!

However, on 5th December 2014 the Metropolitan Sessions Court, Nampally, Hyderabad, gave me clean chit in the case and withdrew the charges and stay order against me made by the trial court.To all those who supported me through out all this, thank you so much, extending a big hug to all of you.

Anyway, enough said, enough heard. I have completely gone past the whole incident and I overlook everyone who picked up false statement(s) and encouraged mis-leading stories without verifying it’s authenticity. I overlook, because this episode does not deserve any more attention!

-Shweta Basu Prasad
6/12/2014 

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