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Feasting on the dead: Reuters’ morbid obsession with watching Hindus burn amid the rising COVID-19 pandemic

Nupur J Sharma
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Feasting on the dead: Reuters’ morbid obsession with watching Hindus burn amid the rising COVID-19 pandemic

One photograph that we saw splashed all over social media, Twitter, Facebook or even family groups on WhatsApp, was one that had an aerial view of a burning ghat in India by Reuters. Some shared it with ire, talking about the insensitivity of the journalist who clicked the photo, some to spread propaganda and a vast majority out of fear.

Sharing this picture on Twitter, Danish Siddiqui, the Pulitzer prize-winning chief photographer of Reuters in India, had written, “As India posted world record of COVID cases funeral pyres of people, who died due to the coronavirus disease were pictured at a crematorium ground in New Delhi, April 22, 2021”.

Where there is death, there are going to be funeral pyres. But what really irked people about this photograph? The insensitivity of journalists clicking pictures while several were making their last journey was not lost on anyone. Dignity in death is certainly far more a precious right of any human being than the right to report. While COVID-19 is a crisis that must be reported, journalists who turn themselves into vultures and their profession into that of voyeurism often draw the criticism of their readers.

People all over the world died, and are still dying in large numbers since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. But the vulturism and morbid obsession over their funeral pyres is somehow seen only in India, for white publications that could not really care to accord dignity to Indians, especially, to Hindus.

This picture was shared by Danish multiple times of Twitter. Thanking people for the compliments.

It is our DUTY to document what is happening around us, he said. Nothing ‘heroic’ about it.

On April 15th, Danish posted more pictures of the deluge. Thousands of deaths. Many out of breath.

While many complimented Danish for his heroism, Reuters milked the images of Hindus being cremated to the hilt. Current on their home page, there are several articles that talk about the COVID-19 deluge in India, several with pictures of the burning pyres.

Reuters headlines on their home page
Reuters headlines on their home page
Reuters headlines on their home page
Reuters headlines on their home page
Reuters headlines on their home page

And another, nestled in an article slideshow.

Another picture of the cremation grounds

6 articles and 7 pictures in a span of two days, splashed across their current homepage. This morbid obsession that Reuters seems to harbour of watching Hindus burn is not related to telling people about the COVID-19 deluge, as one would expect Reuters to say. To write about the COVID-19 deluge and tell people just how alarming the situation is, one does not need to splash images of burning Hindus on their front page, all over their website and in multiple articles published. One needs to only talk about the truth, the cold, hard numbers, even those of death.

But Reuters would rather splash images of crematoriums, denying Hindus dignity in death. And why not? After all, the photographer for Reuters is an Indian and Indian vultures are feasting on the dead as well.

One recalls how Barkha Dutt has parked herself in front of crematoriums and often, reports from inside them. After reporting from inside the crematorium a few days ago, Barkha Dutt was parked outside it yet again yesterday. Proudly patting herself on the back and calling this the ideal way to report a humanitarian crisis.

Frankly, the crisis is truly unfolding in government officers of the chief minister who could not care less. Of babus who did nothing knowing that the second wave was afoot. The news is how hospitals are ill-equipped to handle a calamity this size. The news is asking why private hospitals did not ramp up their oxygen supply or why state governments did not set up the oxygen generation plants they were allocated money for. The real story is how people are scrambling for beds and the fear-mongering in the media that is backing up our healthcare system. Those who don’t need hospitalisation or oxygen support are desperately running for it as well, because of the feeding frenzy in the media, leaving little space for those who need it. Those who are ending up in the crematoriums.

But those stories are not as enticing as showing pictures of them burning Hindus. Tragedy porn sells and Reuters is perhaps ensuring that they simply not let a tragedy go to waste.

The sheer lack of empathy is clear not only from how they splashed images of burning pyres across their home page but also from what they chose to cover and what they did not.

Reuters diligently covered the Kumbh Mela amidst the rising COVID-19 pandemic.

But even as the pandemic rages on and Reuters writes stories on pictures of Hindus’ funeral pyres, and their chief photographer in India talks about the Kumbh Mela amidst the rising number of COVID-19 cases, for some extremely odd reason, Danish has not managed to click even one picture of the farmers protest that is raging on till date. Or if he has, the editors at Reuters think it is a story unworthy of being covered by Reuters. They believe that the unmasked protestors who could just as easily become superspreaders have a right to protest amidst a growing pandemic because propaganda must always reign supreme.

