A day after Maulana Mohammed Umar Gautam was sent to seven-day remand for running an ISI-funded conversion racket, Islamists took to Twitter to defend the accused on Thursday. The primary target of the cleric was poor differently-abled children and women.
UP-based ‘journalist’ Ali Sohrab, infamous for spreading fake news, wrote, “Indian media running propaganda against Maulana Umar Gautam to make him a villain. They are demonising him and using provocative language so that he doesn’t get any kind of support. #StandWithUmarGautam”
Screengrab of the tweet
Islamist party, named after tyrant Tipu Sultan, alleged, “Whenever elections are announced in the country, the target is only and only Muslim. #StandWithUmarGautam.”
Screengrab of the tweet
Another Muslim woman claimed that Umar Gautam was exercising his power under Article 25 (Right to Religion) of the Indian Constitution. Sayed wrote, “Despite Article 25 guaranteeing the freedom to propagate religion, Muslims get arrested for doing the same. India’s secular fabric has been torn to pieces where Hindutva goons get away with riots, but Muslims don’t even have the protection of the Constitution. #StandWithUmarGautam”
Screengrab of the Twitter post
One Nayef Abdur Rahman gave a clean chit to Maulana Umar Gautam and his aide Mufti Jehnagir He claimed that there is ‘not an iota of truth’ in the accusations of the duo converting people through coercion and enticement..
Screengrab of the tweet
While justifying forced conversions, a radical Islamist emphasised, “Allah has clearly mentioned in the Quran to call each other towards Haqq. Hidayat is in Allah’s hands only but as a Muslim it is our duty to learn Deen (religion) and spread its message. That’s what Maulana Umar Gautam was doing. And we stand with him unconditionally. #StandWithUmarGautam.”
Screengrab of the tweet
On Thursday, Islamists had planned to execute a Twitter storm at 9:30 pm. Hoping for all Muslims to join the trend, one Zubair Memon wrote, “Ishallah full Ummah of India #StandWithUmarGautam. Be ready tonight at 9:30 pm.”
Screengrab of the tweet.
On June 21, the Uttar Pradesh ATS has arrested two men identified as Umar Gautam and Mufti Qazi Jehangir involved in illegal religious conversions. According to police, women, and physically challenged children were their targets. The duo was arrested from the Jamia Nagar area in Delhi. Prashant Kumar, Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law and Order), said that the arrested were running a conversion racket that was being funded by Pakistan’s spy agency ISI. He added, “The accused were using enticement, provocation and deceit to convert people apart from creating distrust and promoting enmity among different communities.”
Umar Gautam who is a convert himself revealed that they converted around 250-300 people every year. During the interrogation, Umar also informed that they targeted people from the economically weaker section of the society including women, children, and the disabled. They were also getting the women married so that they do not return to their original faith. Gautam confessed to having converted around 1,500 children at school for the deaf and mute in Noida after the school management was enticed with promises of employment and money.
Moreover, the converted children were being sent to a Southern state. The police approached the parents of such children. Gautam and his aide were booked under Sections 420, 120 B, 153A, 153B, 295, and 511 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3/5 the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Ordinance-2020. They have been sent to 7-day remand on Wednesday (June 23).
A phenomenon has been observed in recent times. Sexual perversion is highlighted and condemned based on the political ideology of the perverts in question. A few days ago, a Clubhouse discussion had gone viral where liberal participants were heard expressing their desire to have ‘hate sex’ with Sanghis.
The discussion was condemned by multiple individuals across the board but most prominent ‘feminist’ activists refused to voice their condemnation of the same because the offenders here belonged to the same ideological camp. Some event attempted to justify the ‘hate sex’ conversation saying that the man who spoke in an extremely derogatory manner was gay.
Young women have now come forward to condemn such hypocrisy.
Why is it only women of a certain ideology who are given protection and support?
