New Delhi Apr 26 PTI Two men were arrested for allegedly trying to promote communal disharmony in northeast Delhis Khajuri Khas area police said on TuesdayA call was received on Sunday night regarding a group of people in Khajuri Khas making communally provocative statements and talking about riots in Delhi a senior police officer saidPolice rushed to the spot at street number 13 F-Block Khajuri Khas and controlled the situation the officer saidAccording to complainant Sonu Kumar he was out for a walk with his friend Nirdesh and when the duo reached street number 13 Aman Jeeshan and Sameer allegedly threatened and intimidated them the officer saidThe trio made derogatory remarks against the complainants religion and talked about riots in Delhi the officer saidAman and Jeeshan both aged 20 have been arrested and booked under sections 153A hate speech and 34 acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention of the Indian Penal Code IPC on Monday the officer saidThe alleged act of these persons was an attempt to promote communal disharmony and disturb public tranquility in the area the officer said In the current scenario such act of promoting enmity between two communities on the grounds of religion can adversely affect the peace and tranquility of the area the officer addedClashes broke out between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in northwest Delhis Jahangirpuri on April 16 leaving eight police personnel and a local resident injuredAccording to police there was stone-pelting and arson during the clashes and some vehicles were also torched PTI NIT RDT RHL

New Delhi Apr 26 PTI The Supreme Court on Tuesday junked a PIL seeking setting up of a judicial commission to inquire into the recent communal violence in Delhis Jahangirpuri and in seven other states during Ram NavamiA bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai dismissed the plea filed by advocate Vishal TiwariYou want inquiry to be headed by former CJI Is anybody free Find outWhat kind of relief is thisDont ask for such reliefs which cant be granted by this court Dismissed the bench saidTiwari in his plea had sought directions to hold an inquiry into the clashes that took place in Rajasthan Delhi Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat during Ram Navami The PIL also sought directions to set up a similar committee to inquire into the arbitrary action of bull dozer Justice in Madhya Pradesh Gujarat and Uttar PradeshSuch actions are absolutely discriminatory and do not fit into the notion of democracy and rule of law the plea submittedBulldozers tore down several concrete and temporary structures close to a mosque in Jahangirpuri on Wednesday last as part of an anti-encroachment drive by the BJP-ruled civic body days after the northwest Delhi neighbourhood was rocked by communal violence PTI PKS DV

Srinagar Apr 25 PTI PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said her party did not see any hope in Prime Minister Narendra Modis speech in Jammu alleging that the BJP-led Centre has pushed the youngsters of Jammu and Kashmir towards despondencyWhat hope can we have The prime minister spoke about the youngsters and the future of Jammu and Kashmir What future do they have As if the PSA Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act was not enough youngsters are now being booked under the UAPA the Peoples Democratic Party PDP chief told reporters hereShe said Modis statement was ironic as opportunities of employment and business in Jammu and Kashmir are being given to outsidersJobs are going out mining leases and liquor licences are also given to outsiders The electricity produced in Jammu and Kashmir powers homes and factories across the country but the situation in Kashmir is terrible on this front as well Mufti saidShe said the Centre has put up the land of Jammu and Kashmir for sale adding It is offering a 50-per cent stamp duty reduction for people buying land here The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister also hit out at Modi for maintaining silence over Muslims facing violence across the countryThe livelihood of Muslims their homes and their dignity are being bulldozed in Delhis Jahangirpuri right near the prime ministers residence but he is doing nothing about it she allegedMufti said as a Muslim majority state Jammu and Kashmir had acceded to India based on the principles of secularismWe thought Hindus Muslims Sikhs and Christians will live together But that is not happening now Muslims the largest minority in the country are a scared lot she addedMufti said the prime ministers visit to Jammu and Kashmir comes in the backdrop of him being a silent spectator when 20 crore Muslims were facing bulldozersHe comes to visit Jammu and Kashmir which he left no stone unturned to destroy Our rights have been snatched We have been reduced from a state to a Union Territory Outsiders are being given preference in jobs here while people from Jammu and Kashmir are being dismissed she allegedThe PDP president further alleged that the BJP-led Centre has not only bulldozed democracy but the Constitution as wellAsked about elections in Jammu and Kashmir she said she has not heard anything about itThe way they Centre are controlling Jammu and Kashmir by a remote control we do not foresee any news about elections Mufti saidIn his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in August 2019 Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stones of several projects worth around Rs 20000 crore for the Union Territory on Sunday In a message to the youngsters of Jammu and Kashmir the prime minister said unlike their parents and grandparents they would not have to live a life of trouble PTI MIJ RC

