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Ever Given: Ship that blocked Suez Canal has since been held by Canal authorities, they wanted 916 million dollars

OpIndia Staff
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Ever Given: Ship that blocked Suez Canal has since been held by Canal authorities, they wanted 916 million dollars

The Suez Canal Authority (SCA) had demanded $916 million in compensation from the owners of the giant Ever Given vessel that had got stuck in the Suez Canal earlier this year. The high compensation was sought to cover the revenue loss, reputational damage and cost of salvage operations.

As per reports, the negotiation could not be finalized since March leading to the ship being anchored in a lake between two stretches of the canal since it was dislodged on March 29.

The Ever Given ship’s Japanese owners Shoei Kisen and its insurers had disputed the claim and the ship’s detention under an Egyptian court order with negotiations going on till Saturday. 

Demanding 15 more days for a mutual settlement, the Suez Canal Authority have publicly lowered the compensation to $550 million. 

Stann Marine Ltd., a London-based law firm for Ever Given’s owners and insurers, said in a statement on Monday, “Following extensive discussions with the Suez Canal Authority’s negotiating committee over the past few weeks, an agreement in principle between the parties has been reached.”

“During the negotiations, we submitted a proposal that we believe satisfies all the requirements of the SCA,” said a statement, informing that the details of the negotiations would remain confidential.

Arrangements will be made to let the ship leave Egypt as soon as the two sides will finalize an agreement. 

The SCA’s chairman had earlier informed that Shoei Kisen had offered to pay $150 million. Judicial sources claim that the case was adjourned until July 4 to allow for an “amicable settlement”.

The Ever Given, one of the largest cargo carriers of the world, had got stuck in the Suez Canal, blocking up one of the world’s busiest trade routes. An estimates 12 billion USD was lost in international trade due to the blockage.

After finally being freed after almost two weeks with continuous efforts by private salvage companies and the SCA, the giant ship has been held in the Great Bitter Lake, because the canal authorities refused to let it pass without the owners paying compensation for the blockage.

Suez Canal blocked by ‘Ever Given’

A huge container ship named ‘Ever Given’ had run aground in March the Suez Canal after being blown off course by a “gust of wind”, resulting in a huge traffic jam of vessels at either end of the crucial international trade route. The cargo ship, which is three-years-old and is registered in Panama, was on its way to Rotterdam in the Netherlands from China when it got stuck in the Suez Canal.

Weighing 220,000 tonnes and running 400 metres long, the “mega-ship” Ever Given had jammed itself diagonally across a southern section of the canal in high winds early, blocking shipping traffic on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

Trinamool MP Mimi Chakraborty duped by fake IAS officer’s fake vaccination drive, one arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Trinamool MP Mimi Chakraborty duped by fake IAS officer’s fake vaccination drive, one arrested

TMC MP Mimi Chakraborty on Wednesday said she was duped by a man who posed to be an IAS officer and requested her presence at a COVID-19 vaccination camp organised by him at Kasba area in the Southern fringes of Kolkata on Tuesday.

The vaccination drive was reportedly organised in the name of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC). About 200 to 250 people were administered with Covishield vaccine, along with Mimi Chakraborty, who also took her first dose of the Covishield vaccine during the camp where she was invited as a chief guest. Apparently, the Jadavpur MP was called in to encourage people from the transgender community and physically handicapped to come forward and take the vaccines.

Mimi, who herself got vaccinated at the drive, said her suspicions grew after she received no confirmation message of being vaccinated from the CoWin platform. She lodged a police complaint with the Kolkata police and the accused was arrested. He was reportedly using a car with a blue beacon and a fake sticker.

In an interview with India Today, Mimi said the organisers of the vaccine drive initially informed her that she would be receiving the vaccine certificates in a few hours. Later, they informed her that it will take 3-4 days. This raised her suspicions. She asked others in the camp if they received any confirmation message or vaccine certificate. When none of them received any SMS from the CoWin app and vaccine certificate, she felt something was amiss and filed a complaint with the police.

“The vaccine certificate should not take 3-4 days. I enquired with others (who took the vaccine at the camp) whether they have got the registration message. They said they did not do any registration or didn’t receive any message. I realised immediately and with the help of the local administration and police, I got him arrested,” Chakraborty said.

The police reached the vaccination camp at 6 pm on Tuesday evening. Even though the camp was organised at the KMC, neither the Special Commission of KMC nor local councillor Susanta Ghosh was aware of any such vaccination drive.