The colonial hatred against Hindus in the mindset of the modern people is rooted in 1000 years of violence against us
— Kamya (Wandering Kamya) (@iamkamyabuch) June 25, 2021
“I am given the hope that we as a society are breaking barriers, curbing social evils, busting taboos. I am given the hope that times are changing, I am given the reassurance that women have begun to stand with each other, fight for each other. I am told that there is a movement which considers all women as equals,” the women in the video say.
They add, “But then I realise, this movement is not all women. It chooses women based on ideology. It is not for women who stand for their country. It is not for women who practice their faith with sincerity. And it is not for women who take pride in their culture.”
The young women state further, “We are called Bhakts, cow piss drinkers, jingoists. Hate against us is mainstreamed and normalised to the extent that violence against us is justified by the very feminists of the left. What can be sadder than the fact that those who shout from the rooftops against sexual abuse laughed at the obnoxious call to rape women of a certain ideology whom they brand as a Sanghi?”
“Woke and self-proclaimed feminist males have further added despicable details for hate-sex against the ‘Sanghi’ women. This is a warped world where influencers become enablers of rape and hate,” they add.
“What is this ugliness? Why is it being allowed to breed? Can the civil society please step up to not legitimise this plan to trap and rape women?” They ask.
Women speak up against ‘hate sex’ discussion
Kamya, one of the women who feature in the video, says, “As a British Indian, I’ve grown up having a deep reverence for my Hindu roots and ancient culture. The idea of only standing for women when they belong to the left is a gross injustice in society, and just the tip of the iceberg in terms of ignored and denied hate crimes against the indigenous, which is rooted in a mentality of 1000 years of colonial atrocities.”
“This is not just about a joke, this is about a deep rooted hatred towards Hindus, who are labelled as ‘Sanghis’ for standing up for their culture, a modern form of shaming that is rooted in the persecution of all indigenous cultures, the burning of the witches and the Divine Feminine principle. I hope that we can build a society where all women of all backgrounds are heard and seen, with honesty and compassion,” she added.
Shruti Gera, another women who featured in the video, says, “Through the OpIndia article, I found out about this shameful incident and felt vulnerable as a right-wing woman. In the current scenario when we know how women were raped and assaulted for simply being BJP supporters in West Bengal and some like Nikita Tomar murdered in broad daylight for not converting; this audio clip was very concerning especially since it had known influencers as a part of this criminal conversation and most so called liberal leftists just laughed it off. Why would it not outrage me?”
Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri said in the context of the ‘hate sex’ conversation that a lot of the times, he comes across individuals who subscribe to the liberal and Woke ideology and spread hatred against those who do not subscribe to their ideology. He said that the words spoken in the Clubhouse discussion under question were communal and bigoted.
“What happens is that these Clubhouse rooms attract 10 thousand, 8 thousand, 15 thousand people and a lot of young people sit there. Very very young people, impressionable age and these people get influenced and they think this is the right way to talk publicly. If this is what all these social media influencers and celebrities are going to talk like this, then we are definitely cultivating and nurturing violence and hate against women, men and people who do not agree with you. In my view, this is a crime against equality, crime against humanity,” he said.
A 16-year-old Muslim girl named Fazilat Khatoon went missing from her house in Balha Ghat under Bisfi police station area in Madhubani district, Bihar, a week ago. The girl’s mother Azmati Khatoon, had filed a case against a Hindu Dalit youth, Mantosh Saini and 2 of his friends for her alleged kidnapping.
Image via Twitter user @bhagwalovetrap
Now the girl has released a video statement where she admits to running away on her free will and urges authorities not to take any action against Mantosh Saini and his family.
In the video shared by Twitter user Mihir Jha, the 16-year-old girl can be heard saying, “I ran away with Mantosh Saini on my and my parents will. I was not coerced nor was I abducted by Mantosh. My parents, in fact, tried to convince me all this while to run away and marry Mantosh. They told me that he was wealthy and would keep me happy. And now that I am living with him, they want to ruin our life”.
