1. Delhi Violence: 60-Year-Old Man Beaten to Death, Toll Rises to 42
The death toll in the violence that broke out in northeast Delhi five days ago reached 42 after a 60-year-old man was beaten to death in Shiv Vihar early Friday, 28 February despite heavy police deployment in the area.
According to police, 123 FIRs have been filed so far following the violence in the area, 630 people detained and 47 peace committee meetings held in affected localities. ‘We have controlled the situation in northeast Delhi,’ Additional CP MS Randhawa told reporters.
Police identified Friday’s victim as Ayub Ansari, a scrap collector and resident of Loni in Ghaziabad, around 2 km from Shiv Vihar. They said a probe is underway and no arrest had been made so far.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Kanhaiya Kumar, Set to Be Charged for Sedition, Asks for a ‘Speedy Trial’
Left leader Kanhaiya Kumar has questioned the timing of the permission granted by the Delhi government on Friday, 28 February to prosecute him in the JNU sedition case dating back to 2016. The former student union leader also demanded a speedy trial while responding to the development late Friday night.
Kanhaiya Kumar, who is now active in politics in his home state of Bihar tweeted to say it was “clear that the matter (sedition case) was created and delayed for political benefit.”
"I want a speedy trial in a fast-track court so that the entire country gets to know how a law like sedition is being misused," Kanhaiya’s tweet said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Amit Shah on CAA: ‘Won't Result in Minorities Losing Their Citizenship’
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday, 28 February accused the opposition of lying in its criticism of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying the law that has triggered deadly protests across the country does not intend to strip anyone's citizenship.
"BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party), SP (Sawajwadi Party), Communist, Congress and Mamata Didi are against the CAA because they say minorities will lose their citizenship. Why are they lying? CAA is a law to give citizenship, it is not meant to take anyone's citizenship away," Shah said at a rally in Bhubaneswar.
Making religion a test of Indian nationality for the first time, the CAA promises citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Shah and the BJP government at the Centre have maintained that the law only intends to help those who have faced religious persecution in the neighbouring countries.
(Source: NDTV)
4. Foreign Secretary Dashes to Kabul as Taliban, US Sign Pact Today
A day ahead of the signing of a peace pact between the US and Taliban in Doha, the government Friday, 28 February sent Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to Kabul where he conveyed ‘India’s support to the government and the people of Afghanistan’ in their efforts to bring ‘peace and stability through an inclusive & Afghan-led, Afghan-owned & Afghan-controlled efforts’.
Shringla told President Ashraf Ghani that India stands with Afghanistan for ‘strengthening national unity, territorial integrity, democracy, plurality and prosperity’ in the country and bringing an ‘end to externally sponsored terrorism’, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said ‘externally sponsored terrorism’ is a reference to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
Besides Ghani, the Foreign Secretary also met Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, First Vice President-elect Amrullah Saleh, Acting Foreign Minister Haroon Chakhansuri and National Security Advisor Hamdullah Mohib. Essentially, he is meeting all the key figures in Kabul, even as India is sending its envoy in Doha to attend the US-Taliban deal ceremony.
(Source: The Indian Express)
5. Officers Spar in Court Over Case on Verma, Asthana
Two investigating officers (IOs) in the bribery case involving former top officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sparred in a special court on Friday, 28 February. The case relates to the feud between former CBI director Alok Verma and his deputy, special director Rakesh Asthana, who accused each other of corruption.
First to draw blood on Friday in the special CBI court hearing the case against Asthana was former IO AK Bassi, who accused the current IO Satish Dagar of shielding “big names” in the case. Bassi claimed that Manoj Prasad, one of the suspects in the case, had revealed these names during his questioning in October 2018, but their involvement hadn’t been probed by Dagar.
Dagar hit back, saying: ‘I have better credentials than you in the organisation. Don’t level personal allegations. I summoned you six times, why didn’t you appear if you wanted to assist in the investigation?’
Dagar also questioned how Bassi had known about details of the investigation conducted by the agency when he had been IO in the case only between 15 and 23 October, 2018. ‘How has he infiltrated our investigation,’ Dagar said, referring to comments by Bassi in court that the agency had checked phone records of suspects in the case.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
6. Pak-Based Jaish Terrorist Involved in Pulwama Attack Arrested: Official
The NIA on Friday, 28 February arrested an operative of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) for his alleged involvement in the Pulwama terror attack last year, officials said.
Officials said that 22-year-old Shakir Bashir Magrey, a furniture shop owner and resident of Pulwama, had provided shelter and other logistical assistance to suicide-bomber Adil Ahmad Dar.
Magrey was introduced to Dar in mid-2018 by Pakistani terrorist Mohammad Umar Farooq and he then joined the JeM, they said.
During his initial interrogation, Magrey disclosed that on several occasions he collected and delivered arms, ammunition, cash and explosive materials to JeM terrorists, including those involved in the Pulwama attack, the NIA said.
(Source: NDTV)
7. Islamic State Using Riot Photo to Further Its Cause: US Agency
A picture of the violence in northeast Delhi is being used by the terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS), which has turned the image into a poster asking Muslims to unite and join its cause, according to US-based SITE Intelligence Group that tracks online activities of global terror groups.
The call has been given by an IS-aligned media unit focussed on the Indian subcontinent, according to SITE.
The original picture was taken by a photographer working for news agency Reuters with the caption ‘A Muslim man is being beaten by pro-CAA supporters in Delhi’.
It is not the first time that IS has made an effort to capitalise on local conflicts to incite Muslims to join them. It has in the past too used videos and pictures purportedly showing cruelty towards Muslims in India to incite the community.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. IIT German Student’s Visa Cancelled Over Protest
The government has revoked the visa of Jakob Lindenthal, the German exchange student at IIT-Madras who was asked to leave the country two months ago after he participated in protests against the new citizenship law.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Lindenthal said the Indian Embassy in Germany informed him on 8 February that his visa has been cancelled. ‘I wasn’t given any reason for the decision,’ he said.
Lindenthal is a student of Technical University-Dresden (TUD), and had been studying in the Physics department of IIT-Madras as part of a collaboration between the two institutions. He had joined IIT-Madras on 26 July, 2019, and would have completed his course work by May this year.
On 19 January, The Indian Express first reported that the Indian Embassy in Germany had advised Lindenthal against re-entering India on his current visa.
(Source: The Indian Express)
9. J&K to Evict Squatters From Houses Meant for Kashmiri Pandit Migrants
After the Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday, 28 February issued show-cause notices to almost 100 illegal occupants of apartments in Kashmiri migrant neighbourhoods in Jammu, a senior official said an exercise was underway to evict such people and accommodate genuine Kashmiri Pandit migrants instead in the government-built flats.
“We have issued a notification after we found that 93 flats have been occupied in violation of norms. It’s a beginning and we are trying to do thing as per the law. These flats are locked out since long,” relief commissioner (migrants) TK Bhat said.
More than 300 applications are pending with the Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner (Migrants) for allotment of accommodation to registered Kashmiri migrant families, Bhat said.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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