American Woman Found Chained to A Tree in India

Mystery surrounds an American woman who was found chained to a tree "screaming" in a forest in the western Indian state of Maharashtra.  50-year-old Lalita Kayi was discovered in the dense forests of Sindhudurg district after her cries for help were heard by shepherds. They alerted the police who sawed off the chain and rescued her.

Kayi, who appeared completely emaciated, was taken to hospital. Her physical health has since improved and she was moved to a psychiatric facility for further treatment, doctors treating her said.  In a written statement to the police, she has alleged that her husband "chained her and left her in the forest to die without food or water".   Police say they are looking for her husband in the southern state of Tamil Nadu on the basis of information she provided them.

Pandurang Gawkar, a cow herder who found her said that he had taken his cattle to graze in the forest when he heard "a woman screaming loudly".  "The sound was coming from the forest on the side of the mountain. When I went there, I saw that one of her legs was tied to a tree. She was screaming like an animal. I called other villagers and the local police."

Police said that on her they found a copy of her passport, which stated that she was an American citizen, and her Aadhaar card - a unique ID for Indians - with her home address in Tamil Nadu.  They said she also had a mobile phone, a tablet and 31,000 rupees ($370; £290) in her possession - which allowed them to rule out theft as a motive.

Locals say that it was the woman's good fortune that the shepherd picked a spot near her to graze his flock that day. The forest she was discovered in is vast and she otherwise could have gone for days without anyone hearing her cries for help. Dr Shivanand Bandekar, dean of Goa Medical College, told The Indian Express newspaper that she had some wounds on her leg and that she appeared to be suffering from a mental health condition.  "We do not know for how long she did not eat, but her vital signs are stable," Dr Bandekar said.  Currently Kavi's health is stable, and she is able to take medication, eat, and interact with people. 

According to the police, Kayi was a ballet dancer and yoga practitioner in America - some reports say specifically Massachusetts - and moved to India about 10 years ago to study yoga and meditation in Tamil Nadu.  It was there that she met her husband - in some media reports, police have called him Satish. Police say they believe at some point she fell out with her husband.  Some reports say that she stayed in a hotel in Goa for two days and then traveled to Mumbai city, India's financial capital.  But it is still unknown how she then ended up in the forest where she was discovered.

Kayi, who was initially unable to speak, communicated with the police and doctors by scribbling notes on a pad. Through them she blamed her husband for tying her to the tree and claimed that she had gone without food and water for 40 days.  She also said that she had been given an "injection for extreme psychosis" which locked her jaw and prevented her from drinking water, and that she had to be provided nutrition intravenously.  "I am a victim and survived. But he ran away from here," she told authorities. Police say they have been unable to verify these claims and believe it is unlikely that someone would survive without food or water for so long.  They have registered a case of attempted murder against her husband and have dispatched teams to Tamil Nadu, Goa and Maharashtra to investigate the matter further. Her husband is yet to be traced by the police and hasn't made any statements to the media.

 

India's Modi Accused of Hate Speech Against Minorities

India's opposition has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of Islamophobic remarks after he claimed his opponents would distribute people's wealth to "infiltrators" if they won power.  Modi told a rally the opposition Congress wanted to distribute wealth to "those who have many children". His remarks were widely seen as referring to India's Muslim minority.

Modi made the comments during an election rally in Rajasthan state, when he was talking about the Congress party's manifesto.  He alleged that the manifesto said it would "take stock" of the gold women traditionally save in India and redistribute it. "And their earlier [Congress] government had said that Muslims have the first right over the nation's wealth," Modi alleged. "This means that they [the Congress] will collect people's wealth and distribute it to whom?" he asked the audience. "To those who have more children. To the infiltrators. Should your hard-earned money be given to infiltrators?"

Modi was referring to a 2006 speech by Manmohan Singh, who was then prime minister when Congress were in office, where he spoke about empowering minorities so they could share in the fruits of development.  The Muslim community has often been stereotyped as having many children. But experts say that this claim is distorted and opens the community up to prejudicial treatment.

Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has often been accused of singling out India's minority communities, especially Muslims.  Rights groups say that they face discrimination and attacks, and have been forced to live as "second-class" citizens under Modi's rule.

Opposition leaders across parties have criticized the prime minister's comments. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge defended his party's manifesto, saying that it was "for every Indian" and it talks about equality and justice for all. He called Modi's remarks a panic-filled "hate speech" and a ploy to divert people's attention from the opposition having performed better than his BJP in the first phase of polling.  "In the history of India, no prime minister has lowered the dignity of his post as much as Modiji has," he said. Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP, Saket Gokhale, called Modi's remarks "hateful and divisive" against the Muslim community and urged people to lodge complaints about the speech with with India's electoral authorities.