Story from Madhubani: Fazilat Khatoon, a Muslim girl ran away from her House with a Dalit Mantosh Sahni – She’s released her statement. Her family has filed case against the boy. Dear @NitishKumar, ensure she & her Husband don’t end up like the Bangalore Couple! pic.twitter.com/2k8YYw8Nsn
She added that under influence of other people, her mother has now filed a case against Mantosh Saini. “She wants to ruin Mantosh’s family and separate me from him”, deplored the 16-year-old Fazilat.
Divulging further details of how her parents tortured and coerced her to marry Mantosh, the 16-year old Fazilat Khatoon says in her video statement that this was not the first time she ran away from the house. Prior to this, when she fled, Mantosh brought her back home. Her parents were infuriated to see her back. Her mother started torturing and beating her up, revealed Fazilat.
She added that from the time she returned home, her parents began to exert pressure on her to go back to Mantosh. Fed up with the harsh treatment meted out at her by her parents, Fazilat asked Manitosh to take her away. “At first, Mantosh refused, but due to my constant persuasion, Mantosh finally agreed to take me away”, said the Muslim girl urging authorities not to take any sort of action against Mantosh and his family.
“I have come to live with Mantosh at the behest of my parents and uncles and aunts. Now I refuse to go back. If at all they force me, they will have to take my dead body with them”, lamented the Muslim girl.
Notably, the girl’s family has accused a total of 3 boys, including Mantosh Sahni, of having abducted their daughter, Fazilat Khatoon. After the news spread, members of Majlis Madhubani Bisfi met with the family of the victim and assured them justice. A local AIMIM leader also met Fazilat’s family and assured them that strict action would be taken against the Dalit boy, his friends and his family. In fact, AIMIM also held a press conference in this regard.
However, now after the Fazilat’s statement, it becomes absolutely clear that there was no coercion from the boy’s side. The girl went with Mantosh on her own free will, that too after she was compelled by her parents.
Former NSA consultant and data privacy advocate Edward Snowden on Wednesday warned that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange “could be next” after antivirus mogul John McAfee apparently committed suicide following news that he was being extradited to the United States on criminal tax evasion charges.
In a tweet, Snowden said, “Europe should not extradite those accused of non-violent crimes to a court system so unfair—and prison system so cruel—that native-born defendant would rather die than become subject to it. Julian Assange could be next. Until the system is reformed, a moratorium should remain.”
Europe should not extradite those accused of non-violent crimes to a court system so unfair—and prison system so cruel—that native-born defendants would rather die than become subject to it. Julian Assange could be next.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is lodged in a UK jail since April 2019. A Britain court had temporarily blocked his extradition to the US in January 2021 on 18 charges, most through the Espionage Act, of obtaining and sharing classified information. The court also cited Assange’s mental health problems to declare he would be at risk of suicide.
Despite the court hearing, Assange continues to languish in Britain’s toughest hail, HMP Belmarsh. He was denied bail ahead of an appeal hearing because he was deemed as a flight risk. Assange is facing allegations of plotting to hack computers and conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defence information.
Antivirus software mogul John McAfee found dead under mysterious circumstances in his jail cell in Spain
John McAfee, the antivirus software pioneer, died suspiciously inside his jail cell in Spain on June 23. According to jail authorities, McAfee ended his life inside the jail premises hours after a Spanish court had approved his extradition to the United States, where he is accused of tax evasion and other financial offences.
According to the reports, McAfee was found hanging at the Brians 2 prison in northeastern Spain on Wednesday. The security personnel who found him dead immediately tried to revive him, but their efforts went in vain. The jail’s medical team finally certified his death, a statement from the regional Catalan government said.
Incidentally, McAfee’s alleged suicide came just hours after the National Court of Spain had ordered his extradition to the United States, where he is wanted in several cases. Even though the court’s ruling was open for appeal and also approval was needed from the Spanish Cabinet, McAfee allegedly ended his life fearing extradition.
In his last tweet published on June 18, McAfee wrote: “All power corrupts. Take care which powers you allow a democracy to wield.”
