“We were handcuffed and shackled, legs bound in chains, hands restrained tightly. My fellow travellers and I were transported to a detention centre where we spent the next 22 days under strict surveillance,” says Pilibhit’s Gurpreet Singh, 24
The regime change in India’s neighbour Bangladesh which many geopolitical analysts have attributed to the US’ deep state’s alleged work in the shadows grazed US President Donald Trump during his joint press briefing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington DC.
A reporter sought the views of President Trump on whether the previous Democratic government under former President Joe Biden carried out a regime change in Bangladesh, and installed Muhammad Yunus as a chief adviser.
President Trump denied the US deep state played any role in the developments in Bangladesh, whose ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina took shelter in India.
“There was no role for our deep state. This is something that the Prime Minister has been working on for a long time, for hundreds of years, frankly I have been reading about it. I will leave Bangladesh to the Prime Minister,” President Trump said.
While the Republican did not directly address the question, speculation is that the response indicated the new Trump administration may not get itself involved in Bangladesh, where alleged radical Islamist elements have been targeting religious minorities including Hindus.
Ties between India and Bangladesh have nosedived after Ms Hasina fled Dhaka in August in the face of a massive anti-government protest.
The interim government headed by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who returned from the US to work as Bangladesh’s caretaker, continues to draw sharp criticism over not doing enough to stop attacks on minorities by radical Islamists.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday said PM Modi shared concerns over the recent developments in Bangladesh with President Trump.
“This was a subject that was discussed between the two leaders. And the Prime Minister shared his views and, indeed, his concerns with regard to recent developments in Bangladesh and how India sees the situation,” the Foreign Secretary said after the two leaders’ joint press briefing.
“We hope that the situation in Bangladesh will also move forward in a direction where we can pursue relations in a constructive and stable way with them. But there are concerns about that situation. And the Prime Minister shared those views with President Trump,” he said in response to a reporter’s question.
PM Modi is in the US for two days. He also met with billionaire businessman Elon Musk.
Mumbai and Guwahati police went looking for Ranveer Allahbadia, aka ‘the BeerBiceps guy‘, on Friday – the podcaster who faces charges of obscenity and offending public morality, and is under fire for crass comments while appearing on an episode of ‘India’s Got Latent‘, a stand-up comedy show.
But he was not to be found at his Mumbai residence; the apartment was locked.
A police officer told news agency PTI that Mumbai law enforcement had initiated an inquiry and went to the apartment, in the city’s Versova neighbourhood, to question him.
On Thursday, Allahbadia had been asked to report to the police station in Mumbai’s Khar to record his statement. However, he later requested that this be done at his home.
That request was denied. And, after he failed to appear, the cops issued a second summons and then landed up at his home, in which trip they were joined by colleagues from Guwahati.
The cops from Assam wanted to question Allahbadia in a case filed by a city resident, who had accused the podcaster of promoting obscene content on an online platform available to all.
Faced with the locked door, both police teams returned to the Khar Police Station.
However, while Allahbadia was not available for questioning, his legal representative – Abhinav Chandrachud, the son of former Chief Justice DY Chandrachud – approached the Supreme Court to seek relief from the many cases; Allahbadia has asked for these to be clubbed.
READ | Ranveer Allahbadia Goes To Supreme Court Over Multiple FIRs
An early hearing was requested, but Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna said ‘no’, pointing out a date had already been assigned. He also sought anticipatory bail – to ward off the Guwahati Police.
The Guwahati case was filed on Monday and also names Samay Raina, the stand-up comic who hosts the ‘India’s Got Latent’ show. Raina has also been summoned by Mumbai Police and Maharashtra’s Cyber Department, which is conducting an independent investigation. He had been told to appear within five days, but has asked for more time, stating he is currently in the United States.
READ | Comedian Samay Raina Summoned Again, But Says He’s In US
So far Mumbai Police (i.e., the cops from Khar), acting on a complaint from a BJP functionary, have recorded the statements of seven individuals; these include Apoorva Makhija, a YouTube personality who was on the show, and Ashish Chanchalani, another social media influencer.
However, no case has been filed so far.
The statement of one Pratham Sagar, the show’s video editor, will also be recorded.
Meanwhile, the Cyber Department has summoned at least 50 people so far. This includes film personality Raghu Ram, who was one of the judges on the episode in question.
After the row broke, Allahbadia offered an apology and blamed a lapse in judgement.
“My comment wasn’t just inappropriate… it was not even funny. Comedy is not my forte, I am just here to say sorry,” he said in a video message. The podcaster said this was not how he wished to use his platform. “I am not going to give any context or justification or reasoning behind whatever happened. I am just here for an apology. I personally had a lapse in judgement. It wasn’t cool on my part,” he said.
The apology failed to stem the tide of criticism, which even included sharp comments from MPs.
READ | Ranveer Allahbadia Faces Parliament Summons Over Crass Remarks
The parliamentary panel on Information and Communications Technology has asked the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to submit a detailed note on the matter by February 17.
READ | Women’s Body Summons Ranveer Allahbadia Over Crass Remark
Allahbadia and others have also been summoned by the National Commission for Women, which declared his remark violate the dignity and respect owed to every individual.
With input from agencies
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