Even as the Delhi government imposed lockdown till May 3rd, a piece of news reported by Reuters, none of their reporters has managed to reach the Delhi and Haryana borders where the farmer’s protest is still raging on unabated. None of them has managed to click pictures of the ambulances and other supplies that are sporadically finding it difficult to cross borders due to the raging protest and the borders that are still blocked.

Reuters has still not managed to report how Yogendra Yadav claimed that the government is trying to use the pandemic as an excuse to end the farmers’ protests. They have not managed to report how amidst the growing pandemic and with India looking at 3 lakh cases per day, the so-called farmers have yet against declared that they will march from Punjab to Delhi.

In a span of a week, this is how Reuters covered PM Modi, religious rallies and the farmers protest.

On the 16th of April, Reuters wrote about India battling record COVID surge as rallies and HINDU festivals drew huge crowds.

Reuters article from 16th April 2021

On April 20th, Reuters wrote about Prime Minister Modi being “scorned” over “reckless rallies, religious gatherings”.

Article by Reuters on the 20th of April 2021

But guess what they wrote on the 15th of April, just one day before they scorned Hindus festivals? Indian farmers vowing to carry on protest despite “concerns” about Coronavirus. Notice the difference in tone?

Reuters article on 15th April 2020

And only weeks ago, in the run up to the brutal COVID second wave, Reuters had reported how poor farmers are vowing to garner more support because PM Modi can be ‘scorned’ for religious gatherings, but out of control, violent protestors must carry on.

Reuters article on 22nd February 2021

Punjab has seen over 74 deaths and 7,000 cases in the last 24 hours. Delhi has seen thousands of new cases and an acute oxygen shortage with the Chief Minister being rapped by the Delhi High Court.

This is the graph that shows the number of new cases in Delhi.

Source: Google News

Of course, none of this really matters to Reuters. The pandemic, the suffering, the death, none of it really does. What matters is that India is suffering and that gives it an excuse to humiliate us even further.

We all remember those headlines wondering how India has managed to tame COVID-19 surge after the first wave. We all remember how western media almost denied India’s success and almost prayed for more deaths so they could watch us burn. Now that they have the opportunity, what would be better than images of Indians.. nay.. Hindus actually, literally burning?

Reports emerge that Chinese army and scientists worked together on animal viruses, amid (conspiracy) theories of covid being a bioweapon

OpIndia Staff
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Reports emerge that Chinese army and scientists worked together on animal viruses, amid (conspiracy) theories of covid being a bioweapon

The Scientists at China’s maximum-security Wuhan Institute of Virology banded together with the Chinese Army officials to study animal viruses and the diseases caused by them—something that has been vehemently denied by Beijing—but a report recently published by The Mail affirms.

The documents in possession of The Mail reportedly reveal that a countrywide plan, at the behest of a state body, was launched 9 years ago to investigate the origins of the new viruses and uncover the “dark matter” of biology responsible for the spread of diseases.

The project was a ‘success’ as one of the scientists involved in this collaborative initiative, who also published the first genetic sequence of the Covid-19 virus in January last year, discovered 143 new diseases in the first three years of the project alone.

The recent findings by The Mail jibes with the longstanding accusations levelled by the United States that the Chinese Army had used the Wuhan Institute of Virology(WIV) for bequeathing the intractable coronavirus to the world.

The project included five team leaders, including Shi Zhengli, the WIV virologist who had earned the moniker ‘Batwoman’ for her passionate researches into bats and viruses. Curiously, Zhengli was honoured as ‘advanced worker of the Chinese Academy of Science(CAS) by Beijing in January 2021.

Zhengli was quick to dismiss the American allegations of collaboration between the Chinese military and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Denying the allegations, Zhengli had last month said: “I don’t know of any military work at the WIV. That info is incorrect.”

While Zhengli refuted the accusations of the Chinese military’s involvement at the WIV, the project included another team member—Cao Wuchun, a senior army officer and government advisor on bioterrorism. Wuchun is among those listed on project reports as a researcher from the Academy of Military Medical Sciences of the People’s Liberation Army and works in close collaboration with other military scientists. He is also the director of the Military Biosafety Expert Committee.

Wuchun, who studied at Cambridge University, is also on the advisory board of the Wuhan Institute of Virology. He was also the second-in-command of the military team that was rushed into Wuhan to combat the new virus and develop a vaccine, said the Daily Mail report.

The report also shed light on a project called the discovery of animal-delivered pathogens carried by wild animals, which investigated the evolution of organisms that could infect human beings. Launched in 2012 and financed by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the project was led by Xu Jianguo, who preened himself at a conference in 2019 that ‘a giant network of infectious disease prevention and control is taking shape’.

