Inspired by Donald Trump, US gunman kills Muslim scholar, companion

[email protected] (News Network)
August 14, 2016

New York, Aug 14: A terrorist allegedly inspired by US presidential candidate Donald Trump, killed a revered imam and his friend in New York as the pair walked home from Saturday prayers, blasting each in the back of the head without a word.

maulanaMaulama Akonjee, the Imam of Al-Furqan Jame Masjid Mosque in Ozone Park and his friend Thara Uddin were dressed in Muslim garb when the killer “approached from behind and shot” from point-blank range, said NYPD Deputy Inspector Henry Sautner of the Queens South Detective Bureau.

Akonjee, 55, a married father of three, was a respected religious leader since his arrival in Queens from Bangladesh less than two years ago. Uddin, 65, died about four hours after the attack.

“We are all crying,” said his brother Mashuk Uddin. “There's so much crying.”

Scores of worshipers from the mosque gathered within hours at the murder scene to denounce the cold-blooded ambush as a hate crime.

“That's not what America is about,” said local resident Khairul Islam, 33. “We blame Donald Trump for this . . . Trump and his drama has created Islamophobia.”

A high-ranking police source said the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force would investigate, but it was “too early to say” what the motive was.

A second source said investigators were looking into the possibility of a botched robbery because one of the men was found carrying several hundred dollars.

The shooter left his victims lying in their own blood just one block from the Al-Furqan Jame Mosque in Ozone Park, where the two victims prayed together only minutes earlier.

Police sources said they have witnesses who saw the killer holding a gun, as well as security video of the shooter following the imam and his friend. The footage then captures the man sprinting back, this time with a gun in his hand.

The imam's nephew said Akonjee had no problems with anyone in the neighborhood.

“I'm not sure what kind of an animal would kill that man,” said Rahi Majid, 26. “He would not hurt a fly. You would watch him come down the street and watch the peace he brings.”

The gunshots rang out around 1:55 p.m. on 79th St., police said. Uddin, also a father of three, was lying on the ground bleeding heavily when his nephew arrived by chance at the scene.

“I was upset. I cried. He's my uncle,” Rezwan Uddin, 28, said.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene where the silent shooter started blasting at the two unarmed victims in the middle of a blistering August afternoon.

“We are devastated,” said Kobir Chowdhury, president of a different neighborhood mosque. “We need to get to the bottom of this. We need to know if they did this just because of our religion.”

Local residents described the imam as a pious, well-regarded member of the community. Akonjee was leaving for Bangladesh in 10 days to attend his son's wedding, said Ahmed Zakria, a member of the mosque.

The imam was “a very sweet, soft-spoken, humble man,” said Chowdhury, 40. “He's a role model as an imam, as a father, as a community member. He didn't have any disputes with anybody.”

A police source said there were no reports of any problems going back several years at the mosque.

A bullet tore through the brain of Uddin, who was on life-support at Jamaica Hospital before passing away, said his brother Mashuk. The victims, both natives of Bangladesh, were apparently headed to Uddin's house when they were attacked.

“I'm very shocked,” said Mashuk Uddin. “I'm shaking, my whole body. Not any problems with anybody. He just goes to the mosque, prays and goes home.”

Cops and witnesses described the shooter as tall and Hispanic, carrying a large handgun, and wearing a dark blue shirt and shorts.

“I mean, I was scared,” said witness Steven Nauth, 27. “I had my little cousin out here and I told him to run.”

The gunfire erupted near a storage facility and a block away from the elevated A train station, officials said.

“People being shot in the head in broad daylight is unheard of,” said Millat Uddin, a 25-year resident of the neighborhood who is not related to the victim, Thara Uddin. “Killing people brutally, like they're an animal.”

Roughly 300 angry protesters clogged the streets late Saturday. “This community has been rocked by this crime,” said Councilman Eric Ulrich.

Afterward, they packed into a nearby mosque for an emotional news conference attended by Muslim leaders and a City Hall official.

“Please, read my lips. This is a hate crime no matter which way you look at it,” Chowdhury said.

Comments

saleem
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

Inna lillahi wa inna ilahi rajioon

REHAN
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajioon

aharkul
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

??? ??? ? ??? ???? ??????

May ALLAH (SWT) bestow both of them a Jennathul Firdouse for their service to Muslim Humanity.

REcognise
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

Dear Satyameva Jayate...

