Controversy erupts as former Bengaluru Police Commissioner imply Muslims' role in Kerala blast
Kochi: In a tragic incident at the Kalamasheri Convention Center in Kochi, Kerala, a woman lost her life, and at least 40 others sustained injuries in a series of blasts.
Retired IPS officer and BJP leader, Bhaskar Rao, triggered controversy after he shared shared a controversial post on social media, implying the involvement of Muslims in the attack.
Dominic Martin, the alleged perpetrator of the explosion, surrendered to the police and confessed his responsibility in a Facebook Live video. The incident occurred around 9 am, and by 11:20 am, it had garnered national media attention.
Speculation about the identity of the culprits was rampant, leading the Kerala Police to issue a warning against the dissemination of fake news. At 4:20 pm, ADGP MR Ajith Kumar confirmed the surrender of the accused Dominic Martin and provided details about the case.
However, the controversy ignited when Bhaskar Rao, the former police commissioner of Bengaluru, posted a message on social media at 2:21 pm, indirectly implicating Muslims in the blast. Rao's post, which suggested a connection between the explosion and the Muslim community, triggered a significant debate and drew criticism from various quarters.
Despite the revelation of the actual perpetrator and his subsequent surrender, Bhaskar Rao did not delete his post or issue a clarification regarding his statement
There was a long lull in Bomb blasts in the country; Do more and more appeasement and bring Terror into your City, Neighbourhood and to your Door Step. Misplaced vote bank politics of decades by Congress and CPM have kept Muslims uneducated, backward and criminalising them……
— Bhaskar Rao (@Nimmabhaskar22) October 29, 2023
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Rupee falls 23 paise to hit fresh record low of 85.50 against US dollar
Mumbai, Dec 27: The rupee fell steepest in almost two years to hit its lifetime intraday low of 85.80 before a suspected central bank intervention helped recover some of its losses and settled 23 paise lower at a record low of 85.50 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday due to a strong greenback amid increased month-end demand from banks and importers.
According to analysts, the Reserve Bank's stance to hold on to its dollar payments in short-term forward contracts added to the shortage of greenback, with importers rushing to meet their month-end payment obligations.
Despite robust sentiment in domestic equity markets, the rupee was weighed down by sustained outflow of foreign funds and rising crude oil prices, they added.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened weak at 85.31 and plunged 53 paise to the lowest-ever intraday level of 85.80.
The unit finally ended the session at 85.50 (provisional) against the greenback, losing 23 paise from its previous closing level of 85.27.
The rupee's earlier sharpest one-day fall of 68 paise was recorded on February 2, 2023.
The domestic unit has been hitting new lows almost every day in the past couple of weeks. It had plunged 12 paise to 85.27 against the dollar on Thursday after declining 13 paise in the previous two sessions.
"The central bank holds USD 21 billion in short-side forward contracts set to mature in December and January. Market speculation suggests that the RBI has refrained from rolling over these maturing forwards, leading to a scarcity of dollars and an oversupply of rupees.
"Moreover, dollar liquidity in the market remains very low, amplifying the upward momentum in the pair. This imbalance has propelled the USD-INR pair towards 85.8075 levels," said Amit Pabari, MD of CR Forex Advisors.
According to Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan, the rupee hit a record low on dollar demand from importers towards the end of the month and outflows from foreign investors (FIIs).
"Rising US treasury yields and crude oil prices also weighed on the rupee," he said and projected the USD-INR spot price in a range of Rs 85.30 to Rs 85.85, saying traders may take cues from goods trade balance data from the US.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading higher by 0.04 per cent at 107.94, while the 10-year benchmark US Treasury yield rose 0.76 per cent, hitting its seven-month high level of 4.61 per cent.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.15 per cent to USD 73.37 per barrel in futures trade.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled 226.59 points or 0.29 per cent higher at 78,699.07 points, while Nifty went up 63.20 points, or 0.27 per cent to close at 23,813.40 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 2,376.67 crore, according to exchange data.
