Social Activist Swami Agnivesh was punched, kicked and pushed to the ground allegedly by BJP Yuva Morcha workers in Jharkhand on Tuesday. The alleged BJP workers had shown black flags and raised slogans against him. The activist had offered a dialogue, but got abuses in return. Chief Minister Raghubar Das has asked the police to thoroughly investigate the incident. Swami Agnivesh, was attending an event in Pakur, about 365 km from state capital Ranchi. He was flanked by tribals who were holding bows and arrows. He was attacked by a mob as soon as he came out of his hotel. The alleged BJP workers were chanting "Jai Sri Ram" as they thrashed the 80-year-old activist. "I am against any sort of violence. I am known as a peace-loving person. I don't know why I was attacked," Swami Agnivesh said. Swami Agnivesh said there were no policemen around even though the protesters had gathered outside his hotel. Local reporters said BJP youth wing's workers were protesting his visit, but he was completely taken aback when he was attacked, he said. "I had offered to hold a dialogue with them. But nobody came to speak to me. I was going to a sammelan (seminar) with my tribal friends when they launched an attack. They were carrying black flags and without any warning pounced on me. They punched, kicked and dragged me on the ground. They also used cuss words," Swami Agnivesh said.
Fatwa against triple talaq crusader
A local cleric in Bareilly has issued fatwa against a triple talaq victim Nida Khan, who runs an NGO to help women who are victims of practices like instant divorce and nikal halala. The fatwa says that she should not be provided medicines if she falls ill, and cannot be cremated in kabristan upon her death. At a press conference, Shahar Imam Mufti Khurshid Alam of Dargah Aala Hazrat said a fatwa has been issued against Nida Khan for speaking against Islam and its practices. The Imam has reportedly asked people to boycott Nida Khan or face “dismissal” from Islam. While the copy of the written Fatwa uses the name ‘Hinda’ instead of ‘Nida’, a cleric later clarified that the fatwa has been issued for Nida. The fatwa warns people against greeting Nida or even eat with her. It even says that she should not be provided medicines if she falls ill, and cannot be cremated in kabristan (graveyard) upon her death. Reacting to the development, Nida Khan said those issuing fatwa “should go to Pakistan.” “India is a democratic country. No one can ostracise me from Islam. Only Allah can decide who is guilty,” she said.
Bihar engineer kidnapped, ‘forced to marry’ woman at gunpoint
An engineer in Bihar’s Vaishali district has alleged that he was kidnapped, threatened and forced to marry a school dropout against his will at gunpoint, a charge denied by the woman. The 23-year-old woman, Priyanka Kumari, has claimed that the family of Durgesh Sharan, an engineer with the Indian Railways and posted at Samastipur diesel locomotive shed, had demanded a dowry for the wedding. Priyanka, who dropped out of school after Class 10, said she knew Sharan, 30, and met him during a wedding ceremony about a year ago. Mahua sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Malti Kumari confirmed that Sharan was abducted and coerced into the ‘pakadua vivah’, and said they have sent him and the woman to a court in Vaishali to record their statements. The police would act on the court’s directive, she added. Police have seized their cellphones and would send them to a forensic laboratory for a detailed examination. Pakadua vivah or forcible wedding was a common practice in Bihar but saw a decline after government initiatives and police tightening its grip on people abducting eligible bachelors for marriages to avoid paying dowry. The sub-divisional police officer said Sharan’s mother Veena Devi, a teacher at Chakmashood primary school, had lodged a complaint with Jandaha police station that her son was abducted by 11 men and identified five of them.
Police said Sharan was abducted when he was on his way to Vaishali on a motorcycle with his friend Sourav Kumar. Some men in an SUV intercepted them at Salha Chowk power grid and forced Sharan to get into the vehicle. They took him to Judawanpur West and forcibly married him to Kumari.