The Delhi Police Special Cell has arrested four students from Kargil in connection with the blast near the Israel embassy in January this year.
According to the reports, the Delhi Police have arrested four young men from Kargil – Nazir Hussain (26), Zulfikar Ali Wazir (25), Aiaz Hussain (28) and Muzammil Hussain (25) in connection with the Israel Embassy bomb blast case. The Delhi Police said that all of them are residents of Thang village in Ladakh’s Kargil district.
In a joint operation with the Ladakh police, the Special Cell officers arrested these alleged students from Kargil in connection with the conspiracy to plan and execute terror activities in the national capital and brought them to Delhi on transit remand for further questioning.
During its investigation, the Delhi police had scanned over 100 CCTVs footages installed in and around the embassy. In one such footage, the Delhi Police Special Cell had spotted two men walking on the pavement before the blast. The two men had covered their faces and walked on the road. One of them wearing a jacket was spotted carrying a bag with him, the police had said.
While the blast case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Delhi Police Special Cell had registered a case of criminal conspiracy in the same matter. The NIA is likely to seek the custody of the four persons arrested by Delhi police.
A minor IED blast took place outside the Embassy of Israel in the heart of Lutyens’ Delhi on January 29, 2021. There were no casualties, but five cars that were parked in the area suffered damage in the explosion that occurred about 150 metres away from the embassy on the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road.
Following the blast, the Ministry of Home Affairs had handed over the probe of the blast to the National Investigation Agency on February 2.
Incidentally, the blasts at the Israel Embassy had come just a few days after Khalistani extremists had stormed the national capital on January 26, on Republic Day, who had desecrated the national flag at Red Fort and hoisted other flags from its ramparts.
Ahead of the 2022 State Legislative polls in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party (SP) has adopted the election slogan of ‘Khela Hobe‘ from the Trinamool Congress (TMC). This is despite the fact that the slogan was used by the Mamata Banerjee-run-party to mobilise its foot soldiers to unleash violence during and after the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha elections.
While the original slogan is in Bengali, SP adopted the Bhojpuri version of ‘Khela Hobe‘. As per reports, the tweaked slogan was found written on the walls in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, adjacent to the Samajwadi party’s election symbol of the cycle. “2022 mein khela hoi,” read the new slogan of Samajwadi party. It must be mentioned that Varanasi is the Lok Sabha constituency of PM Narendra Modi.
Reportedly, the slogan was written by ex-MLA and Samajwadi party leader Abdul Samad Ansari. He had put the slogan on the walls of his entire building. Moreover, he has urged the Samajwadi party leader Akhilesh Yadav to do the same thing in line with Trinamool Congress workers in West Bengal. Ansari alleged, “The way Didi and people of Bengal have played with the BJP, similarly Bhojpuri society will play with the ruling party.”
‘Khela Hobe’ and the vicious cycle of violence in West Bengal
Mamata Banerjee had coined the term ‘Khela hobe’ (we will have a match) as Trinamool Congress’ election slogan, ahead of the West Bengal Vidhan Sabha polls. Initially, it appeared as harmless banter but soon turned into a political slugfest. TMC members made a wall painting in Bengal wherein Mamata Banerjee was seen hitting PM Modi’s head instead of a football.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal CM continued to provoke her party workers to retaliate against the central armed forces and BJP workers. Several instances of violence were reported during the various stages of polling. State BJP president Dilip Ghosh alleged his convoy was attacked in Cooch Behar with not just stones and bricks but also bombs by TMC workers. The residence of scientist Govardhan Das was also ambushed by the miscreants, resulting him being trapped in his own house along with other family members.