Interestingly, Jianguo also presided over the first expert group probing the emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan. He denied human transmission initially, despite evidence to the contrary from hospitals across the city. He also insisted in mid-January that the epidemic was limited and would eventually fizzle out in the coming weeks.

In 2018, the findings by scientists published in international journals found four new pathogens and ten new bacteria while ‘more than 1,640 new viruses were discovered using metagenomics technology’. This research is based on extracting the genetic material from samples, such as those collected by Zhengli from bat faeces and blood in the cave networks of Southern China.

Such widespread sampling helped Zhengli make a revelation last year about RaTG13, the closest known relative to the new strain of coronavirus that causes Covid. And predictably, it was stored at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. It was later discovered that she had changed the name of the virus identified in a previous paper, in a bid to obscure its connection with three miners who died from a strange respiratory disease they caught while clearing bat faeces.

Prof Zhengli had also conceded that 8 more SARS viruses had been discovered from the mine. The institute took its database of virus samples offline in September 2019, just a few weeks before the COVID-19 epidemic broke out in Wuhan.

Chinese dissidents claim coronavirus was a ‘man-made’ virus at Wuhan Institute of Virology

In the last few years, under the leadership of Premier Xi Jinping, the Chinese military has scaled up its hiring of scientists, as a part of the country’s efforts to attain global supremacy. Lianchao Han, a dissident who used to work for the Chinese government, said Cao’s involvement raised doubts that military researchers who are experts in coronaviruses might also be involved in bio-defense operations.

In September 2020, Chinese virologist Dr Li-Meng Yan had revealed that the coronavirus was a man-made virus at a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan. She had contended that the coronavirus was made in a government-controlled laboratory in Wuhan and had asserted that she has scientific proof to back the claim.

Speaking at a British talk show, scientist Dr Li-Meng Yan said she was assigned to investigate “new pneumonia” in Wuhan when she discovered a cover-up operation by the Chinese government’s to publicly deny the virus pandemic despite being aware of its presence.

“This virus is not from nature,” said Yan, adding that the genome sequence had a human fingerprint. Dr Li-Meng, who was a scientist at the Hong Kong School of Public Health, had to flee the country because she feared retribution from the Chinese Communist Party.

Growing belligerence of China against nations demanding a probe into the origins of coronavirus

The US State Department also raised apprehensions over risky ‘gain of function’ experiments to manipulate coronaviruses at the Wuhan lab and alleged that researchers at the institute fell sick with coronavirus symptoms weeks before the outbreak ripped through the central Chinese city. The former US President Donald Trump too insisted that the virus came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

China was recently under the firing line of Britain, the US and 12 other countries for denying to share key data and samples after a joint team of World Health Organisation and Chinese scientists termed the possibility of a lab leak being the reason for the pandemic as ‘extremely unlikely’.

However, China has been increasingly combative in tackling the allegations levelled against it. It has sought to economically punish countries who demanded a fair and impartial probe into the origins of the coronavirus. Beijing has also been belligerent in its denial of the accusations that the virus originated from Wuhan, launching aggressive propaganda campaigns instead to allege that the virus emerged from outside China.

Police force most corrupt, overall increase of 26% in corruption cases: Maharashtra ACB data reveals

OpIndia Staff
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Police force most corrupt, overall increase of 26% in corruption cases: Maharashtra ACB data reveals

The statistical report [pdf] released by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) reveals that there has been an increase in corruption cases by 26 percent in the state of Maharashtra since the beginning of 2021. 

The report which cites data from January 01, 2021, to April 24, 2021, suggests that maximum arrests in corruption cases were made from the police department followed by officials of the revenue department.

In a shocking revelation, the bribery amount involving the police department is recorded to be Rs 11,58,100 followed by Municipal Corporations with Rs 10,05,500 and Revenue Department with Rs 9,45,400.

The total bribe amount involved in the 254 cases filed, amounts to Rs 61.89 lakh.

Statistics of new cases and arrests

As per the statistics, 254 new cases were registered by the ACB from early January till April 24 this year and 342 arrests of people involved in these cases have been made as compared to 201 new cases registered and 282 arrests made during the same period last year.

Of the 254 cases registered, 53 cases have been filed against the Revenue Department which has resulted in the arrest of 73 officials.

The report also reveals that 77 arrests have been made from the police department in connection to 50 cases of corruption, while 22 cases have been registered against various Municipal Corporations leading to arrests of 33 officials.

Maximum cases have been recorded from cities like Aurangabad (79) followed by Nashik (58), Pune (57), Thane (40) and Mumbai (32). 

