Talking about insecurity among minorities a ‘political propaganda’: Naidu

Mangaluru, Jun 2: Even as the mosques in Karnataka recieved green signal from state government to reopen for congregational prayers from June 8, a senior Islamic scholar in coastal Karnataka has encouraged Muslims to prefer to offer prayers at homes during covid times. 

Twaqa Ahmed Al-Azhari, the Qadhi of Mangaluru, has welcomed the state government's decision to allow Muslims to offer congregational prayers including Jum'a prayers with certain precautions and conditions.

"Government has upheld our religions sentiments. All the mosques where congregational prayers will be held from June 8 should strictly follow all the guidelines issued by the government," he said. 

He also suggested that if any mosque is not in a position to follow all the guidelines issued by the government then it should refrain from holding congregational prayers. "Muslims can continue offer Fard and Jumá prayers at homes as the cornavirus pandemic is still spreading in the region and across the world," he said.

Jehanabad, Jan 27: The police here carried out a raid at the ancestral house of anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam, who has been slapped with a sedition case in the national capital for alleged inflammatory speeches he gave at Shaheen Bagh and the Jamia Milia Islamia, a senior official said on Monday.

According to Superintendent of Police, Jehanabad, Manish Kumar, Imams house in Kako police station area was raided late on Sunday night following "help sought by central agencies" which are investigating the cases lodged against the JNU research scholar.

Imam was not found at his house but two of his relatives and their driver were detained for interrogation and let off thereafter, the SP said.

A graduate in computer science from IIT-Mumbai, Sharjeel Imam had shifted to Delhi for pursuing research at the Centre for Historical Studies, JNU.

He was slapped with a sedition case after his alleged speeches went viral on the social media wherein he was heard speaking about Assam's possible secession from the country in the wake of the Citienship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

Earlier, he had been booked on similar charges at a police station in Aligarh for a speech he delivered on the AMU campus.

Besides, a case under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA has been registered against him at Assam.

Imams late father Akbar Imam was a local JD(U) leader who had unsuccessfully contested an assembly election in his lifetime.

Reacting to the developments, his distraught mother Afshan Rahim told the media, "My son is innocent. He is a bright young man and not a thief or a pickpocket. I swear in the name of God that I do not know about his whereabouts. But I can guarantee that upon learning about the cases, he will appear before the investigating agencies and fully cooperate in the probe."

She said that it has been a long time since she met her son though she had a telephonic conversation with him a few weeks ago.

"He was obviously disturbed by the CAA and fears of the National Register of Citiznes (NRC) about being implemented across the country which, he said, would affect not just Muslims but all poor people," she said.

In fact, after 15 days of Shaheen Bagh protest, he had asked the agitators there to withdraw and watch the situation for a month, and then decide on the further course of action, she said. "But they refused to relent. He was calling for a 'chakkajam' (road blockade). He is just a kid and not capable of instigating people for secession," she added.

A pregnant elephant in Kerala ate a pineapple, which was filled with country-made bombs or dynamites. It led to a painful death as the elephant was pregnant and died standing in the Velliyar River in Palakkad in Kerala. People are venting out their anger and concerns all over social media about the gruesome incident.

Yesterday, it was reported that the pregnant elephant was killed after locals allegedly fed her a pineapple stuffed with crackers.

However, when International Business Times, India, reached out to Dr Ab Qayoom, who is an Indian Forest Service Officer, for his comments about what actually must have happened, we got to know that no one have fed the pineapple to the elephant.

Snares used for keeping animals away

Dr Qayoom stated that pineapples filled with firecrackers are used as a snare for catching wild boars. He said, "No one would have fed the pineapple to the elephant. The animal must have found it lying somewhere and must have consumed it herself not knowing what lies ahead for her."

He also stated a second possibility. He said, "Some people actually do such insane things as they consider wild animals as a threat to their property and life. Such incidents do happen at places where wild animals create problems for human beings."

Snares are often found around farms, coffee plantations

He added that wild boars often spoil crops and people use snares as a way to protect their farms and crops. This year, it was reported that the government would soon permit farmers with licensed firearms to shoot wild boars that wander into their lands. The problem is that people do not limit their snares to only wild boars and there have been several incidents when tigers, leopards and other animals have fallen prey to these haphazardly placed snares around farms, coffee farms and wildlife corridors.

Elephant kept standing in water before dying

The pregnant wild elephant originally belonged to Silent Valley National Park (SVNP), Palakkad. As the elephant died, she remained calm despite being in excruciating pain. The elephant kept standing and died at Velliyar River, Malappuram, with its trunk in the water.

The elephant was 15-years-old and was probably getting some relief as it stood in the water after her tongue and mouth exploded. Mohan Krishnan, Section Forest Officer, Nilambur, shared the sad incident on his Facebook page where he had acted as the Rapid Response Team official to rescue the elephant, which was in distress.

When a postmortem examination was carried out, it was learnt that the reason for the elephant's death was due to asphyxia where water had got into her lungs and trachea. Dr David Abraham, Assistant Forest Veterinary Officer, Thrissur, carried out the postmortem.

Dr David said, "I have so far done more than 250 postmortems of elephants alone in my more than two decades career. But this was the first time I was so moved as I could hold the foetus of the baby in my hands. Initially, none of us was aware that the elephant was pregnant. After seeing her heart, I spotted the amniotic fluid and realized that she was pregnant."

Claim reviewed :

Fact checking Palakkad elephant death

Claimed By :

Twitter, Facebook and Youtube posts.

Fact Check :

False

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