As per the police sources, the accused Debanjan introduced himself as the joint commissioner of KMC during his interrogation, and even furnished an identity card of an IAS officer. However, he was detained and brought to the police station on account of discrepancies in his statements.

In the midst of a rigorous interrogation, Debanjan finally broke down and confessed to his crime. A large number of documents, including fake identity cards, government stamps, requisition forms for collecting vaccines from health buildings were retrieved from him.

UP: ATS unearths religious conversion racket being operated as ‘motivation camps’, Zakir Naik link emerges

OpIndia Staff
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UP: ATS unearths religious conversion racket being operated as ‘motivation camps’, Zakir Naik link emerges

As the ATS has intensified the investigation in the mass conversion racket in Uttar Pradesh, shocking revelations have come to the surface. We reported earlier how the main accused Umar Gautam and his accomplice strategized to use the converted children as human bombs.

As the investigation progressed, it has now come to light that the mass conversion racket was being operated all across the state of Uttar Pradesh. Aditya (now Abdulla) from Kanpur, in the ATS investigation, revealed that he was talked into accepting Islam by a trainer who had visited his school for deaf a year ago. One Mohammed Wasif had contacted him through Messenger and Telegram. Abdulla revealed that he used to receive religious Islamic videos on Instagram to motivate him to convert.

In hours-long investigations led by an ATS and two state teams assisted by a sign language expert, Abdulla revealed that he finally decided to convert to Islam when he was promised a job and marriage. He also received a conversion certificate. 

Abdulla was given a target to convert other children

Abdulla was then given a job in Kerala by his masters. He was given a target to convert other deaf and mute people like him especially from the northern belt like Delhi and Haryana who resided in Kerala.

Radical Islam classes conducted in Halim Muslim College

Abdulla during the investigation revealed that Halim Muslim College in Chamanganj hosted ‘motivational’ classes every Sunday to radicalize the deaf and mute people who wanted to or had converted to Islam. 

As per a report, the perpetrators of the conversion racket turned these converts into agents in the lure of money. These agents then assigned to attract people to the alleged ‘motivation’ camp for which they were paid Rs 5000. Upon conversion, the agents were paid anywhere between Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000. 

Abdulla’s mother revealed that he was contacted by a dumb and mute youth named Wasif who ran one such ‘motivation’ camp. The agents of this camp would force young Hindus to attend the classes and then convert to Islam. 

The ATS is now trying to identify the motive to convert deaf and mute children to Islam and establish a possible terror link. Abdulla also revealed that he knows of another such person who will soon be converting to Islam in Aligarh. The Aligarh police have been alerted about the matter.

Father of one NDS student also points out at Wasim

As per a Times of India report, the father of one of the NDS students, who was allegedly converted, informed that his son had come home for a few days in April. He informed that his son was staying with a person named Shakeel from Faridabad. Shakeel, he said had introduced him to a Wasim who plausibly influenced his son into converting to Islam.

The mother of another converted student also revealed that her son after studying at NDS for four years had gone to a local school in Kanpur. She revealed since then her son used to hide his phone, talk to someone in whispers over call and keep his phone double locked.

NDS ruled out conversion at their premises

While the NDS founder Ruma Roka said that they found the records of Shakeel who studied with them in 2011-12 for a short while, they have no records of Wasim. They also asserted that some of the affected students were from their 2010-11 batch when the school had no hostel and were possibly contacted by the perpetrators outside the school premises.

Plan laid out by a NDS teacher

The investigation being carried out by the ATS has repetitively revealed the role of the Noida Deaf Society which is now being considered as the main link. It is being reported that the entire plan was hatched by a Muslim teacher of the NDS who excessively preached about Islam to the deaf and mute students. 

Abdulla’s mother revealed that this teacher had also visited Kanpur for a short while. However, his suspicious actions and promotion of Islam led to a complaint against him. The search for the teacher is on. 

Zakir Naik connected to the conversion racket

As per an India Today report, Islamic Dawah Centre- Umar Gautam’s organization was in touch with infamous Islamist preacher Zakir Naik’s aide.

The investigation led by the ATS is also trying to establish the funding links to ascertain the motive of the Islamic Dawah Centre run by Umar Gautam and his accomplice. 

Plans to use converted children as human bombs

We reported earlier how on Umar Gautam and Qasmi’s plan to first convert the hearing and speech impaired children into Islam and then use them as human bombs. The perpetrators brainwashed the differently-abled children into hating non-Muslims, accepting Islam and were planning to use them as suicide bombers as the scope of retaliation from such children is limited, informed a senior official.