An ACB official revealed in a statement, “The police and Revenue departments have been among the top positions in corruption cases since past few years. Last year there were less cases registered because of the lockdown and once the lockdown was lifted, the cases again started rising. We appeal citizens not to fall into the demands made by corrupt government officials and come forward and lodge complaints with the ACB to ensure that corrupt officials are brought to book. We regularly take awareness campaigns for citizens to make them more aware about uprooting corruption.”

CBI files FIR against Anil Deshmukh

Meanwhile, an FIR has also been filed by the CBI against former Maharashtra Home Minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh on corruption charges. 

Allegations of extortion and corruption were levelled against Deshmukh by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.

The preliminary enquiry had been registered after the Bombay High Court ordered a CBI inquiry basis a PIL filed by Dr Jaishri Patil. Terming the case as ‘extraordinary and unprecedented, the Bombay High Court had also said that after the preliminary inquiry ordered by it, the CBI would be free to decide further course of action. Therefore, it allowed the CBI to file an FIR in the case if it did find evidence against Anil Deshmukh in the allegations leveled against him by Parambir Singh.

West Bengal: Poll-bound Murshidabad witnesses bombing incident, BJP party office too allegedly attacked by TMC goons ahead of polling

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: Poll-bound Murshidabad witnesses bombing incident, BJP party office too allegedly attacked by TMC goons ahead of polling

Ahead of the 7th phase of Vidhan Sabha elections in West Bengal, incident of bombing has surfaced from the Borderpara area in Tentulia in the Murshidabad constituency, reported Zee 24 ghanta. The attack took place late on Sunday (April 25) night.

As per reports, the unidentified goons targetted the BJP office in Tentulia and tore down party flags and banners. While speaking about the matter, a local (dressed in cyan T-shirt) said, ” The attack was carried out by the Trinamool Congress. There has been bombing in the area. The TMC goons have threatened us publicly.”

On being asked about the specific location where the bombing incident took place, another local responded, “The bombing took place right in our village, in front of my uncle’s house. The (goons) had initially captured my uncle. Around 25-30 miscreants had come to orchestrate the attack. This is what they have been doing for several nights now. They have taken away our sleep.”

Video Courtesy: Youtube/News 24 Ghanta)

“They are not allowing us to even cast our vote. The goons have been threatening the agents (of BJP),” he concluded. The first local said, “They tried to destroy the BJP party office but could not succeed due to our presence. But, they hurled bombs and left the place.” Owing to the fear that they might be obstructed or physically barred from exercising their right to vote, several women in Tentulia have decided to cast their vote early in the morning.

“I am going to vote early. Everyone is saying that a ruckus might break out later in the day,” a woman lamented. Following the bombing incident, an atmosphere of fear and anxiety has gripped the area. Voting for the 7th phase of polls is currently underway in 34 constituencies in West Bengal. These include 4, constituencies in Kolkata, 6 constituencies each in Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda, and 9 constituencies each in Murshidabad and Paschim Bardhaman.

Crude bombs hurled in Minakhan Vidhan Sabha assembly during 5th phase

Earlier during the 5th phase of polls, crude bombs were hurled at poll booth 114 in West Bengal’s Minakhan Assembly. The Trinamool Congress party had pinned the blame of the attack on the members of Peerzada Abbasuddin Siddique’s party Indian Secular Front. Besides, incidents of violence were also reported from outside polling booth 115 in Minakhan Assembly.

In a separate incident, BJP and TMC workers clashed after the BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted in West Bengal’s North Bardhaman district. The Trinamool Congress alleged that at least 35 “outsiders” and “BJP goons” were ‘threatening’ TMC voters who were on their way to the polling booth in Nadia’s Kalyani.

Antilia bomb scare: Arrested Crime Branch cop Sunil Mane’s offices raided by NIA, involvement in Mansukh Hiren murder being probed

OpIndia Staff
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Antilia bomb scare: Arrested Crime Branch cop Sunil Mane’s offices raided by NIA, involvement in Mansukh Hiren murder being probed

With Sachin Vaze and Riyaz Kazi sent to extended judicial custody by a special NIA court till May 05, the National Investigation Agency has also secured suspended Crime Branch Inspector Sunil Mane’s custody till April 28. 

In a recent update, the NIA reportedly conducted raids at Locals Arms Office in Marol, Andheri where Mane was recently posted, and at his prior office Crime Branch Unit 11 in Kandivali, Mumbai suburbs. 

The NIA also conducted a raid at a location in Borivali from where a red car allegedly belonging to Mane was seized. The vehicle has been handed over to forensics to trace any relevant evidence in connection to Mumbai businessman Mansukh Hiren’s death case.