New Delhi Apr 24 PTI The recent bulldozer-enabled demolitions reflect a complete breakdown of law and order and it is fair to assume that this novel method of removing encroachments is aimed at the Muslim community and the poor senior Congress leader and former home minister P Chidambaram said on Sunday In an interview with PTI Chidambaram came down hard on the Jahangirpuri demolitions and those in Madhya Pradeshs Khargone earlier saying the BJP leaders justification of the bulldozer-enabled demolitions flies in the face of the law On criticism from certain quarters that the Congress delegation was late by a day in visiting the Jahangirpuri demolition site with Opposition leaders such as Brinda Karat and Asaduddin Owaisi reaching there first the former Union minister said I am not aware of who visited when I know that a Congress delegation visited the area shortly after the demolitions were carried out If there was an unexplained delay I regret it Why do you bring religion into the issue when my concern is the gross and blatant violation of the established legal procedure he said while responding to a question on whether the alleged delay was due to the Congress fear of the BJPs Muslim appeasement charge Asked if the Congress should push for secularism more aggressively in the face of the soft Hindutva charge against the party Chidambaram said secularism is part of the basic structure of the Constitution and it is a basic foundational value of the Congress It is not enough to remain secular Everyone must speak the language of secularism and raise a protest when secularism is violated I cannot accept any departure from secularism Chidambaram said There is nothing to be gained by straying from the straight path he added On bulldozer politics becoming the buzzword in the political lexicon in light of the events in Delhis Jahangirpuri and Madhya Pradeshs Khargone Chidambaram said the BJP leaders justification of bulldozer-enabled demolitions flies in the face of the law In every municipality or panchayat law there are provisions for gathering information on encroachmentsillegal constructions issuing notice to the person concerned to remove the encroachment giving an opportunity to submit objections passing a reasoned order a provision for an appeal and if the appeal is dismissed issuing another notice before the demolition squad is deployed he said Was any of these steps complied with in any of the recent demolitions That is why there is no law no order and it is a complete breakdown of law and order Whose house or shop was demolished is not material he asserted On observations by certain quarters that Muslims were being targeted through such actions he said that based on information in the public domain it appears that most of the houses and shops that were demolished belonged to Muslims and the poor If that perception is wrong the authorities concerned should publish the correct data As long as the perception remains and is not contradicted it is fair to assume that this novel method of removing encroachmentsillegal constructions is aimed at the Muslim community and the poor Chidambaram said By the way there are whole colonies in which the rich live where many houses are illegal constructions he pointed out Those who justify the bulldozer-enabled demolitions without observing the law are digging a hole into which they may fall in the future the senior Congress leader said I am not raising the question of secularism I am asking simply does law allow such demolitions If the answer is no that is enough to condemn the demolitions If you ignore the law you do so at your peril he said Asked about the Aam Aadmi party bringing in Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in the discourse of the Jahangirpuri demolitions Chidambaram said the AAP is becoming adventurous like the BJP I am concerned by the tendency of political parties to see a burning issue as an opportunity to score a political point that has no relevance to the issue at hand he said The issues of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have nothing to do with bulldozer-enabled demolitions Chidambaram stressed Several concrete and temporary structures close to a mosque in Jahangirpuri were brought down last week as part of an anti-encroachment drive by the BJP-ruled North MCD days after the northwest Delhi neighbourhood was rocked by communal violence The Supreme Court had to intervene twice to stop the drive after it took cognisance of a petition filed by Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind against the demolition A delegation of Congress leaders visited violence-hit Jahangirpuri on Thursday but were stopped by the police from going to the area where the anti-encroachment drive was conducted by the North MCD a day before Earlier this month the Madhya Pradesh government launched a drive in Khargone against illegal properties allegedly belonging to those involved in the stone-pelting and other forms of violence that broke out during a Ram Navami procession on April 10 Several Muslim religious leaders in the state have alleged that members of the community were being unfairly targeted by the authorities following the violence and houses were demolished in some cases without due process PTI ASK BJ DV DV