Khan vs Khan: Court restrains Kamaal R Khan from tweeting against Salman Khan, he says ‘no interest in taking name of Bollywood gunda’

OpIndia Staff
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Khan vs Khan: Court restrains Kamaal R Khan from tweeting against Salman Khan, he says ‘no interest in taking name of Bollywood gunda’

A local Mumbai court on Wednesday provided temporary relief to actor Salman Khan after it restrained self-styled film critic Kamaal R Khan from posting any derogatory posts on the actor and his family.

The court passed the interim order in a defamation suit filed by the Radhe actor against Kamaal R Khan(KRK).

Meanwhile, without taking any names, KRK tweeted that he has no interest in taking name of the ‘Bollywood gunda’.

‘Why should I take a criminal’s name? But I will still review the films. Release one if you have guts Gunde bhai,’ he tweeted.

Salman Khan files defamation suit against KRK for spreading falsehoods and lies

In May 2021, KRK posted a tweet alleging that actor Salman Khan has filed a defamation case against him because of his unfavourable review of his latest film “Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai“. However, Salman’s lawyer claimed the lawsuit was in response to allegations of corruption and money laundering.

The full statement from DSK Legal, Salman Khan’s legal team, reads, “Mr Kamaal R Khan, the Defendant, has put out a series of tweets and videos alleging that Mr Salman Khan has sued him for defamation because the Defendant reviewed the film, Radhe. This is incorrect.”

“The suit has been filed as the Defendant has been publishing and endorsing defamatory allegations, including that Mr Salman Khan is corrupt, that he and his brand Being Human are involved in fraud, manipulation and money laundering transactions, that he and Salman Khan Films are dacoits. Defendant has been spreading malicious falsehoods and defaming Mr Salman Khan consistently over several months, clearly with a view to draw attention to himself,” the response from DSK Legal said.

And ever since Salman Khan filed a defamation suit against KRK, the latter has been dissing the actor and his closed ones when he is not occupied with reviling singer Mika Singh and other personalities. Despite Salman Khan’s lawyers contended that the lawsuit was not filed for his review, KRK had repeatedly alleged that the case was lodged against him because Salman was unhappy with his deprecating comments on Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai.

KRK pans Salman Khan starrer Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai

On May 13, KRK had reviewed Salman Khan’s latest release, Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai, where he kept referring to Salman Khan as ‘Daadu’ (grandfather).

KRK had said that in action scenes it was quite evident that some of the scenes were done by Salman Khan’s ‘duplicate’ (body double). He said that people on set would have noticed the difference between the two but they must be too afraid (of Salman Khan) to point it out. “Because if they would have said, Daadu would’ve asked him not to come to sets anymore,” he said.

He further refers to the lead heroine and love interest, Disha Patani, as Salman Khan’s granddaughter. “Disha is a model and when Sallu Daadu meets her for the first time, he tells her that he also wants to become a model. That means, Sallu Daadu’s age is about 20-22 and Disha starts calling him ‘Bholu cute boy’. After this, in rest of the movie she keeps calling him ‘Bholu cute boy’. After this, Sallu Daadu also removes his shirt in one scene. And VFX team has done a great job. They have put up his 25-year-old on this face,” he says in the review.

“The grandfather and granddaughter (Salman and Disha) keep meeting throughout the film and there are random songs. When there are songs, it is a relief because there is no story in the film. So at least there is something to see in songs,” KRK says.

“The story is a blot on the name of stories, the screenplay is mental torture and dialogues are disgusting,” he adds. “You all know that VFX’ed Salman Khan Daadu does not know acting, he does all the scenes in the same expression, so obviously he has acted as badly as he is an actor,” Khan says.

Telangana: Woman working at Christian priest’s home dies in police custody, officer suspended

OpIndia Staff
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Telangana: Woman working at Christian priest’s home dies in police custody, officer suspended

A 40-year-old woman working as a domestic help at the home of a pastor has died under a mysterious circumstances at a police station in Telangana after she was allegedly tortured in police custody.

According to the reports, Mariyamma, who used to work as a domestic help at local priest Father Balaswamy’s house in Govindapuram village, breathed her last on June 18 after cops allegedly assaulted her. The incident took place at the Addagudur police station under the Rachakonda Police Commissionerate.