Indian Men Conned by "Impregnating Women" Scam

Mangesh Kumar was online when he came across a video from the "All India Pregnant Job Service" and decided to check it out. The job sounded too good to be true: money - and lots of it - in return for getting a woman pregnant.   It was, of course, too good to be true. 

So far, the 33-year-old, who earns 15,000 rupees ($180) per month working for a wedding party decoration company, has already lost 16,000 rupees to fraudsters - and they are asking for more.  But Mangesh, from the northern Indian state of Bihar, is not the only person to fall for the scam.

Deputy superintendent of police Kalyan Anand, who heads the cyber cell in Bihar's Nawada district, said there were hundreds of victims of an elaborate con where gullible men were lured to part with their cash on the promise of a huge pay day, and a night in a hotel with a childless woman.   So far, his team have arrested eight men, seized nine mobile phones and a printer, and are still searching for 18 others.

But finding the victims has proved more tricky.

Toxic Haze in Dehli After Diwali Festival

Residents of India's capital, Delhi, woke up to smoky skies as air quality dropped after the festival of Diwali.  People in the city had set off fire crackes late into Sunday night despite a ban on fireworks due to high pollution levels. Delhi has been battling toxic air for weeks, with the government announcing an early winter break for schools in an effort to protect children.  The city has high pollution through the year due to factors including vehicular emissions and dust.

But the problem becomes worse in winter as farmers in neighboring states burn crop stubble. Low wind speeds also trap pollutants - such as those produced by firecrackers - in the lower atmosphere, making it hard to breathe.

On Monday afternoon, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Delhi was 445, with some places recording readings above 520. The AQI measures the level of PM 2.5 particulates in the air-- particulates that can clog lungs and cause a host of diseases.  Levels between 101 and 200 are considered moderate, while those between 201 and 300 are poor. Between 301 and 400 is categorised as "very poor" and a figure higher than 400 is considered "severe".

India's Supreme Court has banned the use of firecrackers during Diwali, only allowing "green crackers" or those with reduced emissions. The Delhi government has also banned firecrackers during Diwali for the past few years, but there is little enforcement of the rule.

The ban on fireworks took on political tones when Hindu nationalist argued that the Supreme Court ban was an attempt to target Hindu festivals.  Delhi's environment minister Gopal Rai alleged that leaders from Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)  had "incited" people to light firecrackers.  "The bursting of firecrackers has increased pollution levels in Delhi. Not many people have burst firecrackers but it was done in some places in a targeted manner," said Mr Rai, who is from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).  Virendra Sachdeva, the BJP's Delhi president, told local media that it wasn't right to blame people celebrating the festival for the rise in pollution levels. He said that instead, the AAP was to blame for not having a concrete plan to deal with the issue.

 In the meantime, the residents of Dehli suffer from the airborne pollutants.  The World Health Organization's guidelines say that exposure to PM 2.5 particulates over a 24-hour-period should be limited to 15 micro grams per cubic meter - but Delhi's AQI in some parts has been 30 times higher than the recommended level.  Lung specialists say breathing the capital's toxic air is akin to smoking 25-30 cigarettes a day. Prolonged exposure to high levels of pollution can cause discomfort and breathing difficulties for people. It can also trigger skin and eye irritation and cause severe neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis, lung capacity loss, emphysema, cancer, and increased mortality rates.

 

Another Story of Rape Stokes Outrage in India

A video showing a young girl walking around seeking help after being raped has sparked anger in India. Many people expressed outrage after CCTV footage showed a man appearing to wave the girl away when she approached him for help.

Police told local media that the girl, who walked around Ujjain city in Madhya Pradesh state for more than two hours, was eventually helped by some people.  A senior police official said a medical examination showed the girl was raped.  "Five people who came in contact with the girl are being questioned," Ujjain police superintendent Sachin Sharma told ANI news agency, adding that the girl was "incoherent and could not initially give any details about her whereabouts".   Police have not confirmed the girl's age yet.

A short CCTV video which surfaced online this week sparked condemnation from politicians and on social media. It shows the girl, who appears to be bleeding, walking on a road on Monday. At one point, she approaches a man who seems to wave his hand at her, before walking away again.  Police say they are reviewing other CCTV footage from the area to trace the route the girl walked before she got help.

Superintendent Sharma said the girl had been reported missing from Satna city (more than 435 miles from where she was found) on Sunday.  After her two-hour search for help, she was eventually helped by Rahul Sharma, whom media reports have described as a Hindu priest. He said the girl was bleeding when he found her.  "She could not speak. Her eyes were swollen," Rahul Sharma told news channel NDTV.   "I then inquired what had happened, but she spoke in a language that I did not understand; I also gave her a pen and paper but she could not write anything either," he told The Hindu newspaper. He said he gave her some clothes and called the police, who took her to the hospital.