New Delhi Apr 23 PTI The residents of northwest Delhis Jahangirpuri are struggling to make ends meet and suffering due to the restrictions imposed in the area in the wake of the clashes last week Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar claimed on SaturdayDastidar who led an all-women fact-finding team of the TMC to Jahangirpuri on Friday alleged residents of Jahangirpuris C-Block the epicentre of the April 16 violence have been caged and are not allowed to come outShe told PTI that the team found that people are under threat and living in fear They also complained of restricted access to waterClashes broke out between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in northwest Delhis Jahangirpuri last Saturday leaving eight police personnel and a local resident injured According to police there was stone-pelting and arson during the clashes and some vehicles were also torchedAll points of entry to the C-Block have been heavily barricaded and security has been beefed up following the clashesDastidar said the TMC team managed to enter Jahangirpuri despite the restrictions and spoke to many residents before being stopped by policeResidents of the C-Block have been caged They could not come out and were also not allowed to speak to usThere were some children who helped us enter the residential area Before the police stopped us we had already met a number of families living there We also visited the back lane of the mosque and spoke to people who were present there when the violence took place We have observed that people are under threat and fear the TMC leader saidShe said that many of the residents are scrap dealers and unable to earn their daily wage due to the restrictionsWe went to extend our support to these residents We are planning how to help them Dastidar saidTMC MP Saugata Roy said the delegation managed to speak to nearly 200 people in JahangirpuriThey will submit a report to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee by tomorrow April 24 and after that the party will take a decision We are ready to extend help to them Jahangirpuri residents Roy told PTIIn a tweet on Friday senior TMC leader Aparupa Poddar who was also part of the partys fact-finding team alleged they were stopped from meeting residents as the Centre was scared of the truth coming outPolice stopped the all women fact-finding team of AITCofficial which was sent by MamataOfficial didi for enquiring about the Jahangirpuri incident BJP Govt Delhi Police is are scared of the truth of the violence being exposed if the delegation was allowed to meet the victims she saidSo far 25 people have been arrested in the Jahangirpuri violence case by the police while two juveniles have been apprehended The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police is investigating the case PTI ABU SLB DIV DIV

New Delhi Apr 23 PTI Taking exception to television coverage of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the Delhi riots the government on Saturday issued a strong advisory to news channels asking them to abide by the programme code laid down by the relevant lawsThe government cited specific instances of hyberbolic statements by news anchors and scandalous headlinestaglines while reporting on the Ukraine-Russia conflict and disrupting the investigation process into the incidents in north-west Delhi by airing unverified CCTV footagesIt also said that certain debates on television channels on the incidents in north-west Delhi had unparliamentary provocative and socially unacceptable languageLast week clashes broke out between two communities in northwest Delhis Jahangirpuri during an Hanuman Jayanti processionHaving regard to the above the government expresses serious concern about the manner in which the television channels have gone about their operations in the manner of transmitting content read the advisory issued by the Information and Broadcasting MinistryIt strongly advised the television channels to immediately refrain from publishing and transmitting any content which is violative of the aforementioned provisions of the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act 1995 and the rules thereunder PTI SKU ANB ANB

New Delhi Apr 23 PTI Taking exception to television coverage of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the Delhi riots the government on Saturday issued a strong advisory to news channels asking them to abide by the programme code laid down by the relevant lawsThe government cited specific instances of hyberbolic statements by news anchors and scandalous headlinestaglines while reporting on the Ukraine-Russia conflict and disrupting the investigation process into the incidents in northwest Delhi by airing unverified CCTV footageIt also said that certain debates on television channels on the incidents in northwest Delhi had unparliamentary provocative and socially unacceptable language Last week clashes broke out between two communities in northwest Delhis Jahangirpuri during a Hanuman Jayanti procession The government expresses serious concern about the manner in which television channels have gone about their operations in the manner of transmitting content read the advisory issued by the Information and Broadcasting MinistryIt strongly advised the channels to immediately refrain from publishing and transmitting any content which is violative of the provisions of the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act 1995 and the rules thereunder Section 6 of the Programme Code under the Act states that no programme should be carried in the cable service which offends against good taste or decency contains criticism of friendly countries contains attack on religions or communities or visuals or words contemptuous of religious groups or which promote communal attitudes contains anything obscene defamatory deliberate false and suggestive innuendos and half truthsThe advisory said that while reporting on the Russia-Ukraine conflict it has been observed that channels have been making false claims and frequently misquoting international agencies or actors and using scandalous headlines or taglines completely unrelated to the news It also observed that many journalists and news anchors of these channels made fabricated and hyperbolic statements intending to incite the audienceThe advisory also cited instances of use of taglines or headlines such as Parmanu Putin se pareshan Zelenski Zelenski worried about nuclear Putin Parmanu action ki chinta se Zelenski ko depression Zelenski goes into depression over nuclear action and making of unverified claims misquoting international agencies that the third world war has already startedOne channel aired fabricated pictures claiming to be the proof of the upcoming nuclear attack on Ukraine This completely speculative news story seems to be intending to misguide the viewers and arouse psychological upheavals inside them the advisory notedOn the Delhi riots the ministry took objection to a news channel repeatedly carrying a video clipping of a man belonging to a specific community carrying a sword and claims made by another that the violence targeting the religious procession was pre-planned The ministry has also cautioned private TV channels against broadcasting debates having unparliamentary provocative and socially unacceptable language communal remarks and derogatory references which may have a negative psychological impact on viewers and may also incite communal disharmony and disturb the peace at large PTI SKU ANB ANB

