Two men arrested for pasting Pakistan flag in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas
The West Bengal Police has arrested two members of a Hindutva group named Sanatani Ekta Manch after they allegedly pasted the flag of Pakistan on the wall of a washroom beside Akaipur railway station.
The two men were arrested on charges of attempting to instigate communal violence in the Gopalnagar area of the North 24 Parganas district.
'Yesterday night, a Pakistani National flag was found to be pasted on the walls of a washroom beside Akaipur railway station under Gopalnagar PS [police station],' the police wrote in a social media post.
It added: 'Investigation revealed that this was wilfully done by 1. Chandan Malakar (30) and 2. Progyajit Mondal (45), both local residents.'
The police said that Malakar and Mondal confessed to the act. The two men had also planned to write 'Hindustan murdabad and Pakistan zindabad', or death to India and long-live Pakistan, on the wall to 'create communal disturbance', it added.
'We shall spare no efforts to bring to book those who are hatching such conspiracies to trigger communal unrest,' the police stated.
This comes against the backdrop of incidents of violence and intimidation against Muslims being reported from several states in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
Twenty-six persons were killed and 17 were injured in the attack near Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22.
The attack took place in the Baisaran area of Anantnag district. Militants fired at tourists, most of whom were from outside the state. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those who died were Hindu.
Following the attack, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on April 24 claimed that two Kashmiri men living in Baruipur, on the southern outskirts of Kolkata, had installed a 'NanoBeam 2AC compact and high-performance wireless network bridge' on the roof of their home.
Police in Baruipur denied the claim and stated that both men are engineers from Madhya Pradesh and the device installed on their roof is for an internet connection.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
"No equivalence": Shashi Tharoor expresses scepticism on mediation in conflicts involving terrorism
New York [US], June 5 (ANI): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading an all-party delegation to the United States on Thursday, expressed scepticism about the role of mediation in conflicts involving terrorism, emphasising that there can be no equivalence between terrorists and their victims. Tharoor stressed that there's no moral or factual equivalence between countries harbouring terrorism and those affected by it. When asked if it is helpful to have the United States available as a mediator between India and Pakistan, Tharoor said, 'Mediation is not a term that we are particularly willing to entertain. You're implying an equivalence that simply doesn't exist. There is no equivalence between terrorists and their victims. There is no equivalence between a country that provides a safe haven to terrorism and a country that's a flourishing multi-party democracy that's trying to get on with its business.' He highlighted the complexities of international diplomacy, suggesting that any influence the US might have had would be more effective if applied to the side supporting terrorism. He acknowledged the US government's interest and concern, noting that diplomatic efforts might have been more impactful if directed at the party supporting terrorist activities. Tharoor speculated that the US might have had more influence on the side that needed persuading to stop supporting terrorism. 'My government received a number of calls at high levels from the US government and we appreciated their concern and their interest. At the same time, they must have been making similar calls at the highest levels to the Pakistan side. Because that's the side that needed persuading to stop this process, that may well have been where their messages really had the greatest effect. But that's guesswork on my part. I don't know what they said to the Pakistanis...,' said Tharoor. Speaking about how India, time and again, conveyed information through proper and authentic channels of communication, Tharoor noted that the Indian side had regular, systematic briefings by civil and military officers. He brought to attention that the briefings were conducted by women officers from the military, one of whom is a Muslim, thereby stating, 'This is not a Hindu versus Muslim, it is United India against terror, and that message came across very well'. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is leading the all-party delegation which includes Shambhavi Chaudhary (Lok Janshakti Party), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha), G M Harish Balayogi (Telugu Desam Party), Shashank Mani Tripathi, Tejaswi Surya, and Bhubaneswar Kalita (all from the BJP), Mallikarjun Devda (Shiv Sena), former Indian Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and Shiv Sena MP Milind Deora. The all-party delegation reached the US after completing their visit to Brazil. Their purpose is to brief key US stakeholders on Operation Sindoor, India's diplomatic effort launched to combat terrorism and disinformation following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir. (ANI)
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
DMK govt funding temple events like no other: Min
1 2 Trichy: No govt has funded temple events as much as the 'Dravidian model' govt did, and tactics to project the govt as 'anti-Hindu' have failed, HR&CE minister P K Sekarbabu told reporters in Nagapattinam on Thursday. He was speaking after participating in the 3,000th temple consecration held under the DMK govt at the millennium-old Agnipuriswarar temple in Thirupugalu. School education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi also participated. Sekarbabu said the number of temple consecrations under this govt will cross 3,500 by year-end. "The Dravidian model govt has been funding temple development, facilities, religious events, and devotee welfare activities like no other govt. The funding is increasing every year. Chief minister M K Stalin is ready to provide more funds," he said. On allegations by right-wing movements that DMK govt is 'anti-Hindu,' he said: "They tried to weaponize such criticism against the govt. The 3,000th consecration is the answer." Accompanied by officials, Sekarbabu inspected several temples and inaugurated new buildings and facilities in the past two days. At Thulasiyapattinam near Vedaranyam, he inspected the construction of Avvaiyar Manimandapam in progress at Rs19 crore.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
'Will cut hair with razor': Indian-origin Hindu man Bhushan Athale jailed in US for violent threats against Sikhs
49-year-old Bhushan Athale, an Indian-origin man in Texas, was sentenced to 26 months in prison for making violent threats against Sikh employees of a nonprofit organization in New Jersey. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Athale called the main number of the Sikh nonprofit organization and left numerous messages threatening to injure or kill these individuals, cut their hair with a razor etc. The first calls were made in 2022 and in January this year he pleaded guilty to "interfering with federally protected activities' by threatening to use a dangerous weapon and making an interstate threat to injure another person. He threatened to shave off her and other Sikhs' 'top and bottom' hair with a razor and called members of the religious group by profane names and other insults, according to the criminal complaint authorities wrote when the charges were filed. In 2023, he again called the same Sikh organization and left two more voicemail using violent, sexual imagery against Sikhs and Muslims. He had also sent 'hate-fuelled' emails and messages to a Muslim colleague in November 2021, a separate complaint against him said. In a telephone interview with law enforcement in February 2022, the criminal complaint stated, Athale told investigators that he hated Muslims because they ruined India. 'The Department of Justice has no tolerance for hate-fueled threats of violence in our country, and we appreciate the strong efforts of US Attorney Alina Habba and her team in working with us to bring this perpetrator to justice,' said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