On Wednesday night, police said in a statement that the girl's injuries had been treated and that she underwent surgery as well, without giving more details.  Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Misra said that the girl's condition was stable.  Opposition leaders in the state have condemned the incident and criticized the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the safety of women.

Priyank Kanoongo, chairperson of the National Commission for Protection Of Child Rights, told reporters that he had contacted local police and administrative officials in Madhya Pradesh to find out more about the incident.   Activist Yogita Bhayana, who has worked with several rape survivors, told the BBC that she was trying to trace the girl's family and get in touch with them to offer support.

Unfortunately, India is a country where women have been constantly fighting a regressive mindset that accepts and normalizes sexual violence against them.  Violent crimes against women have been in the spotlight in India since 2012, when the fatal gang rape of a young woman aboard a moving bus in Delhi prompted hundreds of thousands to take to the streets to demand stricter rape laws.  Outrage over the 2012 Delhi rape prompted thousands of women to take to the streets and spurred quick action on legislation, doubling prison terms for rapists to 20 years and criminalizing voyeurism, stalking and the trafficking of women. Indian MP's also voted to lower to 16 from 18 the age at which a person can be tried as an adult for heinous crimes.

Last year, data from India's National Crimes Recrods Bureau showed that crimes against women remain unabated over the previous six years.The numbers show a consistent year-on-year rise, except in 2020 - the year when the Covid-19 pandemic swept India and a hard lockdown forced the country to shut down for months.  In the year 2021 India recorded the highest number of crimes against women ever. 

Typically, acts of violence against women (rape, acid attacks, dowry killings, forced prostitution, honor killings) are committed by men as a result of the long-standing gender inequalities present in the country.  India's Gender Gap Index rating was 0.629 in 2022, placing it in 135th place out of 146 countries.  65% of Indian men believe women should tolerate violence in order to keep the family together, and women sometimes deserve to be beaten.

 

 

Escalating Tensions Between Canada and India

The escalating row between the two countries centers on the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen shot dead outside a Sikh temple on June 18 in British Columbia.

On the evening of June 18, Canadian police found Hardeep Singh Nijjar with multiple gun shot wounds in his pick-up truck, which was in the car park of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.  Nijjar succumbed to his injuries at the scene and local police later said that he had been shot by two masked men.  Nijjar was the temple's president and a prominent Sikh leader who publicly campaigned for Khalistan - the creation of an independent Sikh homeland in the Punjab region of India.  For several months, his killing remained unsolved.

Relations between India and Canada began to deteriorate after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said there were "credible allegations" that the Indian state may be linked to Nijjar's  murder.  Nijjar had publicly campaigned for Khalistan - the creation of an independent Sikh homeland in the Punjab region of India. Trudeau said Canadian intelligence were pursuing "credible allegations" of a link between his death and the Indian state.

India firmly rejected Trudeau's allegations, calling them "absurd" and politically motivated. adding  that Canada had long provided shelter to "Khalistani terrorists and extremists" who threaten India's security.  Canada expelled top Indian diplomat, Pavan Kumar Rai, over the row, followed by India expelling a senior Canadian diplomat.

Nijjar's son, Balraj Nijjar, said he was surprised by Trudeau's remarks because the family felt "like nothing has been done" in the three months since the shooting.  The World Sikh Organisation of Canada condemned the killing and called on India to cooperate with the Canadian government over the investigation.

 

Entitlement Run Amok

An Indian official who made headlines after he drained a dam to retrieve his phone has been fined by the government. Rajesh Vishwas has been ordered to pay 53,092 rupees ($642) for pumping out millions of liters of water without seeking permission from authorities. He had dropped the device while taking a selfie and claimed it needed retrieving as it contained sensitive government data.

But he has been accused of misusing his position.  The food inspector dropped his Samsung phone, worth about 100,000 rupees ($1,200), into Kherkatta Dam in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh last week.  After local divers couldn't find the phone, he paid for a diesel pump to be brought in, Vishwas said in a video statement quoted in the media. The pump ran for several days, emptying out thousands of litres of water, but by the time the phone was found, it was too waterlogged to work.

At the time, Vishwas had told the media that he had verbal permission from an official to drain "some water into a nearby canal", adding that the official said it "would in fact benefit the farmers who would have more water". 

But that was all of load of rubbish.  Authorities have suspended Vishwas from his post over the incident, and the state irrigation department sent him a letter penalizing him for his actions. The letter stated that Vishwas had wasted 4.1 million liters of water for his "personal interest" and that he had to pay for the water as well as a penalty for "evacuating water without permission".  It added that his action was "illegal" and "punishable under Chhattisgarh's Irrigation Act".

When first reported, the incident had triggered outrage in the country. Many politicians criticized the official's actions and said that the water could have been put to better use in a country where several regions face water shortages, especially in the scorching summer months.