Women in West Bengal have moved the Supreme Court narrating the details of the horrifying gang-rapes they were subjected to in the post-poll violence by the members of ruling party. They have sought SIT probe into all the incidents as well as alleged inaction of the police. During post-poll violence, over two dozen BJP karyakartas were reportedly killed. In a report submitted by the Group of Intellectuals and Academicians (GIA), it was mentioned that those who suffered the wrath of TMC workers after winning the elections were from marginal sections of Hindu society who had voted for BJP
The Gujarat police have arrested three men under the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021, for forcing a Hindu woman to convert to Islam. This is the third case registered under the ‘love jihad’ law by the Gujarat police ever since the Gujarat government passed the law, reports Times of India.
According to the reports, a 23-year-old woman had registered a complaint at the Fatehgunj police station in Vadodara on Wednesday, accusing her husband Mohib Pathan of forcefully converting her religion. The complainant said to the police that she had first met the accused in 2018 when she used to attend his tuition classes. They both exchanged phone numbers and started talking with each other, the victim said.
Further, the lady said that Pathan asked her to marry him and had assured her that she would be allowed to follow her own religion. The couple had registered marriage in August 2020, following which she lived with Pathan at his house in Chhani.
In her complaint, the woman accused Pathan of indulging in unnatural sex and thrashed her if she refused to comply. After a month of the marriage, Pathan began to force her to change her name, the police said. Later, Pathan called a Qazi and performed marriage rituals as per Islam.
Pathan forced her to convert to Islam, threw away idols of Hindu deities
The victim woman also alleged that Pathan did not allow her to pray as per her religion and threw away the idols of deities she had brought. The lady also named Pathan’s father Imtiyaz Pathan and elder brother Mohsin Pathan in the complaint.
In her complaint, the woman said the elder brother Mohsin had tried to molest her when she was alone at home. Her husband did not protest even when she informed him about the incident, she added.
The complainant also said that Pathan had thrashed her after she had named their baby Shiva. Pathan got violent again on Wednesday, and the woman left her house and approached the police.
Following the complaint, the police have arrested all the three accused in the case. The Vadodara police said that they are investigating to know whether there is anyone else involved in the incident. ACP Paresh Bhesania said that the accused have also been booked under IPC sections 354 for outraging a woman’s modesty, 498-A for domestic violence and 377 for unnatural sex.
The Gujarat government had recently passed the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the Assembly prohibiting “forcible conversion by marriage”. The act was passed in the recently concluded budget session of the Gujarat assembly and was approved by Governor Acharya Devvrat.
The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act 2021 provides for stringent penal action against any individual or institution for forced religious conversion through marriage. The act came into force on June 15.
Gujarat police registers two more complaints under the amended law
The Gujarat police have already made arrests under the law in two separate cases of grooming Jihad. On June 19, the Gujarat police registered the first case under the amended Act and arrested six people, including five from a family in the Tarsali area in Vadodara.
The Gujarat police arrested six people after a 24-year-old woman had accused one Sameer Ahmed Qureshi of faking his religious identity by pretending to be Christian and lured her into a relationship by “promising her modern life after marriage”.
The complaint had further stated that she met him through social media, and she alleged that she was raped on four occasions by the accused at a hotel and the residence of a co-accused. The 26-year-old accused also shared intimate photos of the woman to blackmail her into marrying him and then converting to Islam, said the complainant in her statement to Vadodara police.
In another case, a 23-year-old man named Imran Ansari was arrested by the Gujarat police for kidnapping and raping a 19-year-old Jain girl. The accused lured the victim by establishing a ‘romantic relationship’ with her. Ansari, who hails from West Bengal, allegedly abducted the girl on June 10. The case came to light after the victim went missing from her house. The girl’s family then lodged a missing complaint and named Ansari as a suspect behind her disappearance. The accused first took the victim to Ajmer in Rajasthan and later to Madhya Pradesh. The accused had also sexually exploited the victim.
An Interim Report on the audit of medical oxygen demand and consumption in Delhi prepared by a Supreme Court-appointed committee has confirmed what was being suspected, that the Delhi govt was grossly overestimating its oxygen demand during the months of March and April. The sub-group constituted by the apex court to study the oxygen situation in Delhi has said that the state was demanding 4 times more oxygen than required, and had hampered the oxygen supply chain in the entire region.
