Police have registered an FIR against six people under blasphemy law on the complaint of Mahinder Paal Singh, a resident of Multan district of Punjab.
The move came days after the Supreme Court vacated the stay imposed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the trial in three sacrilege cases.
Recent attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh have ignited political debate in West Bengal, with the ruling TMC and opposition BJP utilizing the issue to advance their respective agendas. While the TMC emphasizes communal harmony and calls for international intervention, the BJP criticizes the TMC's inaction and links the situation to its push for the Citizenship Amendment Act. The issue has also brought other opposition parties into the fray, with all sides highlighting the interconnectedness of the region's socio-political fabric.
The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ministry in Maharashtra was expanded on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42. The BJP secured 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. Governor P C Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at the ceremony held in Nagpur. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present.
The Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Tripura's capital Agartala on Tuesday announced the suspension of all visa and consular services with immediate effect until further notice because of 'security reasons', a day after the mission's premises was breached by a group of people protesting against the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das in Dhaka.
During a function organised by the Indian Consulate in Canada recently, members of the United Front against Human Rights Violations protested against the 'rights violations of the Sikh community' by desecrating the Indian tricolour, while the local police chose to remain mute spectators to the incident.Indian Consul-General Preeti Saran has lodged an official 'demarche' to the Canadian government about inaction on the part of the Peel police.
The chief minister said after consultation, the government will take its decision with respect to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, the official custodian of world-renowned Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati.
Canadian lawmakers like Conservative Senator Con Di Nino are among those "disturbed greatly" by the incident.
Terming the incident of desecration of the Indian flag by a group of protestors on February 1 as 'absolutely shameful', Member of Canadian Parliament Ujjal Dosanjh stated, "No matter what your political philosophy is, no matter what your political views are, you do not insult the feelings of a billion people."During an event to celebrate Republic Day in suburban Brampton, a group of protestors had blocked the entrance and spread the Indian tricolour on the ground.
A Bangladeshi court on Tuesday denied bail to prominent Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, arrested on alleged 'sedition' charges, and sent him to prison, amid protests by community members in the capital Dhaka and the port city of Chattogram.
United States President Barack Obama in a letter to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, regretted and apologised over the desecration of the Holy Koran at the Bagram Airbase.
If found guilty of the charge, the couple could face a death sentence.
At least 30 suspects have been detained in Bangladesh's Chattogram city for their alleged involvement in the killing of a lawyer and attacking security personnel following the arrest of a prominent Hindu community leader. The violence erupted after Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachari, spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was denied bail and sent to jail in a sedition case. The lawyer, Assistant public prosecutor Saiful Islam, was killed during clashes between security personnel and Das' followers. The interim government has condemned the violence, urging people to remain calm and has ordered an investigation into the killing and appropriate legal measures.
When the House met again, BSP members trooped into the well demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the matter.
The situation is well under control and no untoward incident has been reported from any part of the district.
An independent MP on Tuesday announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh to anyone providing credible information to police about the vandals who desecrated the Amar Jawan Memorial in Mumbai.
District Magistrate Brajesh Mehrotra said that some unidentified criminals had damaged the idols of Parvati and Shivalinga.
One idol was missing, while two other idols at the Panchmukhi Mahadev temple in Lokaha area of Madhubani district were damaged.
According to eyewitnesses, the police arrived in the village before the incident took place, but the mob seized the victim from the SHO's custody and tied him to a tree, after which he was lynched to death.
A few incidents of protests were reported in Jammu city even as mobile Internet services remained suspended and policemen deployed in strength to thwart any flare up.
Reacting to those criticising her for her comments made at the event in the morning, Irani said, "As far as those who jump the gun regarding women visiting friend's place with a sanitary napkin dipped in menstrual blood I am yet to find a person who takes a blood soaked napkin to offer to any one let alone a friend.
A fresh incident of alleged sacrilege was on Wednesday reported in the Moga district of Punjab, which was recently rocked by a series of protests over such cases.
Hindu community leaders in Bangladesh are advocating the formation of a dedicated political party, reflecting a call for political representation to protect their rights and ensure their safety. Hindu leaders from the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCOP) and other groups are now discussing the possibility of establishing a separate political party or demanding reserved parliamentary seats.
The large Sikh community in the west Midlands town of Coventry is outraged after a memorial in honour of Sikh soldiers was desecrated by miscreants who tied a pig's head to the structure. The war memorial was put up near a central roundabout by the community in 2005 to honour the 83,000 Sikh soldiers who fought in the British army during the two World Wars.
Three pistol-waving bearded men stormed a 60-year-old temple in Karachi and desecrated the idol of a Hindu deity, leading to fear among the minority community in Pakistan's largest city, a media report said on Tuesday.
The controversy has sparked reactions across states. The famous Mankameshwar temple in Uttar Pradesh has now banned offerings of 'prasad' bought by devotees from outside and said they can offer homemade 'prasad' or fruits.
The Sikh community is up in arms against what they termed as 'desecration' of their holy book -- Guru Granth Sahib -- in Katia Patti town of Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit district, about 350 km from Lucknow.
Several police personnel were injured in the stone pelting, an official said, adding Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai was briefed on the situation by the chief secretary and the DGP.
The two brothers, identified as Rupinder Singh and Jaswinder Singh, of Panjgrain village of Faridkot, were arrested in connection with the first incident of sacrilege in the state in Bargari village in Faridkot
Determined not to be arm-twisted into delaying the execution, he decided to hold a late night hearing at his residence. In the pitch blackness of the night, the original verdict was upheld. The next morning, on 9 October 1992, General Vaidya's assassins were hanged until death.
'Bangladesh has become unstable and this instability will impact India.'
Union Minister and Akali leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday blamed a "foreign hand" behind the turmoil in Punjab over the recent incidents of desecration of a Sikh holy book and said the government will expose such elements.
India abstained in the United Nations General Assembly on a draft resolution introduced by Pakistan and co-sponsored by China on Islamophobia, asserting that the prevalence of 'religiophobia' against Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and other faiths facing violence and discrimination must also be acknowledged rather than singling out just one religion.
The Metropolitan police said more than 1,300 officers were on duty on Saturday as tens of thousands of people demonstrated against the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Bareta, who was one of the accused in the incidents related to the desecration of a religious text in Faridkot in 2015, was declared a proclaimed offender.
In an operation that started on Saturday, Israel's Security Forces neutralised 10 terrorists and regained control of the Sderot Police Station that was overrun by Hamas terrorists on Saturday, The Times of Israel reported.
Scores of churches and homes belonging to Christians in Jaranwala tehsil of Faisalabad district, some 130 km from the provincial capital, were burnt down on Wednesday by a mob enraged over reports that two Christians had desecrated the Quran.
The accused person has been absconding and search is underway to trace him, police said.
A group of eminent Indian-Americans has condemned the brazen hateful comments and a hostile environment against Hindus in Canada and asked Ottawa not to mix freedom of expression with freedom for terror and endorse hate crimes by being silent on the issue.
In a possible hate crime, unidentified persons have destroyed a handcrafted statue of Mahatma Gandhi with a sledgehammer at a Hindu temple here after vandalising it earlier this month, media reports said on Friday.