 

Elon Musk is All About Free Speech, Except When it Offends India's Modi

While Elon Musk likes to complain about suppression of speech against conservatives in the United States — something that he has described as nothing less than “a battle for the future of civilization” — he appears to be failing at the far graver challenge of standing up to the authoritarian demands of foreign governments.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Twitter censored a report critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in coordination with the government of India, according to a top Indian official. Officials called for the Big Tech companies to take action against a BBC documentary exploring Modi’s role in a genocidal 2002 massacre in the Indian state of Gujarat, which the officials deemed a “propaganda piece.”

In a series of posts, Kanchan Gupta, senior adviser at the Indian government’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, denounced the BBC documentary as “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage.” He said that both Twitter and YouTube had been ordered to block links to the film, before adding that the platforms “have complied with the directions.” Gupta’s statements coincided with posts from Twitter users in India who claimed to have shared links to the documentary but whose posts were later removed.

This act of censorship — wiping away allegations of crimes against humanity committed by a foreign leader — sets a worrying tone for Twitter.  Elon Musk’s self-identification as a “free-speech absolutist” has been a primary talking point for the billionaire as he has sought to explain why he took ownership of the platform last year. 

Twitter even blocked Indian audiences from seeing two posts by actor John Cusack linking to the documentary. (They remain visible to American audiences.) Cusack said he “pushed out the links and got immediate blowback.” He told The Intercept, “I received two notices that I’m banned in India.” The actor wrote a book, “Things That Can and Cannot Be Said,” with celebrated Indian scholar Arundhati Roy, a fierce critic of the Modi government.

The Gujarat riots, as the violence is sometimes known, occurred in 2002, when Modi was the chief minister of the state. A group of militants aligned with the Hindu nationalist movement, which encompasses Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, launched a violent campaign against local Muslims. Modi, who has been accused of personally encouraging the violence, reportedly told police forces to stand down in the face of the ongoing violence, which killed about 1,000 people.

“The documentary has unnerved Mr. Modi as he continues to evade accountability for his complicity in the violence,” Naik, the journalist, said. “He sees the documentary as a threat to his image internationally and has launched an unprecedented crackdown in India.”

Twitter’s moves at the behest of Modi’s government bode ill for Musk’s claims to be running the company with an aim of protecting free speech. While Musk has felt fine wading into U.S. culture wars on behalf of conservatives, he has been far more reticent to take a stand about the far direr threats to free speech from autocratic governments.

 

Arrest of Rapist/Murder Sparks Protests in India

Police in India have arrested a man who raped an eight-year-old girl before strangling her to death and hacking her corpse apart to dispose of her remains.  1-year-old Kamlesh Rajput was arrested on suspicion of rape and murder after police officers investigating the disappearance of the girl discovered bloodstains by Rajput's house in Lopda village, near Udaipur city.   

Investigators later found plastic bags containing the girl's remains in a patch of isolated wasteland not far from the farm of the victim's family.  Rajput was taken into custody and later confessed to kidnapping the girl from the farm, taking her to his family home and raping her. He then admitted he strangled her and hacked her body apart to dispose of her remains.

A sea of protesters from Lopda village and surrounding towns took to Udaipur's city streets this week to demand a death sentence for Rajput and greater protections for women and girls.

Udaipur police superintendent Vikas Sharma told the Times of India: 'When [the girl] did not return home on March 29, her family members lodged a missing complaint at the Mavli police station. Since she was a minor girl we lodged an FIR and started searching for her.  Our men in plain clothes made a visit near [Rajput's] house and found blood spots. Hence, on the basis of suspicion he was detained."

"Later, we recovered the [remains] of the girl at an isolated place near his house on Saturday evening. The accused was questioned and he confessed to have kidnapped, strangulated the girl to death and later chopped off her body parts in several pieces."  Sharma added that Rajput was a 'high-school dropout' who appeared 'unperturbed' by the heinous crime he had committed.

 

India's Modi Now Using Tax Officials to Harrass Journalists

BBC offices in India were searched as part of an investigation by income tax authorities. The searches come weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The BBC said that it was "fully co-operating" with authorities. "We hope to have this situation resolved as soon as possible," a short statement added.  Although the documentary was broadcast on television only in the UK, India's government has attempted to block people sharing India: The Modi Question online, calling it "hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage" with a "colonial mind-set". Last month, police in Delhi detained students as they gathered to watch the film.

The documentary focused on the prime minister's role in anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat in 2002, when he was chief minister of the state.  The general secretary of the opposition Congress party, KC Venugopal, said the search "reeks of desperation and shows that the Modi government is scared of criticism".  "We condemn these intimidation tactics in the harshest terms. This undemocratic and dictatorial attitude cannot go on any longer," he tweeted.

