Ramanagar: Karnataka Police arrested two individuals on Wednesday in connection with pro-Pakistan graffiti found on the bathroom walls of the Toyota Boshoku Automotive India Company factory near Bidadi town in Ramanagar district.
The accused, identified as 24-year-old Haimad Hussain and 20-year-old Sadiq, were employed as contract workers at the factory. Both hail from northern Karnataka.
The graffiti, written in Kannada with green paint, reportedly contained pro-Pakistan slogans and derogatory remarks about the people of Karnataka. The incident came to light on March 16 during the first shift, prompting the company to issue a notice warning workers.
As the matter gained attention, a large number of employees and Kannada activists gathered outside the factory, demanding strict action. Protesters alleged a similar incident had occurred the previous year but was not addressed. They insisted on the dismissal and deportation of those responsible.
The company later issued a circular stating that such actions would be considered sedition and could disrupt workplace discipline. It assured that legal action was being taken.
Following a complaint from the HR department, Bidadi Police registered an FIR and launched an investigation. Using CCTV footage, handwriting analysis, and employee interrogations, the police identified and arrested the two suspects.
Hussain and Sadiq have been booked under s. 67 of the IT Act and ss. 193 and 356 of the BNS Act. Further investigation is underway.
The matter was also raised in the Legislative Assembly, where Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka criticised the government’s handling of the issue. He alleged inaction and questioned whether the administration was attempting to shield those involved.
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Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump returned from a visit to China, describing his discussions with President Xi Jinping as a meeting of leaders of "two great countries".
Trump landed at the Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on the outskirts of the US capital on Friday evening, claiming to have struck important trade deals, including one for China's purchase of 200 aircraft from Boeing, with a promise for another 750, as well as agreements benefiting the American agriculture sector.
The US President reached here after a brief refuelling stop at Anchorage in Alaska.
“It’s the two great countries. I call it the G-2. This is the G-2. I think it’ll go down as a very important moment in history,” Trump told Fox News in an interview after meeting Xi on Thursday.
The Washington Post reported that Trump’s remarks put China on an equal footing with the US, exactly what Xi had aimed to achieve with the visit.
“Over two days of meetings here, the carefully choreographed pageantry and the reciprocal gestures of friendship and respect between the world’s two most powerful men displayed a geopolitical dynamic that the Chinese have long craved and Americans had resisted," the Post said.
Trump told Fox News that the relationship with Xi was important and suggested that China may not resort to any aggressive moves over Taiwan, at least till he is in office.
“It’s not a takeover. They just don’t want to see this place — we’ll call it a place because nobody knows how to define it — but they don’t want to see it go independent,” Trump said.
“I don’t think they’ll do anything when I’m here. When I’m not here. I think they might, to be honest with you,” Trump said.
"I want them to cool down. I want China to cool down," he said.
"We're not looking to have wars, and if you kept it the way it is, I think China's going to be OK with that," he added.
The US President said he had invited Xi for a visit to Washington in September.
“Xi has done something Chinese leaders have been working toward for decades — bringing an American president to Beijing as an undisputed peer,” said Julian Gewirtz, who served as China director on the National Security Council under President Joe Biden.
“Xi used the opulent optics of the visit to make clear to the world that China and the United States are the two dominant, equally matched superpowers. There is no going back.”
Trump’s friendly statements toward Xi and the Chinese people were being amplified in China’s state-controlled media, sending the message that “we’re getting along better with the Americans,” John Delury, a senior Fellow at the Asia Society, was quoted as saying by The New York Times.
It was understandable that Trump wanted to be polite to Xi, but that the American president’s gushing approach “weakens Trump and the US”, R. Nicholas Burns, the ambassador to China during the Biden administration, was quoted as saying in The New York Times.
“Xi did not hesitate to warn Trump over Taiwan. Trump should not hesitate to be frank about our concerns, too,” he said.
Trump and Xi are expected to meet at least three times this year.
The US President has invited Xi to the White House in September.
Trump may travel to Shenzhen in China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in November. And Xi could come to the G-20 summit in December in Miami.
“This is a summit again that was heavier on symbolism than it was on substance — focus on managing problems, not on solving the problems that exist between the US and China,” said Rush Doshi, former National Security Council deputy senior director for China and Taiwan in the Biden administration.
“The way that both leaders talked about the future indicates that this is going to be part of a process that will play out this year,” said Kurt Campbell, former deputy secretary of State in the Biden administration.