Reportedly, the local police had arrested Mariyamma on a complaint filed by local priest Father Balaswamy. In his complaint, Father Balaswamy had alleged that Rs 2 lakh had been stolen from his house and had accused Mariyamma of looting the money.

Following the complaint, the police had arrested Mariyamma from her village in Khammam district on June 17. The police allegedly thrashed Mariyamma on the night of June 17. She fell unconscious on June 18 and died at the police station, alleged Nagarigari Preetham, Congress Scheduled Caste Cell state president. The Congress leader alleged that the cops attempted to hide the incident.

Preetham has demanded action against the police officials involved in the incident. Meanwhile, the cops have claimed that Mariyamma died after she suffered a cardiac arrest at the police station.

Rachakonda Commissioner of Police (CP), Mahesh Bhagwat, said action has been taken against the three cops involved. Disciplinary action has been initiated against the Sub-inspector (SI) and two constables after allegations of custodial assault came to light, he said.

Kanpur: Hindu families put “for sale” signs outside their houses after being forced to convert to Islam, SP MLA accused of shielding the goons

OpIndia Staff
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Kanpur: Hindu families put “for sale” signs outside their houses after being forced to convert to Islam, SP MLA accused of shielding the goons

Something akin to the Kairana exodus is currently underway in UP’s Kanpur, where Hindu families are forced to either convert to Islam or vacate and leave the place. The Hindu families accuse the local Muslim ruffians of threatening, intimidating and coercing them to leave their religion and embrace Islam.

The case pertains to Rail Patri colony under Colonelganj Police station area of Kanpur district, where 10 Hindu families are living under a constant threat of persecution by their Muslim neighbours. On Saturday evening last week, a daughter of a Hindu family was molested by the mobsters of the locality and when the girl’s brother confronted them, the goons barged into their house and assaulted the family members. Reportedly, an attempt was also made to sexually assault the girl.

Following the incident, the family of the victim rushed to the nearby police station and narrated their ordeal to the police. A complaint was registered against 9 known and 3 unknown people. The police have arrested 3 suspects in the case. However, the family of the victim claims 2 of them have already been released by the police.

On-sale signboards put up outside Hindu families in Kanpur locality

Meanwhile, some Hindu families in the locality have scribbled messages and put up “on-sale” signboards outside their houses, informing the prospective buyers that the property is available for sale. The victim’s family have also written a message outside their house, expressing the desire to sell their house and flee the town amidst threats of persecution at the hands of hooligans from the Muslim majority.

Victims claim they have been given only options by the hoodlums—either accept Islam or leave the locality. The victims say they don’t want to abandon their faith and therefore, they have no option but to leave the locality or risk staying here and suffer a terrible fate that awaits them. In order to escape the wrath of the Muslim hooligans in the locality, the Hindu victims have decided to sell their houses and move to a safer location, where they and their family members would not be targeted because they follow Hinduism.

Hindu victims accuse local SP MLA of shielding Muslim hooligans

One of the hooligans who has reportedly threatened the Hindu families in the locality to embrace Islam is a man named Aftab. The victims say Aftab has even threatened them with dire consequences for filing a police complaint against hooliganism by his co-religionists. They allege Aftab had intimidated them saying that once the Yogi Adityanath government is replaced by Samajwadi Party government, they will exact revenge for this case from the Hindu families.

Furthermore, the victims have also accused the local SP MLA Amitabh Bajpai for supporting the Muslim hoodlums. They claim the goons enjoy the patronage of the local MLA, who protects them from any punitive action taken against them by the police.

Kanpur police issue statement

Reacting to reports on Hindus in the area getting threats to convert, Kanpur Police Commissioner Asim Arun has issued a statement saying that they are probing the issue. He informed that an FIR has already been filed on the molestation case of the girl, and now reports of local citizens feeling unsafe have emerged today.

The IPS officer said that police officers have been deputed to probe the matter, and proper action in this regard will be taken including registration of FIRs. He said that nobody will be allowed to create such a situation of fear, the administration will not tolerate issue such threats to their neighbours. If someone is found doing this, actions will be taken against them under NSA and Gangstar Act, Asim Arun said.

Kairana Exodus

The case has an uncanny similarity with the Kairana exodus from the 2014 to 2016 period when a large number of Hindus migrated from Kairana to safer destinations after being threatened by Muslim gangsters. According to the BJP, more than 346 Hindu families left the village. According to the reports, Hindus in Kairana lived under a constant shadow of fear as Muslims, who were in majority in the town, made provocative remarks against Hindu men and passed lewd/taunting remarks against Hindu females.