The Editors Guild of India - a non-profit group which promotes press freedom - said it was "deeply concerned" about the searches.  They are a "continuation of a trend of using government agencies to intimidate and harass press organizations that are critical of government policies or the ruling establishment", it said.

But Gaurav Bhatia, a spokesman from Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), described the BBC as the "most corrupt organization in the world". 

The documentary tracks Modi's first steps into politics, including his rise through the ranks of the BJP to his appointment as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat.  It highlights a previously unpublished report, obtained by the BBC from the UK Foreign Office, which raises questions about Modi's actions during the religious riots. The rioting began the day after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims was set on fire, killing dozens. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in the subsequent violence.  The Foreign Office report claims that Modi was "directly responsible" for the "climate of impunity" that enabled the violence.  In 2005, the U.S. denied Modi a visa under a law that bars the entry of foreign officials seen to be responsible for "severe violations of religious freedom".  Modi has long rejected accusations against him, and has not apologised for the riots.

The targeting of organizations seen as critical of Modi's Hindu nationalistic government is not uncommon in India.  In 2020, Amnesty International was forced to halt its India operations, with the group accusing the government of pursuing a "witch-hunt" against human rights organizations.   Oxfam was also searched last year along with other local non-government organizations.

In 2020, India's press freedom rank dropped to 142 out of 180 countries in the Press Freedom Index, an annual ranking of countries published by Reporters Without Borders (RWB), an international non-governmental organization dedicated to safeguard the right to freedom of information.  In 2020, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting blocked the MediaOne TV temporarily for covering a news about the "mob attacks on Muslims" in the country's capital New Delhi.  The Jammu and Kashmir police, a law enforcement and counterinsurgency agency, often interrogate (and sometimes arrest) journalists over national security reportage and critical news stories involving the Modi government.

Modi's government has also banned the Times of India, The Hindu and Telegraph India from running government ads on government platforms.  Prominent journalists Sagarika Ghose and Ravish Kumar have publicly said that they have been subjected to harassment, intimidation including death and rape threats when they were skeptical of Modi's Bharativa Janata Party (BJP) government. 

 

Bridge Collapse in India Kills 134

The death toll from a foot bridge collapse in India rose to 134 on Monday, including many children, as police detained nine people as part of a criminal investigation into one of the deadliest accidents in the country in the past decade.

CCTV footage from just before the collapse showed a group of young men taking photos while others tried to rock the suspension bridge from side to side, before they tumbled into the river below as the cables holding it together gave way.  Police in the western state of Gujarat, where the disaster occurred, told Reuters they had detained nine people after registering a criminal case against unnamed people responsible for the renovation, maintenance and management of the bridge.

Ashwin Mehra, who was undergoing treatment after sustaining leg and back injuries when he plunged from the bridge, said he and six others had reached the shore by holding onto the bridge’s metal railings and netting.  “Some 15-20 mischievous young kids were shaking the ropes of the bridge. Three times a noise came from the bridge before it collapsed,” he said.

Local officials said that the manager of the bridge, a company making clocks and electrical items, had not informed the authorities that the bridge would be reopened after repairs, adding that no certificate that it was fit for public use had been issued.  The colonial-era footbridge over the Machchhu River in the centre of Morbi town was packed with sightseers enjoying holiday festivities when it collapsed on Sunday evening, plunging people about 33 feet into the river.  Some 400 people had bought tickets to get onto the bridge to celebrate the Diwali and Chhath Puja festivals.

About 35 victims were under 14, according to a list of the deceased seen by Reuters. About 170 people had been rescued by the morning.  “People were hanging from the bridge after the accident, but they slipped and fell into the river when it collapsed,” said Raju, an witness who gave only one name. “I could not sleep the entire night as I had helped in the rescue operation. I brought a lot of children to the hospital.”  Narendrasinh Jadeja, whose friend lost seven members of his family, including four children, said: “I cannot express how angry and helpless I am feeling.”  A government official said at the site that the river’s muddy waters were hampering rescue work and that there might be people trapped under the remains of the bridge.

Gujarat-based electrical appliances maker Oreva group, known for its Ajanta clocks, had been in charge of maintaining the bridge for 15 years, said Sandeepsinh Zala, the chief officer of Morbi municipality.  “They did not give us any information that they were reopening the bridge,” Zala said. “We have not issued any fitness certificate to them.”  Jayrajsinh Jadeja, a local lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, blamed Oreva for selling tickets without restrictions and said overcrowding led to the bridge collapse.  The bridge was previously maintained by the local municipality, which limited the number of people on the bridge at one time to 20, he said.