New Delhi Apr 23 PTI The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against various suspects of the recent Jahangirpuri violence case including prime accused Mohammed Ansar officials said on SaturdayAn Enforcement Case Information Report ECIR the EDs equivalent of a police FIR has been filed by the federal agency under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLADelhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana had recently written to the ED recommending a probe by the agency He cited preliminary findings made by his officers in the case and the First Information Reports FIRs filed by themThe ED case stems from these police complaints the officials saidClashes broke out between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in northwest Delhis Jahangirpuri on April 16 leaving eight police personnel and a local resident injured According to police there was stone-pelting and arson during the clashes and some vehicles were also torchedAnsar 35 a resident of B-Block of Jahangirpuri is alleged to be the main conspirator behind the violence the police saidDuring preliminary investigation they said it emerged that Ansar has some financial dealings and is also in possession of several properties which were allegedly purchased through gambling moneyThe ED is expected to question all the accused and probe their financial dealingsIt is empowered to arrest and attach assets of the accused during the course of the money laundering investigationSo far 25 people have been arrested in the Jahangirpuri violence case by the police while two juveniles have been apprehended The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police is investigating the caseStringent provisions of the National Security Act NSA have been slapped against five accused including AnsarAccording to the police Ansar allegedly had an argument with participants of the Hanuman Jayanti procession that escalated and led to stone-pelting PTI NES DIV DIV

New Delhi Apr 22 PTI The Students Federation of India SFI on Friday accused the Ambedkar University administration of disrupting a peace march organised to express solidarity with the victims of the violence in Delhis JahangirpuriThe university however said it is not against any peace or protest march but the SFIs march and sloganeering had to be discontinued as a preventive measure after observing outsiders present at the event in the campusThe SFI unit of Ambedkar University said it had given a call for a peace march following incidents of communal violence in the nation and against the BJP-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporations anti-encroachment drive to destabilize the socio-economic prowess of the minority in Jahangipuri Students were prepared for a peaceful march outside the CR Area and were singing songs when the registrar proctor and the security officer of Ambedkar University aggressively disrupted the march by pushing around students and tearing the posters and placards it allegedThe members of the administration brought a horde of security guards and erected barricades to stop the peaceful march organized by SFI and students of the university it saidThe university in a statement said it respects the right of students over their campus and is also not against peace or protest march However there were reports that outsiders may be present in the march and cause disturbance in the university and also interrupt classes it said During the march it was observed that outsiders were present on the campus and were engaged in sloganeering Therefore as a preventive measure the sloganeering and the march had to be discontinued The present circumstances do not warrant that the university takes any risk the statement said PTI SLB NSD NSD

New Delhi Apr 22 PTI Senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar on Friday supported the controversial anti-encroachment drive of the BJP-ruled civic body in Delhis Jahangirpuri saying the bulldozers were used on goons and those who have a criminal mentalitySlamming political leaders and others criticising the demolition of concrete and temporary structures in the violence-hit Jahangirpuri area he alleged that all those who talk about goons and criminals identifying their religion are anti-constitution anti-nation and anti-societyThe bulldozers have been run over the structures belonging to everyone irrespective of their religion or community Bulldozers have been run over those who are goons and have a criminal mentality the RSS leader told reporters on the sidelines of an event in the city to host an Iftar partyAbout various political parties accusing the BJP-ruled civic body of targeting the minority community in the name of the anti-encroachment drive Kumar an RSS national executive member said All those who talk about goons and criminals identifying their religion are anti-Constitution anti-nation anti-social Those who provide protection to goons in the name of religion are social criminals he allegedKumar attributed the recent incidents of communal violence in Jahangirpuri and other parts of the country to some political and other forces in India and abroadThey want to vitiate the atmosphere of the country he allegedIts because they do not like to see unity and integrity peace harmony brotherhood education and progress in India the RSS leader saidAddressing the event organised by the Muslim Rashtriya Manchs MRM intellectual wing Hindustan First Hindustaani Best Kumar said there was an atmosphere of intolerance across the countryDivision is being created people are being pitted again each other divided even as the religion doesnt teach animosity against each other he saidTo defeat such efforts all politicians leaders of social and religious groups and intellectuals should condemn attacks on festivals of any religion Kumar saidIn view of the prevailing situation all state governments should frame new rules and advisory in consultation with the stakeholders for a peaceful celebration of festivals of all the religions he saidIndia is the only country where all religions are accepted and respected Hence people belonging to various religions and castes should invite each other to their festivals to send out the message of brotherhood love and peace he saidWe were not born to fight in the name of religion and commit such crime the RSS leader added PTI PK NSD