Over 2,300 women to go on Hajj this year without 'Mehram': Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
New Delhi, Jan 16: Over 2,300 Muslim women from India will go on Hajj this year without 'Mehram' or male companion as all those who applied under this category have been exempted from the lottery system, Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said Wednesday.
The Modi government had last year allowed women going to Hajj without Mehram, which had resulted in about 1,300 Muslim women going for the pilgrimage without any male companion. They had been exempted from the lottery system.
Naqvi, while inaugurating the new office space of Haj Division at RK Puram here, said that for the first time after the Independence, 2,340 Muslim women have applied to go on Hajj 2019 without Mehram.
This year too, on the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Minority Affairs Ministry has made arrangement to send these women on Haj without the lottery system, he was quoted as saying in a statement released from his office.
Women from all states are among the 2,340 that have applied to go on Hajj 2019 without Mehram.
More than 2,67,000 applications had been received for Hajj this year out of which 1,64,902 applications have been submitted online, Naqvi said.
A lottery is conducted to select the pilgrims as there is a fixed quota allotted by Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage.
A record number of 1,75,025 Muslims, including about 48 per cent women, from India performed Hajj in 2018 and that too without any subsidy, Naqvi said.
With the Goods and Services Tax on Haj pilgrimage reduced from 18 per cent to 5 per cent, about Rs 113 crore will be saved by Haj pilgrims this year, he said.
Reduction in GST on Haj pilgrimage will ensure significant decrease in air fare from various embarkation points.
Naqvi said that making the Hajj process digital has helped in making it transparent and pro-pilgrims.
The Ministry of Minority Affairs, in cooperation with Saudi Arabia Hajj Consulate, Haj Committee of India and other agencies concerned, has completed preparations for the pilgrimage three months before schedule to ensure that the pilgrimage is more comfortable for the pilgrims.
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4 held for sexually assaulting woman, girl on moving bus after social media alert in UP's Agra
Agra (UP) (PTI): Four people were arrested, after a prompt response by police following a social media alert, for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and a girl inside a moving bus here, officials said on Tuesday.
According to an official police statement, at 12:27 am on April 27, information was received on the social media platform X about an incident of sexual assault on a bus travelling from Kanpur to Ahmedabad, which was approaching Namner crossing in Agra.
Acting under the direction of Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar, the Agra Police social media team immediately alerted the Rakabganj police station within minutes and coordinated with the victims to confirm the incident and obtain the exact location, it stated.
Police teams launched intensive checking at Namner crossing and intercepted the bus as it reached the spot. The four accused involved in the incident were apprehended on the spot, and legal action was initiated against them, the statement said.
The police said the swift response and coordination between the social media team and field units ensured timely action, bringing relief to the victims and other passengers, who expressed gratitude towards the police, it added.