The bridge is 4 feet wide and 255 yards long, connecting the Darbargadh Palace heritage hotel and the town. It was built in 1877 when India was a British colony.  Opposition politicians in Gujarat, where elections are due by early next year, said the disaster exposed the lack of oversight of infrastructure in the country.  “Not just extremely sad on bridge collapse in Morbi but also very angry. Because it was a tragedy in waiting,” Gurdeep Singh Sappal, a member of the Congress party, wrote on Twitter. “For some time now, bridge collapse, roads caving-in, dams breaching are happening quite often.”

India Has Moved Past the Monarchy-- But they Want the Koh-i-Noor Back

India had been independent for nearly five years by the time Elizabeth II became Britain's monarch in February 1952.  Britain at that time, though less powerful than in the heyday of the Empire, was still a major world power.  India was just starting out.  But things have changed. 

Officially, India has been quick to pay its respects to the Queen -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered his condolences to Britain and his government declared Sunday a day of mourning.  But for many among the Indian public, her death is little more than a distant foreign news story.  Close to half of India's nearly 1.3 billion people are under the age of 25; many hadn't even been born when the Queen made her third, and final, visit to India in 1997.

While the United Kingdom remains one of the largest investors in India with British companies employing close to 800,000 people in the country, Indian leaders devote more energy to building ties with new partners.  In the wake of Brexit, many British politicians invoke the idea of the Commonwealth as an alternative to the EU.  In India, the grouping is hardly ever talked about.

Nodi attended the 2018 Commonwealth heads of government meeting in London, where Prince Charles was named as the Queen's successor as the body's ceremonial head-- but the headlines in India weren't about the goings-on at the summit.  The focus was on Modi's outing at a public event with the Indian diaspora in central London and bilateral meetings with his opposite number at Number 10.  In an increasingly young and forward-looking India, these "links of the past" are seen, when they are remembered at all, very differently. 

 

In the wake of the Queen's passing, multiple young people who spoke to reporters in India's capital New Delhi said they associated the monarchy with a colonial past that was marked by violence.  "If you don't see people mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth in India, (it is) because she doesn't have that connection with the new generation of Indians," Ravi Mishra said.  "She was in a position of power for 70 years when she could have done a lot. You know, all the bad that the British did to this country and to the other countries around the world. She did nothing."  Sandeep Gandotra said the British "took everything from India.  As Queen of Britain, she might have left some legacy for (Britons), not for India," he said.

 

A point of contention for many Indians is the monarchy's continued possession of one of the world's most famous gems, the 105.6 carat Koh-i-Noor diamond.  The diamond was unearthed in central southern India and passed through the possession of Indian princes and kings before ending up in British hands in 1849.   "The diamond should have come back to India a long time ago," Mishra said. "But we all know ... the Queen didn't do anything, so I'm not surprised that it is not coming back to the country."   Pooja Mehra called the situation "very unfortunate.  A huge treasure has been taken away. I think our current leader is actually making an effort to get it back to India. I will be the first one to clap and rise and celebrate," she said. 

 

Russian Gamblers Swindled by Fake Cricket League

There were floodlights, HD cameras and umpires with walkie-talkies pinned to their shoulders. The cricket players wore colorful uniforms. The broadcast had the voices of recognized commentators, and the logo of the globally recognized television channel: the BBC.

But this was not the Indian Premier League (IPL), the lucrative cricket tournament enjoyed by millions of fans each year. It was an elaborate fraud, turning a large farm in a small village in the western Indian state of Gujarat into an arena of sporting excitement.  The target? Russians betting on the winning odds of an unfamiliar sport far from home.

Police officials in Gujarat said that they had broken up the scheme, which was run by four local men who had swindled thousands of dollars from Russian bettors for two weeks. The fake league was given a name close enough to the real one: The Indian Cricket Premier League.  “It was all a hoax,” said Achal Tyagi, a top police official overseeing the investigation. “We have arrested four people and also are investigating some Indians living in Russia, who are involved in the scam.”

News of the audacious scheme ricocheted around social media in India and the wider cricket world, shocking fans of a sport that is known as a “gentleman’s game” and that has created fierce international rivalry, huge cricket stars and lucrative profits.  About 24 “players” were involved in the swindle. The men on the field were, in fact, unemployed village boys and construction workers. The “broadcast” was streamed on YouTube, and the winners of the match decided in advance. The fake matches were played in the village of Molipur.

Videos of the purported matches showed players wearing jerseys of the same colors worn by IPL teams like the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians. The cricket counterfeiters downloaded crowd-noise sound effects to enhance the online spectators’ experience.  Investigators said the players told them that the men acting as umpires took instructions on walkie-talkies from organizers sitting at the edge of the ground with their laptops. In turn, they discreetly instructed players when to bowl a slow ball to a batsman or get out to help members of the gang earn more money from bets.