Covid-19: A third wave may come, but it is not going to especially target children. Facts Vs speculations

Anurag
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Covid-19: A third wave may come, but it is not going to especially target children. Facts Vs speculations

Recently, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Dr Randeep Guleria had warned that the third wave might hit India sooner than later. He said people are crowding in markets and malls without following any Covid-appropriate behaviour.

“I feel a third wave may hit earlier, possibly in 12 to 16 weeks,” he added. With the speculations of the third wave to arrive sooner than anticipated, the fear of children getting affected by it the most is housing in the parents’ minds across the country. However, experts do not agree with such speculations. Interestingly, no one knows who started the unsubstantial discourse but it needs to be addressed properly.

Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, medical epidemiologist, in an op-ed published in Times of India, said that all the scientific and epidemiological evidence from all Covid-19 waves suggest children between the ages of 0 to 18 are at relatively low risk of developing moderate to severe disease. While everyone is speculating children to get most affected by the third wave, the available data show a different approach.

According to data, only two to five percent of the Covid-19 cases that needed hospitalization in India were between the age group of 0-18. Notably, this age group comprises of 40 percent of India’s population. On the other hand, adults are at around 10-20 times higher risk of contracting a severe infection.

He said, “There is no evidence from any part of the world that a third or any subsequent wave will affect children disproportionately.” Though the mutants have shown higher transmissibility, there is no change in the virus that may lead to potentially severe infection in any age group.

The flaws in representing the numbers of cases among children

During the months of April and May 2021, there were several reports across media platforms that Maharashtra has been reporting a higher number of infection among children. By that time, the State had reported over 99,000 cases where children were affected by the virus. Going by the numbers, it was a 3.3 times increase in such cases. If the data is checked only to this point, it is more than enough to create panic, especially among parents. However, there is more to the picture.

In these months, Maharashtra reported around 29 lakh Covid-19 cases. Now, 99,000 will make only 3.5 percent of the total cases. Notably, children between the age group of 0-10 make up to 24 percent of the total population in the State. Another point that needs to be considered here is that India reported four times the cases compared to the first wave.

It was obvious that every age group would contribute to the numbers. However, the increase in cases among the 0-10 age group was still less than compared to the older age groups. Dr Lahariya noted that the majority of the children who needed hospitalization had some underlying illness which added to the problem.

‘Media is misleading the public with numbers’

Pradip Awate, State Surveillance Officer for Maharashtra and in charge of monitoring epidemic-prone diseases in the state as part of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme of the Union Health Ministry, talked to The Hindu Business Line on the matter. Asserting the speculations to be baseless, he said that there is no evidence that indicates the virus would mutate to infect children at a high rate.

Blaming media for spreading misinformation, he said that the number of children affected by the virus remained somewhere between 1 to 1.5 percent in the last six months, and it has not fluctuated to an alarming level. He agreed that the number of cases was higher in the recent months but compared to the overall cases reported by the State, the percentage remained largely the same.

“Most importantly, the death rate and complications reported in children are very less compared to adult cases. In May 2021, the death rate in the age group below 18 is 0.007 per cent in Maharashtra. If 10,000 children get affected, one death is reported, and children who have other health issues might face complications,” he added.

On June 1, Dr VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog has explained today that though children are not immune from this infection and do/can get infected, it has not taken serious shape in children. He said that the infected children would either show no symptoms or there will be minimal symptoms.

Dr Sanjay Marathe, known for his studies on pediatric vaccines, said, “There is no documentary or epidemiological evidence that kids will get affected in large numbers in the possible third wave. All is postulation based on statistics. Government has started preparations in anticipation which is a good thing. We need more pediatric beds and ICUs in the future. But, parents need not panic because of this.”

The Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) issued an advisory in which they said, “Children are as susceptible as adults and older individuals to develop infection but not severe disease. It is highly unlikely that the third wave will predominantly or exclusively affect children.”

The advisory also urged the parents to take care of the mental health of their children. It added, “Apart from the infection, parents should watch out for mental health issues in children and keep a watch to prevent child abuse and violence. Also, it is worth limiting screen time and prepare children for safe school reopening as per the IAP guidelines.”

In a discussion paper published by India Task Force established by Lancet titled “Preparing for covid-19 part iii: planning, protocols, and policy guidelines for paediatrics”, it was said, “current statistics indicate a larger number of children with COVID-19 during the second wave in India than the first wave, owing to an overall increase in cases during the second wave, while the proportion of children affected nearly remained unchanged.”

