BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan demands removal of lesson on Tipu Sultan from school textbooks
Bengaluru, Oct 23: Madikeri BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan on Wednesday demanded that the lesson on Tipu Sultan, the controversial 18th century ruler of erstwhile Mysore kingdom, be removed from textbooks as it carries wrong information.
"The lesson on Tipu Sultan contains wrong information.
It should be removed. I have written to Education Minister S Suresh Kumar that he (Tipu Sultan) is not a freedom fighter," Ranjan told PTI on Wednesday.
He said Tipu Sultan had a "history of plundering and expanding his kingdom" and run his administration inPersian language.
"Hence, he is not a freedom fighter," headded.
"I came to Bengaluru to personally hand over the letter to the minister, but he is in Belagavi.
Once he comes here, I will give it to him with documents and other proof, substantiating my claim," the MLA said.
Ranjan alleged that Tipu Sultan had converted more than 20,000 Christians and 10,000 Kodagu residents.
"Even today, Muslims in Kodagu district have their family names identical to the Hindu Kodavas", he added.
The MLA alleged that Tipu had also changed the names of many towns and localities and gave them Persian names.
"Records are available that he had also plundered many temples.Hence, wrong information should not be spread and only the truth should be brought out.
That's why I say he is not a freedom fighter," Ranjan added.
The BJP government in Karnataka on July 30 cancelled the annual birth anniversary celebrations of Tipu, being organised since 2015.
The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government had started the Tipu Jayanti celebration as an annual affair on November 10 since 2015.
It was continued by the Congress-JD(S) coalition government headed by H D Kumaraswamy last year, despite opposition from BJP and others.
Kodagu district was marred by widespread protests and violence during the first official celebration in 2015, during which a Vishwa Hindu Parishad worker Kuttappa had died.
BJP and right wing organisations had stiffly opposed Tipu Jayanti celebrations, calling the ruler a "religious bigot".
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Senior citizen duped of Rs 23.5 lakh on threat of digital arrest in Thane district
Thane (PTI): A 68-year-old man was allegedly cheated of Rs 23.5 lakh by cyber fraudsters who threatened him with digital arrest in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Monday.
This is a second such incident reported in the district this week, an official said.
Based on a complaint, the Kalyan police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, Assistant Inspector Vinod Patil of Mahatma Phule police station said.
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"The complainant alleged that two unidentified persons cheated him of Rs 23.5 lakh by threatening to place him under digital arrest and forced him to transfer money through online transactions between December 8 and 12," Patil said.
'Digital arrest’ is a growing form of cybercrime in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement officials or personnel of government agencies and intimidate victims through audio/video calls. They hold the victims hostage and put pressure on them to pay money.
He said that the accused allegedly contacted the victim on WhatsApp video calls and claimed that his bank transactions were suspicious and linked to alleged irregularities.
"The fraudsters told him that he could be placed under digital arrest, but assured him that they would help him avoid legal action if he cooperated," the officer said.
He said that the accused repeatedly threatened the senior citizen and put pressure on him to make multiple online money transfers amounting to Rs 23.5 lakh.
The fraud came to light after the victim narrated the incident to acquaintances and approached the police on realising he had been duped.
"We are analysing bank transaction details, call records and digital evidence to track down the accused," Patil said.
