US commission seeks sanctions on Indian agencies over 'violation' of religious freedom
Washington (PTI): A federal US commission has urged the Biden administration to impose targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies and officials responsible for "severe violations" of religious freedom in the country by freezing their assets.
The US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) also recommended to Congress to raise the issue of religious freedom during US-India bilateral meetings and hold hearings on it.
In its annual report on religious freedom, the USCIRF asked the US State Department to designate India as a "country of particular concern" on the status of religious freedom along with several other nations.
The USCIRF has been making similar recommendations to the State Department since 2020, which have not been accepted.
The recommendations of USCIRF are not mandatory for the State Department.
India has previously slammed the USCIRF for "misrepresenting" facts. India has also described it as an "organisation of particular concern."
In July, in a strong reaction, the Ministry of External Affairs said that "These comments reflect a severe lack of understanding of India and its constitutional framework, its plurality and its democratic ethos."
"We have seen the biased and inaccurate comments on India by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)," it said.
"Regrettably, USCIRF continues to misrepresent facts time and again in its statements and reports in pursuance of its motivated agenda. Such actions only serve to strengthen concerns about the credibility and objectivity of the organisation."
In its India section of the latest report, the USCIRF alleged that in 2022, religious freedom conditions in India continued to worsen.
Throughout the year, the Indian government at the national, state, and local levels promoted and enforced religiously discriminatory policies, including laws targeting religious conversion, interfaith relationships, the wearing of hijabs, and cow slaughter, which negatively impact Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits, and Adivasis.
"The national government also continued to suppress critical voices -- particularly religious minorities and those advocating on their behalf -- including through surveillance, harassment, demolition of property, and detention under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and by targeting nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)," the USCIRF alleged.
Responding to questions, State Department's Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters that USCIRF is not a branch of the State Department, or the Executive Branch and its report reflects the importance of religious freedom to the American people.
"While the report's recommendations for designations overlap to some extent with the State Department's lists of countries of particular concern, it is not entirely conclusive. Governments or other entities with questions or comments about this report should reach out to the Commission directly," Patel said on Monday.
US-based non-profit organisation, Foundation of Indian and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS) slammed the USCIRF for its "biased" report.
"While the USCIRF is predictably attempting to revive its annual case against India for inclusion in the CPC, it does so with a weaker set of data points that are predictably filled with both omission and commission," Khanderao Kand of FIIDS said in a statement.
"It conveniently lists delays in court cases but conveniently omits the fact that the Assam High Court actually ordered the implementation of the NRC, not the government," Kand said.
Furthermore, the report fails to acknowledge the cultural and economic significance of cows to Indian villagers, not to mention the constitutional ban on cow slaughter.
It conveniently ignores the fact that the bulldozed houses were illegal and notified, and the list of omissions goes on. Astonishingly, the USCIRF fails to mention the beheadings of Hindus and their targeted killings by jihadi Muslims in Kashmir, he said.
"Moreover, there seems to be a biased agenda of USCIRF generalising isolated incidents without considering the complexities of India's diverse population of 1.3 billion people. It is clear that the USCIRF's renewed effort lacks the necessary objectivity and fairness, and it raises questions about their true intentions and credibility," Kand said.
The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) welcomed the USCIRF's decision to recommend that India be designated as a country of particular concern for the fourth consecutive year.
"This decision reaffirms what IMAC has been saying for years that India's government, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has continued to systematically violate the religious freedom of minority communities, particularly Muslims and Christians," said Rasheed Ahmed, IAMC executive director.
"It is high time that the State Department acts on USCIRF's recommendation and holds India accountable as the ground situation becomes increasingly more violent and dangerous for its religious minorities. We particularly welcome that the report highlights the systematic and appalling harassment of Journalists," Ahmed said.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