It further added, ” Preliminary review of cases within representative facilities further corroborates the low case severity and low overall mortality rates in children.” During the discussions of the task force, the experts clarified that “there is no reason to suspect or predict that there would be a more severe disease in children in the third wave and it is less likely that the children will be affected more. Third-wave may come following the nature of the virus however managers should get ready.”

Head of Paediatric Pulmonology Dr SK Kabra, AIIMS, said, “The speculation of third-wave hitting children is based on three observations. Firstly there is speculation that below 18 will remain susceptible after immunisation drive began for beneficiaries above 18 years. Secondly, people who already got infected may have resistance against the third wave and thirdly due to immunization of the adult group, there will be a mutation in the virus. All these reasons may not be true though there is a possibility that the third wave of Covid-19 may be there but no reason to believe that this will be more severe in children.”

States preparing for the third wave keeping the speculations in mind

The misleading media reports did affect the policymaking process, and states have started to prepare for the third wave keeping possibilities of children being affected by the virus at a higher rate in the third wave. As per reports, the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights recommended setting up paediatric Covid taskforces in every district. On June 22, it was reported that the state has set up an expert committee to protect children from a possible third wave.

In a report submitted by the committee, they estimated that around 3.4 lakh children in Karnataka are likely to be affected during the third wave of Covid-19. It also explained the challenges that the healthcare system in the state may face while managing Covid-19 infection in children and suggested measures to control the spread.

On June 22, C Vijayabaskar, Former Health Minister of Tamil Nadu, urged the state government to be prepared with at least one lakh Covid pediatric beds. DT Next quoted him saying, “AIIMS has warned that the country will soon face a third wave of COVID-19 and more shocking news is that children below the age of 18 years would be affected more. With a population of 1.71 crores below 18 years, experts warn that at least 10 percent of children will be affected, which will take the count to close to 20 lakh. Among them, at least 10 percent would be hospitalised, which would take the count to 2 lakh. If not for 2 lakh, the state government should be ready for at least 1 lakh Covid pediatric beds.”

In May itself, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath had announced that 100 additional pediatric beds would be installed in each district to combat the third wave of Covid-19 infection. Reports suggested that he directed the state health officials to make special arrangements in the hospitals to ensure the best treatment for severely infected children.

UNICEF’s detailed FAQ on Covid-19 in Children

In a detailed FAQ sheet, UNICEF said, “As the number of people across India testing positive for the COVID-19 has increased, the number of children contracting the virus has also increased. However, we have not seen a sudden spike in the overall percentage of children affected by COVID-19 in India.” The organization clearly mentioned that though the number of children affected by Covid-19 in the second wave was higher, there was no sudden spike in the overall percentage.

The experts from UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), and the National Neonatology Forum (NNF), worked on the FAQs. They urged the parents not to panic if their child contracts Covid-19 infection.

The experts urged everyone to follow Covid-19 protocols and maintain social distance. It was advised to stay at home as much as possible. If anyone contracts the virus in the family, the first step is to isolate the patient in the family so that the virus does not spread among other members. No one should enter the room where the family member is isolating. The proper treatment advised by the doctor must be followed. In case all family members are hospitalized but children, the authorities must be notified about the situation on 1098 so that they can take care of the children while the family members are recovering. More details can be read here.

Prepare for the worst anyway

Though the evidence does not point towards the possibility of children getting most affected by Covid-19 during the third wave, there is no harm in preparing for it. Increasing the number of pediatric Covid beds will only help in avoiding the possibility. However, as the experts said, there is no need for the parents to panic. Instead, follow the Covid-19 protocols and ensure you take all the precautions to avoid infection in the family.

Communist goons butcher 25 pet-pigeons of 11-year-old boy in Kerala because his family had cooperated with Sewa Bharati

OpIndia Staff
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Communist goons butcher 25 pet-pigeons of 11-year-old boy in Kerala because his family had cooperated with Sewa Bharati

In a shocking incident in Kerala, 25 pet pigeons were butchered by Communist goons just because the family of the owner co-operated with Sewa Bharati. As per a report published by the Organizer, the incident took place in the Alappuzha district of Kerala. The pigeons belonged to an 11-year-old child named Christy Devasya.

The child’s family helped Sewa Bharati to provide food to Covid patients in the Maruthorvattam region in Cherthala. When the communist goons learn about the support that family provided to the organization, they killed the birds to teach the family a ‘lesson’.