Amid the high drama over oxygen supply in Delhi, the Supreme Court had formed a National Task Force on 8th May to streamline medical oxygen allocation across the country on a “scientific, rational and equitable basis”. A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud had constituted a 12 member National Task Force (NTF) on Friday to assess, recommend the need and distribution of oxygen for the entire country. Under this NTF, a 5-member sub-group was formed to assess the situation in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, which included AIIMS Delhi director, Max Healthcare director, one official each from Delhi and Union govt, and a PESO official.
After conducting a series of meetings from 11th May to 21st May, and obtaining various documents from Delhi govt, Union govt, Hospitals, PESO and Oxygen suppliers, the sub-group has submitted its interim report.
Wrong calculations, errors, and baseless claims
The report states that while the Delhi govt had demanded 700 MT medical oxygen in its submission to the Supreme Court, there was no basis for such a demand. It says that the Delhi govt had wrongly calculated its oxygen demand, there were lots of error in its numbers and calculations, and it had highly overestimated its oxygen demand.
The Delhi govt was collecting data on ICU and non-ICU beds from hospitals and compiling them in a spreadsheet, but the committee found that there were discrepancies in the data sent by the hospitals. While the Delhi govt records show that 5500 ICU beds and 18000 non-ICU beds were functional in NCT, it didn’t match with the data sent by the hospitals. This had resulted in higher calculation of oxygen demand as the data sent by hospitals showed much higher number of beds, which was found to be wrong.
The committee found that there was gross discrepancy between the claimed actual oxygen consumption and the consumption calculated by formula for bed capacity. The report finds that while the Delhi govt had claimed an oxygen consumption of 1140 MT, it was about 4 times higher than the calculated quantity of 289 MT.
From the report
The committee found that four hospitals in NCT, Singhal Hospital, Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital, ESIC Model Hospital, and Liferay Hospital, had claimed extremely high oxygen consumption even though they had very few beds. The claims made by these 4 hospitals were clearly erroneous, and when the Committee revised the numbers for those hospitals by correcting the numbers, they found that the actual demand was much less.
The committee also found that while the Delhi govt had been claiming that their demand of high oxygen is based on a formula provided by the union govt, that was not the case, and Delhi’s oxygen demand would be much less based on that formula. This shows, the Arvind Kejriwal govt was lying about how it had arrived at its demand.
According to the committee report, the actual consumption for 183 hospitals according to the Delhi govt data was 1140 MT, but after correcting the wrong data of the four hospitals, it comes down to 209 MT only. Which means, the claimed consumption was four times of the actual consumption.
The oxygen consumption according to union govt formula should be 289 MT, and the same as per Delhi govt formula should be 391 MT. If one considers the GOI formula for total bed strength, it would be 415 MT on 3rd May, when the Delhi had the highest number of non-ICU and 5866 ICU beds. On the same day, the consumption according to the Delhi govt formula would be 568 MT.
This shows, even when the Delhi govt was demanding 700 MT and 976 MT of medical oxygen, the same would be 415 MT as per GOI formula and 568 MT on its own formula on the day it had highest number of beds reserved for Covid-19.
The SC appointed audit committee found various errors made by Delhi govt in estimating its oxygen demand. The Delhi govt assumed that all ‘Oxygen non-ICU beds’ require oxygen, but the real-life experience shows that, even if a patient occupies an oxygen bed, that patient may not need oxygen. Even after the oxygen requirement of a patient is over, the patient may continue on the same bed for various other treatments, and therefore assuming that all patients admitted on ‘oxygenated non-ICU COVID’ beds will need oxygen for calculating Liquid Oxygen Demand is wrong and leads to overestimation, the committee found. According to GOI formula, only around 50% of patients in non-ICU oxygenated beds use oxygen, but the Delhi govt had used 100% beds.
The Delhi Government had claimed that its formula for calculating oxygen requirement was based on ICMR Guidelines, but no such guidelines were presented before the audit committee.
