New Delhi, Dec 20: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday revealed that New Delhi has taken “seriously” the latest threat issued by the US-based Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun against India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra and raised it accordingly with the authorities in Washington.

In a recent video, Pannun threatened that Kwatra is on the radar of pro-Khalistani Sikhs in America for allegedly coordinating with Russian authorities, who in turn were providing inputs to Indian intelligence agencies on the Khalistani network in the United States.

“As and when such threats are issued, we take them very seriously and raise them with the US government. In this particular case also, we have raised it with the US government and it is our expectation that the United States government will take our security concerns seriously and act on it,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Friday.

A former Foreign Secretary, Kwatra took charge as India’s Ambassador to the United States in August this year, succeeding Taranjit Singh Sandhu.

His appointment came at a time when Khalistani separatists continue to target Hindu community in the country and also the Indian missions.

Khalistanis have been found to be involved in incidents of defacement of temples, including in California and New York, and also in acts of arson and vandalism at the Indian embassy in San Francisco.

Several lawmakers, including Shri Thanedar – a Democrat elected to the House of Representatives from Michigan state – have raised alarm over the “substantial increase” in attacks on Hindus and their places of worship in the United States.

The lawmaker had recently expressed frustration with the investigating agency for their failure to find the culprits behind the incidents at the temples and the consulate.

“It appears to be a very coordinated effort to attack these places of worship which has created a lot of fear in the community. And often what we have seen is that the law enforcement, the local law enforcement enters into these investigations and rarely any suspects have been identified, and that investigation goes nowhere.

“What that does is that it leaves the community feeling like nobody cares about them. Nobody reports back to them on what’s going on. And that means that the community continues to live in fear, the computing community continues to live in an adverse situation with essentially no help from law enforcement,” he said.

The lawmaker went on to state that he and his colleagues are asking the US Department of Justice for “coordinated efforts between the local law enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Department of Justice, and higher priority needs to be assigned to such hate crimes against this peaceful community”.

Kolkata, Dec 20: The Calcutta High Court on Friday rejected the state government’s objections on the venue for the sit-in protest by the West Bengal Joint Platform of Doctors, an association of senior doctors, against the default bail granted to two accused of tampering with the evidence in the case of the ghastly rape and murder of a woman junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital within the hospital premises in August.

The single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh on Thursday already gave permission to the doctors’ body to hold the sit-in-demonstration at Doreena Crossing in central Kolkata.

At the same time, the bench gave the opportunity to the administration to furnish its views by Friday on the possible restrictions on the programme.

However, on Friday, the counsel for the state government objected to the venue of the demonstration on grounds of traffic congestion on occasions of Christmas and New Year’s Eve and suggested an alternative location in the area for the event.

However, Justice Ghosh refused to accept the argument and said that when he had already given permission on Thursday for the demonstration to be conducted at Doreena Crossing, there was no reason for the administration to raise objections on the venue.

He advised the state administration to raise a seven-foot tall guardrail around the protest venue and ensure the protesters stayed within the enclosure during the protest period. He also said that under no circumstance, the protest programme can be extended beyond December 26.

He also ruled that the protesters should not make any objectionable comment from the protest venue or do anything that might hamper the festive mood of the city in this part of the year.

Justice Ghosh also ruled that under no circumstance the number of protesters assembling at the venue should exceed 250.

Last week, a special court in Kolkata granted default bail to the former and controversial principal of R.G. Kar Sandip Ghosh and the former SHO of Tala Police Station Abhijit Mondal as the CBI failed to file the supplementary charge sheet against the two within 90 days from the day of their arrests. Both were accused of misleading the investigation and tampering with evidence while the initial investigation was being carried out by Kolkata Police. Following the development, the representatives of the medical fraternity in the state as well as the victim’s parents accused the CBI of gross incompetence

Hyderabad, Dec 20: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Friday termed the First Information Report (FIR) registered against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi as a “diversion tactic “of the BJP.

The Chief Minister alleged that BJP registered an FIR against the Congress leader for defending the legacy of Babasaheb B. R. Ambedkar.

“This FIR is a diversion tactic in response to Rahul ji protesting against the Union Home Minister, for his highly objectionable words about our beloved and revered icon, Dr Ambedkar,” the Chief Minister said in a post on ‘X’.

“With 26 FIRs already against him, Rahul ji will fight against the divisive agenda of BJP tirelessly. Sadly, the Delhi Police has not acted against BJP leaders who physically attacked our women MPs,” he added.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) President Y. S. Sharmila has also alleged that BJP is trying hard to divert public attention from Amit Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar.

“The incidents that took place in Parliament on Thursday are proof of this. The BJP and the RSS have always been against Ambedkar. That is why they want to erase the memories of Ambedkar,” the Congress leader said.

Sharmila said that they were demanding the resignation of Amit Shah from the Union Cabinet and an apology from him for his remarks but BJP started a new drama.

In a post on ‘X’, she alleged that BJP MPs blocked and pushed Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Priyanka Gandhi when they were going into the Parliament. She said that Kharge fell down in this scuffle.

“It is indeed atrocious that BJP MPs, like rowdies, are holding sticks and preventing Congress MPs from entering the House. They are the ones who are blaming Rahul Gandhi. Their behaviour is a blot on democracy,” Sharmila said.

The APCC President said that the Centre’s notices to ‘X’ to delete the video of Amit Shah’s comments on Ambedkar make it clear that they have made a mistake.

Alleging that the BJP’s real thoughts on Ambedkar have come out in the form of Amit Shah’s comments, Sharmila said that BJP is constantly insulting Ambedkar, a great man who drafted the Constitution of the country and changed the lives of crores of Dalits and oppressed people. The Congress party will continue to fight against the saffron mob to protect the Constitution written by Ambedkar, she added.