MOB ENTERS HERITAGE MADRASA IN KARNATAKA ON DUSSEHRA
Tension gripped Bidar in Karnataka after a mob from a Dussehra procession barged into the premises of Mahmud Gawan Madrasa and performed puja in the early hours of October 6. A police case has been registered against nine people and four have been arrested. Built in the 1460s, the Madrasa is a designated heritage site under the Archaeological Survey of India. The structure is also listed among monuments of national importance. The mob broke the lock of the madrasa and entered it, the police said. They shouted “Jai Shri Ram” and “Hindu Dharam Jai” slogans. Videos circulating online show a huge crowd on the steps, trying to get inside the building. Several Muslim organisations from Bidar have condemned the incident and held protests. Critics have accused the BJP of turning parts of the state into a crucible for communal experiments. The allegations started after the row over a hijab ban in educational institutions and spiked as Hindu groups insisted on banning Muslim traders from temple fairs.
NOTICE TO CS, DGP OVER PUBLIC FLOGGING BY COPS
A minority rights organisation has issued notices to the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police and Kheda District Superintendent of Police, seeking action against cops involved in the public flogging of men in Undhela village of Matar taluka in Kheda. The alleged stone pelting incident took place over a dispute involving organising a garba near a mosque in the village on the intervening night of October 3 and 4. The next day the accused men were tied to electricity poles and beaten up by the police one after another. Police have lodged an FIR against the youth involved in stone pelting. The top cops are yet to act against the policemen involved in the incident. The notice was issued by advocate Anand Yagnik on behalf of Mujahid Nafees, convener of the Minority Coordination Committee, Gujarat. The TMC has also filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission in connection with the public flogging of Muslim men by Gujarat Police personnel, party spokesperson Saket Gokhale said on October 7. He said it is “a matter of shame” that the NHRC hasn’t taken suo moto cognizance of the matter.
RAIDS AT 35 PLACES IN LIQUOR POLICY CASE
The Enforcement Directorate on October 7 launched fresh raids at 35 locations in Delhi, Punjab and Hyderabad, deepening its money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy. The searches were conducted at premises linked to liquor companies, distributors and supply chain networks in these states. The action started early morning with agency teams seen leaving the Delhi headquarters for the raid locations. Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, attacked the centre and termed the raids as “dirty politics”. “More than 500 raids, since 3 months more than 300 CBI/ED officers are working 24 hours – one to find evidence against Manish Sisodia. Can’t find anything. because nothing was done,” Mr Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi. “Time of so many officers is being wasted for their dirty politics. How will such a country progress?” he added.
GOVT SETS UP TRIBUNAL TO ADJUDICATE PFI’S BAN JUSTIFIED OR NOT
The Centre on October 6 set up a tribunal comprising Delhi High Court judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma to adjudicate whether sufficient grounds were available for declaring the Popular Front of India (PFI) and eight associate groups as unlawful. The Union Home Ministry issued a notification, announcing the announcement of the formation of the tribunal. “The Central Government hereby constitutes an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal consisting of Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma, High Court of Delhi, for the purpose of adjudicating whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Popular Front of India and its associates or affiliates or fronts including Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala as unlawful association,” the notification said.
BJP LEADER SANGEET SOM ISSUES CALL TO ARMS
BJP leader and former MLA Sangeet Som asked Rajputs to take up arms during an ayudha puja (worship of weapons) event organised by the Rajput Utthan Sabha on Vijaya Dashami in Kheda village in UP’s Meerut on October 5. Som, who was an accused in a case related to the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, made veiled references to the minority community and alleged that “anti-national forces” are attacking the country. “The way the population of a particular community is increasing, terrorism is increasing, there are talks of separatism, talks of beheading. To end all of this, along with power, weapons will also be needed in the future,” Som said in his address. “The Rajput society will have to take up arms again,” the former BJP MLA from the Sardhana constituency said. According to a news report citing PTI, the BJP leader said to ensure the progress of a religion, “sacrifice, penance and dedication are needed”.
COURT DEFERS ORDER ON PLEA FOR CARBON DATING OF ‘SHIVLING’
The court of Varanasi’s senior-most judge on October 7 deferred the pronouncement of judgement on a plea seeking carbon dating of a purported ‘Shivling’ at the Gyanvapi mosque complex. The court will pronounce its order on October 11. The plea by Hindu women petitioners sought scientific investigation, including carbon dating, of the ‘Shivling’ found earlier this year during a video survey carried out on the orders of a lower court in the temple town. The court asked for more clarity from the lawyers for the women petitioners. The court sought clarifications on two points: Whether the purported ‘shivling’ can be made a part of the case and whether the court can actually order any scientific investigation. Four of the five Hindu women petitioners – whose original plea was to pray yearlong at a shrine inside the Gyanvapi mosque – were being heard in the district judge’s court. They had made a plea last month, saying it was necessary to determine the age of the ‘Shivling’. The mosque committee said the object being called a ‘Shivling’ was actually a “fountain”.
80-FEET RAVANA EFFIGY FALLS AT YAMUNANAGAR EVENT
A major accident was averted on October 5 during the Ravan Dahan event on the occasion of Dussehra in Haryana’s Yamunanagar where an 80-feet effigy of Ravana fell on the people gathered at the venue. Some people reportedly suffered minor injuries. A video of the incident shared by news agency ANI showed a group of men approaching towards the nearly burnt effigy to collect the remains when the structure fell. Parts of the structure were still burning. A Yamunanagar Police spokesperson said personnel deployed at the ground managed to push back a few of the spectators. Meanwhile, a prominent seer on October 3 said an ordinance should be promulgated immediately to stop the burning of Ravana’s effigy during Dusshera. “The ordinance may be later ratified by Parliament,” said Adhokshajanand Devtirath in a statement. The evil of burning Ravana’s effigy should be stopped as it has no place in Hindu culture and teaches youngsters to disrespect the knowledgeable, he said. The environment also gets polluted after the effigy is burnt, he added.