Telangana BJP chief placed under house arrest over temple demolition row
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- The Hindu
Vivek Agnihotri alleges trailer launch of ‘The Bengal Files' ‘stopped' by Kolkata Police
The Kolkata Police on Saturday (August 16, 2025) stopped the trailer launch of 'The Bengal Files', its director Vivek Agnihotri claimed. The trailer of the film was slated to be screened at a five-star hotel in the metropolis in the afternoon. Police personnel present at the venue refused to comment on the issue. Mr. Agnihotri, however, alleged that it was an attack on the democratic rights of people, as the censor board had cleared the film and 'the Calcutta High Court stayed a ban on it'. The screening of the trailer was first stopped by a representative of the hotel around 1 p.m., who said that permission had been granted for only a press conference, he said. As the trailer was shown again a little later, 'suddenly five-six Kolkata Police officers entered the banquet hall where the programme was being held and stopped the screening midway,' the director claimed. The filmmaker was also seen engaged in a heated argument with the police personnel and a hotel staff. Mr. Agnihotri alleged that the screening was stopped at the behest of the ruling Trinamool Congress and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and that her party leaders also threatened the hotel management to halt the trailer midway. Addressing reporters, Mr. Agnihotri asserted that 'The Bengal Files', 'which is based on facts and has passed the censor hurdle', is being prevented from screening by 'the person who is at the helm of the administration in Bengal'. Asked if he meant Ms. Banerjee, he said, "Yes, you are right." "There can be only one reason behind such a move, to ignore the conspiracy to divide Bengal again. I wish to believe this government is not anti-Hindu," Mr. Agnihotri said. 'The Bengal Files' delves into the communal violence in undivided Bengal during the 1940s. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on September 5. The producer of the film Abhisshek Agarwal later told PTI that "no force can stop us to release the film on September 5." "We are taking advice from legal experts. The trailer launch programme had no legal hurdles. We will move the court soon after today's development," he said.
Hans India
8 hours ago
- Hans India
Rights body urges UN, diplomatic community to press Bangladesh for Hindu priest's release
New Delhi: New Delhi-based rights group -- Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) – on Saturday urged the diplomatic community and the United Nations to intervene with the Bangladesh government to release Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, a former leader of ISKON and spokesperson of the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatani Jagaran Jote, on the occasion of Janmashtami. Chinmoy Das has been in custody since November 25, 2024, in connection with a sedition case. He was arrested at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka for allegedly defaming the national flag. Das was also arrested in connection with the murder of assistant government prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif, who was hacked to death during the violent protest sparked by the Hindu leader's arrest. The RRAG on Saturday requested the diplomatic community and the United Nations to intervene with the Government of Bangladesh to release the Hindu Priest from prison custody on the occasion of Janmashtami. The rights body, in a statement, said that Bangladesh Chief of Army Staff General Waqar Uz Zaman, Chief of the Bangladesh Navy Admiral Mohd Nazmul Hussain, and Chief of the Bangladesh Air Force Hasan Mahmud Khan attended the Janmashtami function, the birthday of Lord Krishna, on Saturday in Dhaka. 'This is a sham and a desperate attempt to beguile the international community in the light of the ongoing, relentless atrocities against the Hindus. A total of 2,485 incidents of violence against religious and ethnic minorities were reported during the year of the reign of the caretaker government under the Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus,' RRAG Director Suhas Chakma said in a statement. He said that if the Bangladesh government is serious, Chinomoy Das at least ought to be released on bail on Saturday, the birthday of Lord Krishna. Das remains in prison from November 25 last year (2024) first on a private complaint of sedition for allegedly putting the flag of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKON) on top of Bangladesh's national flag and thereafter, for the murder of a lawyer in court complex when Das was already in police custody and being produced in the court, RRAG Director said. 'If there was any conspiracy by Das to murder the lawyer, it was done by the Bangladeshi security forces under whose custody he was. None of the security officials of the Bangladesh government has been charged for this murder. The prosecution is opposing the bail of Chinmoy Das to send a clear message to the Hindus not to organise any political meeting but remain restricted to religious programmes like celebrating Janmashtami,' Chakma said.
India Today
8 hours ago
- India Today
Vivek Agnihotri cries dictatorship as Kolkata blocks The Bengal Files trailer launch
Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has sharply criticised the West Bengal authorities after the trailer launch of his upcoming film The Bengal Files faced major hurdles in Kolkata on August event, originally planned at a leading cinema hall, was abruptly cancelled by a prominent theatre chain, reportedly under 'political pressure.' It was later shifted to a hotel and finally unveiled at 1 pm on a video statement, Agnihotri said, 'They are obstructing the screening, and I don't know why. There is no reason for it. First, they cancelled the event at the theatre, and now they are not allowing it here either. The hotel authorities told me they had been instructed not to host the launch.' He added, 'I have just been informed that all the wires have been cut. Who is giving these instructions, and why, I don't know. Multiple FIRs have already been filed against us. This is a private hotel — how can they stop us here when we have the necessary permission? If this is not dictatorship, then what is? If this is not fascism, then what is? Look at the number of policemen present, as if we are criminals.'Watch the video here: Meanwhile, a senior Kolkata Police official told India Today, 'Obtaining an amusement licence is mandatory for hosting this kind of screening event. However, the organisers had not secured the required licence from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, nor did they inform the local police in advance. We learnt about the event through other sources. When asked, the organisers were unable to produce the necessary licence, so we had to intervene.'Despite the disruption, the trailer was eventually launched at the hotel. Sharing it online, Agnihotri wrote, 'If Kashmir hurt you, Bengal will haunt you (sic).' The trailer features hard-hitting lines such as, 'Yeh Paschim Bangal hai, yaha do constitution chalta hai, ek Hinduao ka, ek Musalmanon ka,' and 'Sirf zameen ka tukda nahi, Bharat ka lighthouse hai Bangal.''The Bengal Files' revisits West Bengal's turbulent political history, exploring the Hindu genocide and communal violence through real testimonies and historical accounts. It examines the events of Direct Action Day and sheds light on decades of ideological manipulation and systemic the trailer here: This is not the first time Agnihotri has faced obstacles for the film. On Independence Day, he learnt that the trailer launch had been cancelled by the theatre chain. Expressing disappointment in another video, he remarked, 'We had all the permissions in writing. Our entire team came to Kolkata, but now we learn the event has been cancelled. This is very sad. Is there one Constitution for India and another for West Bengal?'advertisementHe further alleged attempts to 'suppress' his voice but vowed not to be silenced. 'Who wants to suppress our voice? And why? But I can't be silenced. Because truth can't be silenced. Trailer will be launched in Kolkata,' he the clip here: Ahead of the launch, Agnihotri visited Kalighat Temple to seek blessings for the project. 'With Maa's blessings, no one can stop this film,' he said. The film stars National Award-winner Pallavi Joshi, Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, and Darshan Kumaar in key by Agnihotri and produced by Abhishek Agarwal and Pallavi Joshi, 'The Bengal Files' is slated for release on September 5, 2025.- EndsMust Watch