The committee also found that one reason of error in data provided by the hospitals is that many of them didn’t understood it properly. Some hospitals had even could not differentiate between KL and MT, resulting in wrong estimates.
Even after the union govt had pointed out the errors in the data collected from hospitals, the same was not rectified. The report says it is still not clear on what basis had an allocation of 700MT been sought by Govt of Delhi in the Supreme Court of India when collated data had so many gross errors and it took an oxygen audit to point out the same.
PESO Report
The SC appointed committee also referred to a PESO report, which was earlier reported by OpIndia, where it was found that Delhi was unable to consume and store all the oxygen it was receiving. PESO had found that Liquid medical oxygen tanks in Delhi were filled to the capacity of 71% in the morning of 10th May 2021, and even if 700 MT of oxygen is supplied as per Delhi govt demand, they won’t be able to store it.
The PESO had found that the average daily consumption of liquid media oxygen in Delhi was 284 to 372 MTs, and there was no infrastructure for storing 700 MTs of LMO. Due to lack of storage facilities, tankers had to wait a long time to transfer the gas to storage tanks, which had impacted the media supply chain.
PESO had also found that Delhi was having surplus oxygen, which was affecting the LMO supplies to other states. As there were not enough capacity to store the received oxygen, the Delhi govt had asked the suppliers to stock the oxygen in their tanks, and had even returned some of the tankers to the suppliers.
The Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) had warned that this was a disaster in waiting, if the situation continues like this.
The PESO report said Actual requirement of Delhi is much less than what is demanded, and with Delhi receiving excess oxygen, other states like Rajasthan, UP, Haryana, HP, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and even J&K were suffering badly, as oxygen from those states were being diverted to Delhi on the orders of Delhi High Court. The report had said that Delhi was neither auditing its usage, nor assessing its realistic demand to enable central Government to reallocate supplies to other northern states in a fair manner.
The audit committee also said that while the Delhi govt had rebutted the PESO report, and had claimed to have enough storage capacity, the data provided by the Delhi govt was not consistent with the records the committee was having.
Comparison with Mumbai
The Supreme Court appointed committee also observed that with almost equal numbers of active Covid-19 cases in April, Mumbai was using much less oxygen compared to Delhi. An OpIndia report earlier had pointed out how Delhi’s Oxygen demand was almost four times the use of Mumbai, with almost similar number of cases. While Mumbai was using around 250 MT oxygen for around 90,000 active cases, Delhi was demanding 976 MT for the similar number of cases.
It is notable that while Delhi was demanding high amount of oxygen for several weeks from March to May, the demand had abruptly disappeared the day the Supreme Court had ordered audit of oxygen demand. During the hearing on oxygen supply at the Apex Court, the Delhi govt had been opposing oxygen audit, even while other places had benefited from such audits.
Based on the findings, the audit committee made interim recommendations for Delhi, and determined that the average daily requirement of oxygen in Delhi was around 400 MT in the third week of May.
The son-in-law of Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, Robert Vadra, was on Wednesday challaned by the Delhi Police for violating traffic rules and dangerous driving, the police said on Thursday.
Robert Vadra was reportedly challaned on Wednesday morning when he was on his way to his office with his security personnel. The incident took place near the Barapullah flyover when his car suddenly decelerated and was hit by another car from behind. According to the police, the car was being driven by his driver as Robert Vadra was on his way to his office in the Sukhdev Vihar area.
“The vehicle of Robert Vadra was challaned under Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act (Dangerous driving). Vadra was going to his office on Wednesday morning with his security personnel. Suddenly his car was hit from behind after it decelerated,” said the police.
Coincidentally, a man was chased and challaned by the Delhi Police under same section of the Motor Vehicles Act 7 years ago after he mistakenly overtook Vadra’s car in South Delhi. After being caught, the man told police that he was not aware of the VIP movement taking place.