Islam never teaches us to be like them even if they blame innocent people as terrorist.. Be patience and dont b like them who always blame others to get away with their drawbacks and evil acts... Our religion doesnt teaches us to be arrogant... Arrogant and the oppressors are the fuels for the hell fire. Arrogant people will always complain and the people who blindly belief even after getting lot of proofs that muslims are innocent.. will also be a part with them... which will be eternal if they dont repent to God for their mistakes. God forgives every sin except associating partners with him.

Satyameva jayate
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

Christian terrorists. ... real enemies of Islam...

Mohammed SS
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

??? ??? ? ??? ???? ???????

Brother
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un : Surely We belong to ALLAH and to him is his return.

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News Network
May 29,2020

Bengaluru, May 29: A cost-effective state of the art glove box testing booth for swab collection was inaugurated by Karnataka Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar at Victoria hospital.

Inaugurating the specially designed booth for safer, easier and quicker testing, Medical Education Minister Dr Sudhakar said that the portable booths can be used at border check posts and hot spots.

"The testing method involves the collection of samples from inside a box of aluminium and glass. The suspected corona virus-infected individual, whose samples are being taken, has to walk up to the booth and stand in front of the glass exterior. The healthcare worker inside the kiosk collects the sample and then, follows the sanitisation process before proceeding to take the next sample. The collection process, fully contactless, gets over in five minutes," the Minister said.

Dr Sudhakar also said: "This booth significantly reduces manpower requirement and the need for PPE kits. The main advantages of this procedure are that it needs fewer healthcare workers and strictly adheres to the norms of social distancing. 

The booth is low-cost. Each model costs about Rs 15,000-20,000."
It is also portable and can be mounted on a vehicle and transported to any location.

It can be particularly useful for collecting samples in hot spots and border checkpoints, he added. 

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News Network
June 18,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 18: Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) was reprimanded for withholding information, sought by a candidate regarding an examination held in 2005 for Gazeted Probationary posts, by the State Information Commissioner here on Thursday.

According to official sources, the State Information Commissioner NP Ramesh, while disposing off a petition by the candidate, who had written an examination conducted by the KPSC for the gazeted probationary posts held in 2005, had directed to provide the information sought by the candidate, free of costs within ten days.

The State Information Commissioner in his order had termed the conduct of the KPSC as against the spirit of transparency among the public authorities.

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News Network
March 11,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 11: Heated verbal exchange between Minister K Sudhakar and former Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar in the assembly over disqualification of 17 MLAs last year, continued to disrupt the proceedings on Wednesday, with both opposition and treasury benches pushing for a privilege motion and demanding action.

Chaotic scenes and adjournments marked the House proceedings, with both sides not ready to budge.

As the House met for the day, around 11 am, senior Minister K S Eshwarappa accusing Congress MLA Ramesh Kumar of using "expletive" during a debate last evening, demanded his apology and that he be kept out of the proceedings.

Sudhakar, against whom expletive was allegedly used by Kumar, said, the words used were unpardonable and he should be heard, as he has given notice.

Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah then demanded that he be allowed to speak first as he had given notice on Tuesday itself.

The Congress leader on his part has accused Sudhakar of breaching Kumar's privilege by allegedly making derogatory remarks against him.

Intervening, Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri said he has received breach of privilege notice from both sides and would allow it only after the question hour as per rules.

Though Congress expressed its agreement with the Speaker about letting them raise the matter after question hour, BJP legislators including Ministers said, Ramesh Kumar should be suspended.

Pointing out that Kumar was not inside the House, some ruling party MLAs even called him "escapist" and demanded action against him.

Strongly objecting to it, Siddaramaiah questioned the ruling party's intentions in running the house smoothly.

As this was followed by heated arguments between both sides, the Speaker adjourned the House for 15 minutes.

When the house met after much delay at 12:55 pm, the chaos continued.

As the Speaker allowed Minister Jagadish Shettar to speak, who was requesting permission to raise a point, Siddaramaiah objected to it and said he had given notice first.

He said, "this is not correct, it looks like government doesn't want the House to function, they don't want discussion on the budget, they are purposely blocking the proceedings of the House".

However, some BJP MLAs reacted to this by shouting slogans "shame shame Ramesh Kumar".

As his repeated attempts to conduct the proceedings failed, the Speaker adjourned the House for lunch.

Sudhakar, while speaking during a special discussion on the Constitution on Tuesday evening had made critical remarks against the decision of Kumar, as speaker, to disqualify 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs under the anti-defection law, including him.

Angered by this Kumar, who opposed discussion on the subject, amid heated argument between BJP and Congress members allegedly uttered the expletive, which aggravated the situation and had resulted in pandemonium in the House last evening.

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