Samajwadi Party spokesperson gets threat call from man claiming to be linked to Bishnoi gang
Bahraich (UP) (PTI): Samajwadi Party's national spokesperson, Tariq Khan, has allegedly received a threat call from an individual claiming to be associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
The call, made two days ago, has prompted the police to initiate an investigation.
In an audio clip circulating on social media since Saturday evening, Khan, known for his articulate defense of the Samajwadi Party on national television debates, has been subjected to abusive and threatening language.
Talking to PTI, Khan said, "For the past two months, I have been receiving abusive and threatening calls, which I ignored. However, on Friday night, a caller not only hurled abuses but also claimed to be speaking on behalf of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Considering the gravity of the threat, I immediately informed Superintendent of Police and Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav. Now, the audio of that conversation has surfaced on social media."
Khan added, "I have informed the police that this might be a hoax, but it is essential to identify and apprehend the caller. I have provided the police with recordings of the recent conversation along with previous instances."
The party's national president, Akhilesh Yadav, who has been briefed on the situation, has called Khan to Lucknow on Tuesday. If deemed necessary, Yadav might escalate the matter to the Director General of Police.
In the alleged audio recording, the caller initiates the conversation with an ominous warning: "Be careful or your number will come up next."
The caller repeatedly threatens Khan with statements like, "Speak cautiously," "Your number is coming up" and "We will have to act."
When Khan asks the caller about Lawrence Bishnoi, the latter responds aggressively, "You will find out soon. Wait for two to three days. I will show you."
The call ends abruptly with profanities from the unidentified caller.
When asked, Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Ramanand Prasad told PTI, "Whether the call was genuinely from the Bishnoi gang or a fraudster, is yet to be confirmed. However, we are taking the matter seriously. The caller’s number is under surveillance, and efforts are underway to trace him. An officer at the Deputy Superintendent of Police level has been assigned to investigate it."
The ASP said in October last year, the Mumbai police had linked a village in Bahraich district to the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique.
Seven suspects — Shiva alias Shiv Kumar, Dharmaraj, Anurag Kashyap, Harish, Akhilendra, Akash Srivastava and Gyan Prakash — arrested from various locations, belonged to Gandara village under the Kaiserganj police station limits in Bahraich.
On October 12, during the Dussehra celebrations in Mumbai, shooters allegedly from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang shot and killed Baba Siddique.
Tariq Khan, a resident of Mohalla Chhoti Bazar, Badi Hat, Bahraich, is the son of Teje Khan, a senior Samajwadi Party leader. Teje Khan has served twice as the chairman of Bahraich Municipal Board.
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Uncompromising stand against Bangladesh-origin Muslims swayed votes for NDA: Himanta
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday asserted that his government's "uncompromising stand" in taking steps against Bangladesh-origin Muslims swayed people in favour of the BJP-led NDA in this year's assembly elections, resulting in the alliance securing a two-thirds majority.
He maintained that the NDA's win was a victory for the Assamese indigenous people and affirmed continuing developmental work in the state.
Addressing a press conference, Sarma said, "The double-engine government and unprecedented development the state witnessed in the last five years are among the main reasons for our victory."
"We had assured of securing the Assamese 'jati' (community) and took steps to deliver it. Assam progressed in the cultural and economic sectors. Our uncompromising stand against Bangladesh-origin Muslims also had an impact," he said.
The NDA swept to a third successive term in the state by securing 102 seats in the 126-member state assembly. The BJP won 82 seats, while its allies AGP and Bodoland People's Front bagged 10 each.
On Sarma predicting nearly exact numbers for the alliance before the results, he said the assessment was based on his connect with the people.
"I visited every assembly segment thrice before elections. I have a good mass connect system, which helped in my assessment," he said.
Sarma claimed that recommendations of the Justice (retd) Biplab Sharma committee on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which deals with constitutional safeguards for the indigenous Assamese population, were implemented by his government.
"It was because of it that the Assamese people won yesterday. It was not just a BJP victory," he asserted.
The CM claimed the NDA secured the support of all sections of people, including Gen Z, which was evident in the young faces fielded by the BJP emerging victorious.
He dismissed the charge that the BJP has an "outsider" among its MLAs, referring to Guwahati Central legislator-elect Vijay Gupta.
"Vijay Gupta is an Assamese. If he is a Bihari, we (ancestors) also came from Kannauj. We all have come from different parts. Mongoloids came from outside, Aryans came from outside. This outsider narrative has been created by you all (media)," Sarma said.
On the Congress' poor poll performance, he maintained that there were very few people in the opposition party who understood the sentiments of the Assamese people.
Otherwise, the Congress would not have brought singer Zubeen Garg's name in its manifesto or levied allegations against an Assamese woman, Sarma added, referring to the opposition party's charges of multiple passports and undisclosed foreign investments of his wife.
The CM also maintained that Raijor Dal could have won four-five seats had it not joined hands with the Congress.
The Congress and Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal were part of a six-party opposition alliance that fought the elections together. Congress won 19 seats and Raijor Dal two, with the other allies drawing a blank.
"If Akhil Gogoi had not made the mistake, Sherman Ali Ahmed would have been his MLA today," Sarma said, referring to the expelled Congress leader who won as a TMC candidate after Raijor Dal refused him a ticket owing to the alliance.
On Gogoi being the only opposition MLA to win from a Hindu-majority seat, Sarma said, "It is the people of Sibsagar who decided who will represent them. On my part, it was the only Hindu majority seat where I didn't go to campaign."
"Akhil Gogoi should be kept in the assembly, else he will create chaos on the streets with his protests," Sarma said.
He also claimed that Gogoi had failed to make a single serious speech in the assembly during his first tenure as MLA and dubbed the Raijor Dal president a "comic relief" when the proceedings get dull.
