Citizens urge NFDC to cancel Israel Film Festival in Mumbai
calling it immoral amid Palestinian conflict
Mumbai: On Monday, a group of citizens called on the National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) to cancel an upcoming festival showcasing Israeli films. The festival is scheduled to take place in Mumbai at the National Museum of Indian Cinema on Wednesday and Thursday.
In a statement, the group expressed outrage at the festival, stating, “This screening by the NFDC [National Film Development Corporation] is shamefully being held at a time, when the entire world is witness to Israeli war crimes, the ongoing Holocaust and the genocide in Gaza, and across all of Palestine. The genocide is occurring live, in real time, and the entire world is witness to this inhuman criminal monstrosity, as we watch aghast on our mobiles and TV screens.”
The statement’s signatories include prominent figures including actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak, freedom fighter GG Parikh, documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, and Tushar Gandhi, the great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.
The group condemned the Israeli government's actions, including killing journalists, artists, doctors, and other civilians as part of a deliberate genocide against Palestinian society. The group also accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon by denying food, water, and medical supplies.
The group noted that the Indian government officially recognizes the state of Palestine and argued that the NFDC and the National Museum of Indian Cinema should acknowledge this stance. They described the screening of Israeli films as “immoral, unethical, unconscionable, and a travesty of justice,” urging the NFDC to cancel the festival in light of the “damning evidence” they presented.
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
