Minister Jayant Sinha Garlands 8 Men Who Killed Meat Trader In Jharkhand
HAZARIBAG, JHARKHAND: Jayant Sinha, the union minister from Jharkhand has landed himself in the middle of a row after the minister felicitated eight men convicted for killing a meat trader last year.
The controversy erupted after photographs emerged showing the minister welcoming them at his residence. In some, the union minister of state for civil aviation is also seen garlanding the eight convicts at his residence on the outskirts of Hazaribagh.
"This is despicable," Jharkhand's leader of opposition Hemant Soren tweeted in a stinging swipe at the union minister, tagging the minister's alma mater, the prestigious Harvard University of the US.
"Your alumnus @jayantsinha felicitating the accused in cow related lynching death in India. Is this what @Harvard stands for?" Mr Soren tweeted about Mr Sinha, the BJP's Lok Sabha member from Hazaribagh. Ramgarh town is also a part of his constituency.
Mr Sinha could not be reached for his comments despite attempts. His office said the minister did not want to comment at this stage.
A total of 11 men, including a local BJP leader, were sentenced to a life term for beating Alimuddin to death on 30 June last year.
The meat trader in Jharkhand was dragged out of his car and beaten to death by a mob that suspected he was carrying beef. As Alimuddin Ansari, 55, lay dying on a road in Ramgarh town, his car was also set on fire.
The deadly attack by the self-styled cow vigilantes had come just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called "killing people in the name of cow protection unacceptable".
The Raghubar Das government in Jharkhand decided to send a strong message, ordered the police to quickly probe the case and sent it to a fast track court.
The court verdict came nine months later, in March this year. They were convicted on the basis of a statement by Alimuddin's wife Mariam Khatoon.
The police also came across a video that it said showed Nityanand Mahto, 45, the district BJP's media in-charge dragging Alimuddin Ansari out of the car that a group of cow vigilantes had forced to stop near Ranchi. The mob took over from there and mercilessly thrashed him.
Ajoy Kumar of the Congress too expressed his shock at Mr Sinha, who he said was considered "among the most educated minister in PM Modi's cabinet, "openly" supporting people convicted for killing an innocent. "Do they have no work to show except playing politics on dead bodies and dividing society?" he said in an attack on the BJP.
This isn't the first time that Mr Sinha has been seen to be associating himself with the accused in this case.
After the court convicted the 11 people in March, Mr Sinha had demanded that the case be probed again. This time, by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
He had then claimed to have studied "various facets" of the case and held consultations. "I firmly believe that complete justice has not been done," the BJP's Lok Sabha member from Hazaribagh had said. Ramgarh town, where the incident took place, is part of his Lok Sabha constituency.
courtesy : ndtv.com
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Two African nationals linked to 12 cyber fraud complaints nationwide held in Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): Two African nationals have been arrested over suspected involvement in an international cyber fraud racket that allegedly duped victims across multiple states of more than Rs 50 lakh, police said on Thursday.
The accused allegedly impersonated women on online platforms to befriend Indian victims and build emotional relationships. They would later claim to be travelling to India and fabricate stories about being detained at airports or facing immigration issues, seeking money for clearance and other expenses.
Police said the arrests were made following sustained surveillance, technical analysis and verification of suspicious mule bank accounts linked to multiple complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
According to the police, at least 12 complaints from across states involving defrauded funds exceeding Rs 50 lakh were traced to several bank accounts used by the accused.
"These accounts were opened in different names across various banks and were used to receive money fraudulently obtained from victims," a senior police officer said.
During investigation, six mobile phones and two passports were seized from the accused. Police said the devices contained incriminating chats, details of mule bank accounts and conversations with victims, along with fabricated images related to airports apparently used to mislead targets.
Both accused are also suspected to have links with drug trafficking activities in the Delhi-NCR region and are being probed further, police said, adding that efforts are underway to identify and apprehend other members.