Reportedly, Benny, the father of the child, was earlier associated with the communist party. However, he changed his path due to some differences with the party members, and since then, he had been staying away from the party activities. The family has decided not to file a complaint as they fear future attacks by CPM goons.

Senior BJP and RSS leaders recently visited Benny’s home and assured full support after learning about the incident. Notably, Sewa Bharati is an RSS affiliated organization. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the organization has helped thousands of affected people with oxygen, food, and medicine. From distributing food packets to manufacturing masks at war footing, Sewa Bharti volunteers have worked extensively during the pandemic time. In Delhi alone, the organization was running 45 kitchens to provide food to the needy during the pandemic.

Fact Check: Drunk driver thrashed by locals after causing damage, AAP’s Amanatullah Khan claims it is because he is Muslim

OpIndia Staff
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Fact Check: Drunk driver thrashed by locals after causing damage, AAP’s Amanatullah Khan claims it is because he is Muslim

AAP leader Amanatullah Khan recently shared a video on his Twitter page that is now going viral. In the video, a young man is seen being thrashed and kicked around by an angry mob of people, who push him on the road and rain kicks at him. One of them even tries to crush the man with a bike.

However, in his tweet, Khan gave the incident a communal spin, alluding that Muslims are being increasingly brutalised and subjected to violence under the BJP rule in the country.

“In the new India, new milestones are being set in this way. If your humanity is alive, you will be sad to see this. Like every other occasion, a man wearing a ” skull cap-kurta-beard” will be the victim of savagery. Though the BJP government has been incapable of providing development, they are foremost in spreading hatred. Sad!” Khan tweeted along with the video of a man being assaulted by a mob.

Source: Twitter

What is the truth about the incident?

Contrary to what Amanatullah Khan would have us believe, the assault against young man has no religious angle. In the video, the mob of people, who is seen attacking the man could be heard speaking in Marathi. There is no reference to the religion of the youth anywhere in the video. Clearly, the youth’s faith is not a reason for the assault mounted against him.

According to Divya Marathi, a Marathi vernacular daily under the umbrella of Bhaskar Group, the incident pertains to the Amravati district in Maharashtra. On June 15, 2021, a bike parked outside the residence of a person named Mahendra Basavanathe was rammed by a speeding four-wheeler and dragged along for about 2 km.

The youth was beaten after he rammed a vehicle into a bike and dragged it along for 2 kms

The onlookers took note of the incident and quickly pursued the driver. When they intercepted his car and accosted the driver, Mohammad Faizan, they found him driving under the influence of alcohol. Enraged that he was in an inebriated state and causing damages to people’s property, the angry mob of people pulled him out of the car, made him lie on the road, and thrashed him. He was handed over to the police later.

As per reports, there was no religious motivation for the crowd to attack the intoxicated driver. They had simply attacked him because he was driving under the influence of alcohol and had caused damages to the bike.

Yet, AAP leader Amanatullah Khan falsely gave a communal flair to the incident, alleging that the man was beaten by the mob because he was an observant Muslim who dutifully wore skull cap, a kurta and grew a beard.

The Ghaziabad fake hate crime: Incident where the usual suspects falsely communalised an assault incident to defame ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans

The incident of falsely communalising an incident reminds one of the recent Ghaziabad fake hate crime. On June 5, 2021, Abdul Samad from Ghaziabad was thrashed by Parvez Gujjar, Aarif, Adil, Mushahid, Kallu and a few others for selling an amulet to the prime accused which allegedly had ‘adverse effects’ on his family.

Days later, Alt News co-founder Muhammed Zubair uploaded a muted video (which now stands deleted) of the incident where the victim was being assaulted and Tweeted that the man was threatened at gunpoint, beaten, assaulted and the perpetrators forcefully chopped off his beard, adding claims that the accused forced the man to chant Jai Shri Ram.

Even though the Ghaziabad Police issued a clarification, dismissing the claims that the assault was a hate crime, the left-liberal ‘intellectuals’ and media portals continued to amplify that Samad was beaten for being a Muslim. It was later revealed that a nefarious attempt was made to defame ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans. The police arrested Samajwadi Party leader Ummed Pahalwan, who confessed to having used the Ghaziabad crime by giving it a false communal angle to gain political mileage ahead of the UP state assembly elections. 