Though the players realized the matches were fixed, investigators said, they continued the ruse for the equivalent of about $5 — an amount of money that, for jobless young men in rural India, was pretty good. They have not been charged.  “They were given a uniform and promised 400 rupees for each match,” said Tinku Rathod, a farmhand in Molipur. “They were all happy.”

Police officers said that through the messaging app Telegram, the organizers of the scheme accepted bets from various cities in Russia. An Indian man hundreds of miles away was hired to mimic the voice of a famous Indian cricket commentator, Harsha Bhogle, who often does commentary for the real premier league. The fake Bhogle was released.

The Indian Premier League, created in 2007, is among the world’s most valuable sports properties. In India, it has turned the once-staid game into a commercial juggernaut, luring the world’s best players with million-dollar contracts.  India’s governing body for cricket sold the television and digital broadcasting rights for a record $6.2 billion. But the league has also been embroiled in controversies with betting scandals, leading to the suspension of two teams for two years in 2013.

The fake league began the hoax games about three weeks after the real league wrapped up its games in May, the authorities said. Investigators were alerted to the scam by a local police officer, who had noticed suspicious matches being played during mornings and evenings with floodlights on.  When officers from a special investigation team of the Gujarat police arrived on the fake grounds, they checked the phones of players and laptops of the organizers and found multiple Telegram channels. The officers soon realized that there an elaborate betting scam run by four men sitting near the ground was unfolding, and that they were being handled by another Indian man working in Russia.

The investigation revealed that one of the organizers, a native of Molipur, had recently returned to the village after working in a Moscow pub famous for betting.  A friend of his in Russia had suggested that they work together to start a fake league in his village to make money.  “He was in constant touch with his partner in Russia,” police said. “These are new criminals with a technological bent of mind.”  Eventually, four men were charged with criminal conspiracy and gambling, officials told reporters.

When the suspects were caught, the fake league matches were in the semifinals, with just one more to go before the finals. Then, after the ruse was revealed, the YouTube channel went dark.

 

India's State of Rajasthan on Edge After Beheading

India's Rajasthan state has been on alert following the beheading of a Hindu man by two Muslim men.  Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has appealed for calm and promised to take strict action against the attackers.  The victim, a tailor named Kanhaiya Lal, was killed in Udaipur district in north India on Tuesday by the men, who filmed the act and posted it online.

They said the act was in response to his support for a politician's dividing remarks about the Prophet Muhammad.  The National Investigative Agency - India's top anti-terrorism agency - is carrying out a probe. A senior police officer told reporters that the police had found early evidence that one of the accused men had links with a group in Pakistan.  Islamabad, however, has denied such reports, calling them "mischievous".

The BBC's Nitin Srivastava, who's in Udaipur, said the streets were empty and communities were living in fear of religious violence.  He added that there was heavy deployment of police forces across the city and senior officers were constantly appealing for peace.

Most people were unprepared for a curfew, with many now struggling to get hold of even basic rations.  "Daily [workers] are worst affected," said Mukesh Gardiya, a local man. "All that's happened is a big shock."  The government has suspended internet services and banned large gatherings. Police have arrested the two men, who had identified themselves in the video.

In another video, the accused boasted about the murder and also issued threats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi while brandishing cleavers. A top Rajasthan police official asked media outlets not to broadcast the video of the murder as it was "too grisly to watch".

The victim had allegedly put up a social media post supporting former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma, who made controversial comments about the Prophet Muhammad last month.  Her comments sparked a diplomatic row with several Islamic countries registering strong protests with India. The BJP subsequently suspended Sharma from the party.  The controversy also led to religious protests in India which turned violent after demonstrators threw stones and damaged public property.

Some prominent Muslim organizations have also condemned the murder. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board called the incident "highly condemnable", adding that it was against both Indian law as well as Islamic strictures.  "Nobody can be allowed to take the law into their hands and declaring someone a criminal and then murdering them is a highly condemnable act," the board said in a statement.

 

 

Indian Couple Mauled By Rabid Bear

A sloth bear mauled a couple to death in a forest in central India's Madhya Pradesh state and then spent hours playing with their remains. 

The attack occurred when a man and his wife were returning home from a temple visit early in the morning. The sloth bear first attacked the woman as the couple walked through the Panna National Park forest, killing her. Her husband was killed when he tried to rescue his wife.

The Times of India quoted eyewitnesses from the crowd of villagers who gathered at the spot, saying some tried to scare the bear away by firing gunshots in the air, but it wouldn't budge. The paper said the witnesses saw the bear eating the victims for several hours until forestry workers arrived.

While sloth bear encounters with people are relatively common, fatal attacks are not.  A medical examination confirmed earlier reports that it was rabid, but it was not found to have ingested human remains.

