SECTION 144 IMPOSED AS GROUPS THREATEN TO ENTER MOSQUE
With Hindutva groups threatening to enter a mosque in Srirangapatna town of Karnataka’s Mandya district and perform puja there on June 4, the authorities have decided to impose Section 144 from the evening of June 3 until June 5. Shwetha Ravindra, the tehsildar of Srirangapatna, has imposed prohibitory orders in the town that would prevent any procession, protest or yatra from taking place. Hindutva groups have claimed that the Jamia Masjid, located in the Srirangapatna Fort, was built after a Hanuman temple was demolished. According to the Archaeological Survey of India, Persian inscriptions on the mosque say Tipu Sultan was the builder of this mosque, called Masjid-e-Ala, in 1782 AD.
COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST BJP LEADER FOR INSULTING TRICOLOUR
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh has filed a complaint with the police against Karnataka BJP MLA KS Eshwarappa over his remarks alluding that the saffron flag of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) would become the national flag of India one day. Singh, also a member of Rajya Sabha, said he has given an application to file a complaint against the BJP leader at the North Avenue police station in New Delhi, reported PTI. He said Eshwarappa should be arrested for his comments. “I have given an application to register an FIR against Eshwarappa for insulting the national flag by saying that the saffron flag will become India’s national flag one day. For more than 50 years, the national flag was not hoisted at the RSS headquarters. Actually, the BJP is opposed to the national flag,” AAP MP was quoted as saying.
COUPLE CANCELS HAJ PLAN, DONATES LAND TO ‘LIFE MISSION’
Jasmine and Haneefa, residents of Aranmula, a town in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, were making arrangements for their long-cherished dream of going on Haj and were prepared to sell their land to raise funds for the trip when they had second thoughts. Instead, the couple, married for over three decades, decided to donate its 28-cent ancestral land to LIFE Mission, the State government’s flagship housing scheme for the landless. The couple’s decision came after it saw the plight of a neighbour-family living on a rented premises and found it difficult to cremate the body of a family member who died recently. Haneefa said recently, a person passed away in his locality and a community leader donated his four cents of land to that family to conduct last rites and cremation. “After that incident, we decided to make use of the land to help the needy instead of going for haj,” Haneefa said. Local Self-Government Minister M V Govindan hailed the decision of the couple and said it was an inspiration to society.
DELHI DCP SACKED AFTER NAME CROPS UP IN BAR BRAWL
Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana issued orders reliving IPS officer Shankar Choudhary from his duty as DCP (Dwarka district) after the latter’s name cropped up in a bar brawl, India Today reported on June 4. In an order issued on June 4, Shankar Choudhary has been directed to report to the Delhi Police headquarters. The IPS officer’s name had come up in connection with a dispute at a bar in south Delhi’s Greater Kailash area on June 3. According to the police, information was received at Greater Kailash police station that a DCP-rank officer of the Delhi Police had assaulted a woman at a birthday party in a private club in Kailash Colony. The woman suffered injury on her head from a shattered glass during a private birthday party Friday night. Her husband later called police and alleged the involvement of the deputy commissioner of police (DCP), according to a general diary entry.
6 STUDENTS SUSPENDED, 12 SENT BACK FOR WEARING HIJAB
Authorities in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka on June 2 suspended 6 students for wearing hijab in spite of a series of warnings. In another instance, 12 students were sent back for wearing hijab while attending classes. Six students of the Uppinangadi Government Pre University College have been suspended for repeatedly violating hijab guidelines. The principal of the college took the decision to suspend the students after holding a meeting with college lecturers. The 6 girl students were informed about the government order and the decision of the High Court prohibiting wearing of hijab in classrooms.
CASES FILED AGAINST TN BJP CHIEF FOR HIS ‘PARIAH’ WORD
Multiple cases have been filed against Tamil Nadu BJP president, K Annamalai, for a term he used on social media. In the Twitter post on May 30, Annamalai used the ‘derogatory’ term “pariah”, which has led to multiple cases being filed against him. Political leaders have demanded that the TN BJP chief be booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Annamalai, in his Twitter post, said, “From hopelessness to Hope, From parochial mindset to Nation First, From dilly-dallying to Conviction, From one-sided to Holistic Development, From a pariah to a ViswaGuru, From Dark to Light, 8 years & counting with Shri @narendramodi avl as our first servant! #8YearsOfSeva” A case was filed against Annamalai in Tirunelveli by Murugan, a member of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), requesting the city Police Commissioner to register a case against the leader in this regard. In Coimbatore, Thanthai Periyar Dravida Kazhagam (TPDK) representatives filed a complaint against Annamalai and demanded action against him under SC/ST Atrocities act. However, the BJP leader denied ‘to demean the community’.
DALITS DENIED ENTRY IN TEMPLE, CASE REGISTERED
A group of Dalits was stopped from entering Radha Krishna temple in Lohari village of Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh by some upper caste men who turned them away. A case was registered against 10 accused. Dalits alleged that the event was organised ahead of time in order to keep them from the temple ceremony. Outraged with the events at the temple, the aggrieved party alleged that the upper caste stopped them from entering the temple ceremony. This led to an argument between some youths. A case has been registered under sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of atrocities) Act against 10 upper-caste men. Tribal social worker Vijay Chopra alleged that the officers and employees are also guilty in this case and should be suspended and demanded fair investigation into the case.
K’TAKA MUSLIM VENDOR, OTHER TO INAUGURATE LITERARY EVENT
A Muslim vendor, Nabisaab Killedar, was one among the six representatives from the downtrodden and working-class selected to inaugurate the 8th May Sahitya Mela, which was held between May 27 and 28 in Karnataka’s Davanagere city. The Mela was organised to voice out the people’s issues, especially of the working class. Basavaraj Sulibhavi reportedly stated that about 1,000 delegates took part in the programme organised at Taj Palace in Davanagere. A beedi worker, construction worker, farmer, and environmental activist were also invited to inaugurate the programme along with Nabisaab Killedar. Killedar, a watermelon fruit vendor’s shop was vandalised by the Hindu activists last month on the premises of the Nuggikeri temple in Dharwad, following the ruling BJP government’s stand that non-Hindu vendors are not allowed on the temple premises.