'The State Bank of India (SBI) resorted to misinformation, and in some cases falsehood, in its responses to Right to Information (RTI) inquiries on the controversial electoral bonds scheme, even as it regularly funnelled information on the scheme to the Finance Ministry, documents reviewed by HuffPost India establish.
'An alleged newspaper clipping from June 8, 1987, has been shared by several social media users. The purported report by ‘The Telegraph’ says that Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was accused of rape by a local girl when he was 19 years of age and a student at IIT Kharagpur. One @AshokGo46043024 has shared the alleged newspaper clipping on Twitter... A keyword search of the alleged news does not redirect to any reports that claim Kejriwal was accused of rape in 1987. In fact, the clipping itself gives clues that it is not genuine and has been manufactured...
'Since the last two days, reports have emerged that according to an Enforcement Directorate report, Popular Front of India (PFI) mobilised Rs 120 crores during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). According to an Economic Times report, the agency was investigating the Kerala-based political outfit under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) since 2018. ED has reportedly found that at least Rs 1.04 crore was deposited in several bank accounts across the country linked to the organisation between December 4 last year and January 6, 2020.
'On January 27, BJP Delhi MP Gautam Gambhir tweeted a video suggesting that it shows a dilapidated school in the capital. “They say fight the election on education, I say fight the election on truth!” he wrote. Delhi legislative assembly elections are set to be held on February 8 and Gambhir’s tweet attempted to portray the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in poor light... At the start of the viral video, a notice is visible on the building’s gate however the camera does not focus on the notice.
'The National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe into the 2018 Koregaon-Bhima violence today, a day after the Maharashtra government held a review meeting with senior Pune police officers to take a call on pursuing the matter. The centre's decision has given rise to yet another face-off with the Uddhav Thackeray government, which was seen to be preparing to withdraw all cases against intellectuals and social activists accused of inciting the clashes.
'A 36-year-old engineer and MBA-holder, Aditya Rao, surrendered on Thursday to the Bengaluru police stating he had placed the bag of explosive materials at the Mangaluru International Airport. Aditya Rao’s surrender came in the wake of massive speculation, both by political parties, leaders and certain sections of the media that “jihadi forces” were trying to “spread communal unrest” in the country. Aditya’s arrest has brought to the limelight Islamophobic statements made by members of the ruling BJP, pro-Hindu groups and by a certain section of the media.
'A letter found on Delhi-based activist Rona Wilson documenting an alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to be a “spoof” that was obtained from suspicious sources, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar is believed to have told the Pune police during a review of the chargesheet filed in the “urban naxal” cases. The particular e-mail exchange between Maoists and the alleged “urban naxals” had only a single time stamp and not two — from both the receiver and the sender — thereby raising doubts over its authenticity...'
'“Those people from three neighbouring countries who belong to minority communities and have fled to India to escape persecution, have been provided a measure of help and relief by the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019; they have been shown some leniency. These concessions are not necessarily the outcome of Modi’s thinking. It is not that the idea materialised in Modi’s mind overnight and Modi made it happen. These concessions conform to the very spirit of Gandhi’s thought.
'Cracking down on protesters in an unusual manner, the Uttar Pradesh police officials reportedly snatched the blankets, utensils and food items of residents demonstrating against the amended Citizenship Act near the Clock Tower in Lucknow's old quarters. Miffed by the action, several took to Twitter to post videos and photos of the incident on Saturday. The posts soon started circulating on social media with '#KAMBALCHOR_UPPOLICE' becoming one of the top trends on Twitter...'
'Amidst the ongoing controversy over the collection of Aadhaar numbers during the process of updating the National Population Register (NPR), the Union home ministry on Thursday insisted the government would not force people to submit their Aadhaar credentials to official enumerators. However, official documents show that the ministry wanted mandatory collection of Aadhaar numbers to be an essential part of the NPR exercise.