Hindu Nationalists in Dehli Forcing Their Beliefs on Christians and Muslims

Meat shops in the Indian capital, Delhi, have been closed for three days after civic officials asked them to remain shut for Navratri - a Hindu festival observed over nine days.  Mayors of south and east districts claimed that people had complained that they did not like seeing meat being cut in the open.  But the move has riled many who have taken to social media to express outrage-- since Hinduism is only one of five of the major religions practiced in India, and critics say the closing of meat shops is illegal, as it violates India's pluralism.

During the nine-day festival, devout Hindus usually fast or abstain from eating meat, and even avoid using garlic, onions and certain spices in their food.  The Indian capital is governed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party which has not issued any official orders asking meat shops to shut.  However, the mayors who instituted the closures belong to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  Their move has drawn sharp criticism online with some pointing out that someone's choice to abstain from meat should not infringe on another's freedom to eat meat or earn a livelihood.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah reacted to the announcement asking if it was okay to ban every non-Muslim resident or tourist in Muslim-majority areas from eating in public during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting.  Others asked why the sale and purchase of onions and garlic were not banned during this period, saying "Why stop at just meat?"

One Twitter user said: "Meat will continue to be served in hotels. Online vendors will continue to deliver meat. But the Hindu sentiment will be hurt by the meat shops run by poor Muslim vendors."

 

Hacker Group Tied to India Framing People for Crimes They Didn't Commit

For at least a decade, a shadowy hacker group has been targeting people throughout India, sometimes using its digital powers to plant fabricated evidence of criminal activity on their devices. That phony evidence has, in turn, often provided a pretext for the victims’ arrest.

A report published this week by cybersecurity firm Sentinel One reveals additional details about the group, illuminating the way in which its digital dirty tricks have been used to surveil and target “human rights activists, human rights defenders, academics, and lawyers” throughout India.

The group, which researchers have dubbed “ModifiedElephant,” is largely preoccupied with spying, but sometimes it intervenes to apparently frame its targets for crimes. Researchers says the objective of ModifiedElephant is long-term surveillance that at times concludes with the delivery of ‘evidence’—files that incriminate the target in specific crimes—prior to conveniently coordinated arrests. 

The most prominent case involving Elephant centers around Maoist activist Rona Wilson and a group of his associates who, in 2018, were arrested by India security services and accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Evidence for the supposed plot—including a word document detailing plans to assassinate the nation’s prime minister, Narendra Modi—was found on Wilson’s laptop. However, later forensic analysis of the device showed that the documents were actually fake and had been planted using malware. According to Sentinel researchers, it was Elephant that put them there.

This case, which gained greater exposure after being covered by the Washington Post, was blown open after the aforementioned laptop was analyzed by a digital forensics firm, Boston-based Arsenal Consulting. Arsenal ultimately concluded that Wilson and all of his so-called co-conspirators, as well as many other activists, had been targeted with digital manipulation. 

In a report, the company explained how extensive the intrusion was, saying that Arsenal had connected the same attacker to a significant malware infrastructure which has been deployed over the course of approximately four years to not only attack and compromise Mr. Wilson’s computer for 22 months, but to attack his co-defendants in the Bhima Koregaon case and defendants in other high-profile Indian cases as well.

How did the hackers get the documents onto the computer in the first place?  According to Sentinel One’s report, Elephant uses common hacking tools and techniques to gain a foothold in victims’ computers. Phishing emails, typically tailored to the victim’s interests, are loaded with malicious documents that contain commercially available remote access tools (RATs)—easy-to-use programs available on the dark web that can hijack computers. Specifically, Elephant has been shown to use DarkComet and Netwire, two well-known brands. Once a victim is successfully phished and the hackers’ malware is downloaded, the RAT allows Elephant comprehensive control over the victim’s device; they can quietly conduct surveillance or, as in Wilson’s case, deploy phony, incriminating documents, researchers write.

It’s all pretty nefarious. As with anything in the hacker world, it’s difficult to know definitively who “Elephant” actually is. However, obvious contextual evidence suggests that the group has the Indian government’s “interests” in mind, with the researchers noting that ModifiedElephant activity aligns sharply with Indian state interests and that there is an observable correlation between ModifiedElephant attacks and the arrests of individuals in controversial, politically-charged cases.  

Unfortunately, ModifiedElephant isn’t the only group out there that has been doing this sort of thing. An entirely different group is believed to have conducted similar operations against Baris Pehlivan, a journalist in Turkey who was incarcerated for 19 months in 2016 after the Turkish government accused him of terrorism. Digital forensics later revealed that the documents used to justify Pehlivan’s charges had been planted, much like those on Wilson’s laptop.

All in all, it’s pretty disturbing stuff. “Many questions about this threat actor and their operations remain,” Sentinel One researchers write, of Elephant. “However, one thing is clear: Critics of authoritarian governments around the world must carefully understand the technical capabilities of those who would seek to silence them.”