On Thursday (June 24), a large group of ‘farmer protestors’ took out a demonstration in the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) over the naming of the newly constructed Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). The development comes at a time when the Covid-19 task force in Maharashtra had warned of an upcoming third wave in the following 2-3 weeks’ time.
As per reports, the protestors had threatened to stall the construction of the project if the airport is not named after late socialist leader DB Patil. He is said to have fought for the rights of farmers in Thane and Palghar to ensure fair compensation by CIDCO. The farmers, under the banner of Navi Mumbai International Airport Namakaran Kruti Samiti, hit the streets to protest the naming of the airport after Shiv Sena leader Balashaeb Thackeray. The project will be operated by M/s Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) and the construction work is set to commence from August 16.
A decision to rename the upcoming airport in Navi Mumbai after Balasaheb Thackeray was taken on June 10 by the Maharashtra government. After farmer protestors had expressed their unhappiness over the decision, a meeting was called by CM Udhhav Thackeray with the farmer representatives. However, the meeting failed to reach an agreement and the protestors threatened to gherao the CIDCO Bhavan in the Central Business District of Belapur on Tuesday (June 22).
तीसरी वेव की आहट के बीच हज़ारों की ये भीड़ नवी मुंबई में कोरोना नियमों की धज्जियाँ उड़ाते हुए इकठ्ठा हुई ये बताने कि यहाँ बनने वाले हवाई अड्डे का नामकरण किसान नेता डी बी पाटिल के नाम पर किया जाए नहीं तो वो निर्माण कार्य रोक देंगे pic.twitter.com/NIT42wU6nO
As a precautionary measure, the state government deployed more than 500 officers, 5000 police personnel, and Reserve Police Force (RPF) teams en route to the CIDCO headquarters. The cops had to divert the traffic on arterial roads, keeping in mind the large-scale protest. According to the demonstrators, about 1 lac people had gathered for the cause. The movement is reportedly backed by local leaders, ex-MPs and ex-MLAs. However, the police managed to stop the crowd about 1 km away from the CIDCO headquarters.
Shiv Sena leader assures naming another project after DB Patil
Meanwhile, a delegation of farmer protestors had also met the Managing Director (MD) of CIDCO and submitted a memorandum demanding the changing of the Navi Mumbai Internation airport after DB Patil. While speaking about the demonstrations, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde assured the farmers of naming another project after the socialist leader. He added, “We have a lot of respect for DB Patil. The chief minister has requested the action committee to recommend any other project (to be named after Patil). One meeting has taken place (with the committee) and one more will take place. A positive outcome is expected”
Navi Mumbai International Airport expected to be operational between 2023-2024
The Navi Mumbai International airport was expected to be operational before the 2019 Vidhan Sabha polls. However, the project could not be completed and missed several deadlines. It is now expected to be operational in 2023-2024. The airport, which is being built over 1160 hectares, was initially being constructed by M/s GVK Airport Developers Developers Limited and was later handed over to M/s Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL).
The decision was approved by the Airports Authority of India, Directorate of Civil Aviation, SEBI, CCI and CIDCO. It must be mentioned that Gautam Adani-run-AAHL has been operating several airports in the country including Mumbai, Navi Mumbai (under construction), Ahmedabad, Lucknow, and Bengaluru.
Third wave of Coronavirus in Maharashtra
In a bid to combat the impending third wave of Chinese coronavirus the Union Health Ministry on June 22 issued advisory to Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh on the new Delta Plus variant of the virus. The variant is currently a Variant of Concern (VOC). Union Health Secretary had communicated to these three states that the new variant had been found in genome sequenced samples from Ratnagiri and Jalgaon Districts of Maharashtra; Palakkad and Pathanamthitta Districts of Kerala; and Bhopal and Shivpuri Districts of Madhya Pradesh.
This was based on the recent findings of INSACOG, a consortium of 28 laboratories of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Dept. of Biotechnology, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The covid-19 task force in Maharashtra had warned that the third wave could hit the state within 2-3 weeks.
