'Jai Palestine' Controversy: Hindutva groups burn effigy of Owaisi in front of his Delhi residence
New Delhi: Tensions escalated on Sunday as members of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal burnt an effigy bearing the face of Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi in front of his residence at 34 Ashoka Road in Delhi. This protest came in response to Owaisi's 'Jai Palestine' slogans uttered during his oath-taking ceremony as Member of Parliament.
Owaisi, known for his affiliations with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), raised slogans including 'Jai MIM, Jai BHIM, Jai Telangana, and Takbeer Allah hu Akbar' along with 'Jai Palestine'. His gesture sparked backlash from BJP and Hindutva supporters, who accused him of endorsing Palestine over India's ally, Israel.
Earlier, on June 28, unidentified individuals vandalized Owaisi's residence by smearing black ink on his nameplate. The vandals also affixed posters with slogans like "I Stand With Israel" and "Bharat Matha Ki Jai", depicting Owaisi in a derogatory manner.
Delhi: Members of Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal Staged a protest against AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi over his 'Jai Palestine' slogan during the oath-taking ceremony in Parliament pic.twitter.com/9IHLS16oye
— IANS (@ians_india) June 30, 2024
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Search ops expanded to trace four missing passengers
Jabalpur (PTI): Army divers and disaster response teams on Saturday expanded their search at Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh to locate a man and three children still missing after the cruise boat tragedy that claimed nine lives two days ago, officials said.
With 28 of the 41 identified passengers onboard the ill-fated cruise boat rescued safely, police are preparing to register an FIR in connection with the accident that occurred at the reservoir in Jabalpur district on Thursday evening, they said.
The search radius has been expanded to 5 km in the backwaters of the Bargi Dam, located downstream of the Narmada River, area sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra told PTI.
Nine people drowned in the incident, while 28 were rescued, and efforts are ongoing to trace the missing persons, he said.
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According to the police, more than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, began the search operation at 5 am on Saturday to trace Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory in Khamaria, his son Tamil (5), Vijay Soni (6) and Mayuram (5).
Mishra said that an inquest case has been registered and the post-mortem of nine deceased persons has been completed.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will soon register an FIR," he said.
Investigators have said that CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the ill-fated boat, and the names of 41 persons, who boarded the vessel, have been ascertained so far.
Collector Raghvendra Singh confirmed that a search is underway for four missing persons.
The rescue operation, being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local divers, was briefly affected around 9 am due to strong winds.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the incident and dismissed three crew members after survivors alleged negligence and safety lapses, including failure to provide life jackets.
The government also banned the operation of similar vessels in the state.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, sank during a sudden storm around 6 pm on Thursday, and the wreckage was retrieved from the dam water on Friday, after the rescuers confirmed that there were no more bodies inside.
Eyewitnesses have said that strong winds made the water choppy, prompting passengers to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the vessel towards the riverbank.
A survivor alleged negligence by the crew and described a last-minute scramble for life jackets.