UP Police’s investigation has found that there was no religious angle in the crime as the victim and accused were known to each other and the case was that of personal animosity. While Zubair, Rana Ayyub, The Wire, Salman Nizami, Maksoor Usmani, Sama Mohammad and Saba Naqvi have been booked for spreading misleading and fake news, Twitter has been booked by the Ghaziabad police for the lack of action against these seven and allowing usage of its platform to spread fake news.

‘Is your father a mali or chowkidar? I will cancel your license, H*r*m*zade’: Maneka Gandhi threatens vets in viral audios

OpIndia Staff
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‘Is your father a mali or chowkidar? I will cancel your license, H*r*m*zade’: Maneka Gandhi threatens vets in viral audios

BJP Minister Maneka Gandhi has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons. After her alleged audio abusing a businessman went viral on social media in January, yet another call recording of her using expletives against a veterinarian is doing the rounds on social media.

It is notable here that Maneka Gandhi is a BJP MP from the Sultanpur Constituency. She was minister of women and child welfare in the former Modi government from 2014 to 2019.

In the audio file that is going viral on social media, the voice of a lady, allegedly that of Maneka Gandhi, can be heard using foul language with extremely rude mannerisms while speaking with a veterinarian doctor who had treated a dog. The dog allegedly could not recover well. Threatening to cancel his veterinary license, Gandhi called the doctor ‘Haramzaade’, “Harami’, ‘Haramkhor’ and ‘Chutiya.’

Gandhi was allegedly upset over the dog’s amputation surgery going wrong. Without giving the doctor a chance to speak, she called him illiterate. However, the doctor on call did inform that the owner insisted on taking the dog back after amputation surgery. He said that they had advised the owner to be cautious as the dog might try to tear open the stitches. 

The doctor alleged that the owner agreed to be careful, but got the dog back the next day with torn stitches. Gandhi who seemed not to be in the mood to hear the doctor’s side of the story, belittled his family and even attacked his caste.

“What is your full name?” asked Gandhi. “Vikas Sharma,” the doctor replied. “You do not use your full name because you are a blot on your family,” exclaimed Gandhi. 

Calling him a ‘jholachaap’, Gandhi was heard even dragging the vet’s family into her abusive rant. “Tumhara baap kya karta hai? Koi maali hai chowkidar hai kya hai? (What does your father do? Is he a gardener or a watchman?),” asked Gandhi. 

She also threatened the doctor of snatching his license if the dog dies and asked him to treat the dog again at his own expense. 

Veterinary association protest against Gandhi

Calling June 23 as a ‘Black Day’, the Indian Veterinary Association in a letter have condemned the unruly behavior and unparliamentary language used by Maneka Gandhi against doctors. 

In the letter, the association also emphasized on Gandhi’s demand for compensation.

Letter by Indian Veterinary Association. Image Source: Twitter

Condemning such vile and abusive behaviour coming from a parliamentarian, the association has asserted that the PM and the speaker of Lok Sabha have been apprised of Maneka’s Gandhi’s behaviour and threats. 

Students of Banaras Hindu University have also staged a protest in the college demanding an apology from the minister. 

Gandhi confronts senior doctor

In another call recording, Gandhi can be heard accusing a senior doctor of ‘killing’ a dog. The doctor who seems to be known to Gandhi explains that the said dog was severely sick, and it was euthanized as per the owner’s request.

However, Gandhi continues to accuse him of killing and hounds him for an answer. When the doctor refused to reply to her derogatory questions citing he is not answerable to her in any way, Gandhi once again threatens to cancel his license. 

The doctor who has been in practice for 25 years suggested she can do what she deems right since she is a minister in power. Irked by the comment, Gandhi calls his profession a ‘dhanda.’

Maneka Gandhi heard abusing a businessman

An alleged conversation between BJP leader Maneka Gandhi and a businessman called Ramalingam had gone viral in January on the internet where the former can be heard saying that she will get the latter booked in a sexual harassment case. The conversation is reported to have occurred after Ramalingam allegedly hit a dog with a bat.

During the conversation, Maneka Gandhi can be allegedly heard calling the man ‘Goonda’, ‘scoundrel’ and accused him of harassing one Malati Shah and Nitin. The BJP leader tells Ramalingam, “You will not harass…I will put sexual harassment case against you. You are harassing Malati Shah, You are harassing Nitin. You are going place to place talking nonsense. You are known as local goonda. You are jobless. Trying to get into politics, harass people through that. Do you understand?”

Gandhi who claims to be a dog lover has often been heard making obnoxious remarks and accusing people of wrong-doings without listening to their side of the story.

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