Allegations on Mane

Police inspector Sunil Mane, who was arrested on Friday by the NIA was said to be present in the area at Thane where Hiren was murdered in a car on March 4 and his body dumped in a creek nearby as per technical evidence found against him. 

The NIA is also in search of a SIM card used by Mane to make calls to Hiren on the 3rd and 4th of March. As per sources, Mane was present at a meeting between the suspended APIs and was reportedly involved in passing on SIM cards procured from Vaze to other officials who were involved in the case. 

On Saturday, Mane was taken to the three spots at Thane including the Reti Bunder creek where Hiren’s body was found.

Mane’s involvement 

NIA has also been scrutinizing Mane’s call details to establish who he was in touch with before and after the Antilia bomb-scare incident in February and Mansukh Hiren’s murder. 

The investigation has incidentally revealed that the person who made the last call to Hiren around 8.30 pm on March 4, before he went missing, identified himself to be a crime branch officer from ‘Kandivali’. The call was made to get the victim out to Ghodbunder Road in Thane on the pretext of a meeting.

The conspiracy

As per NIA sources, Mane was under suspicion from the beginning of the investigation for his involvement in the case. Sources claim that Mane was a crucial part of the conspiracy hatched to eliminate Hiren. 

It is said that he was present at the crime intelligence unit (CIU) office on March 3, when Vaze was trying to convince Hiren to take the blame for placing the explosives-laden Scorpio near industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s residence Antilia. Vaze had promised the businessman to get him out on bail in a few days. 

Upon Hiren’s refusal to take the blame, Sachin Vaze along with his associates hatched a plan to eliminate the 48-year-businessman from Thane.

An NIA officer added that Mane was also allegedly a part of the meeting which was held at Chakala in Andheri by Vaze and Vinayak Shinde – a former constable arrested in the Mansukh Hiren death case.

Mane, Maharashtra Police service officer from the 1995 batch, was in charge of Mumbai’s Crime Branch’s Unit 11 until he was recently transferred to the local arms division as a part of the clean-up drive undertaken by police commissioner Hemant Nagrale after Sachin Vaze’s arrest by the NIA.

When NIA began the probe, Mane was posted in Mumbai’s Crime Branch’s Unit 11, Kandivali.

WB polls: From flouting EC guidelines to manhandling BJP leaders, allegations pile up on TMC leaders during 7th phase of polling

OpIndia Staff
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WB polls: From flouting EC guidelines to manhandling BJP leaders, allegations pile up on TMC leaders during 7th phase of polling

Amidst the 7th phase of Vidhan Sabha polls in West Bengal, a Trinamool Congress (TMC) polling agent was caught sporting a cap bearing the face of CM Mamata Banerjee. The incident took place on Monday (April 26) at the polling booth in Baktarnagar High school in Paschim Bardhaman. It must be mentioned that sporting election symbols on polling day on vehicles, pamphlets, and other paraphernalia is a breach of the guidelines laid down by the Election Commission.

As per reports, the accused TMC polling agent has been identified as one Nayan Chand. He was caught red-handed by Agnimitra Paul, the BJP candidate from the Asansol Dakshin Assembly constituency. “Topi pade bosha royecha…Apni Presiding officer apni bolen ni je aita allowed na…Mamata Banerjee r topi padhe basha royeche (He is sitting with this cap… You are the Presiding officer. Did you not tell him that such a thing is not allowed? He is wearing the cap bearing Mamata Banerjee’s face),” she said.

Agnimitra Paul showcased the cap before the media. As seen in visuals, the cap bears the face of Mamata Banerjee. “Polling agents must know that you are not allowed to wear caps, head coverings that contain party symbols, logos, or the face of prominent leaders. TMC agent Nayan Chand was wearing this cap. Don’t they know the rules? TMC is after all a national party. Why didn’t Mamata Banerjee brief him about this? They are trying to influence people by pulling off these small tricks,” the BJP leader emphasised.

(Video Courtesy: Youtube/News24 Ghanta)

BJP agent manhandled, forcibly pushed out of polling booth by TMC goons

In another incident, a BJP polling agent named Sankar Sarkar was harassed and manhandled by Trinamool Congress (TMC) goons in Bakhra village of Ratua in Malda. He was pushed out of Booth No. 91 after they claimed that he was not a voter. While recounting his ordeal, he said, “I am an agent at booth number 91. Members of TMC, who are residents of the village, told me that they won’t let me there as I’m not a voter there. They forcefully pushed me out. I was threatened by them.”

A Trinamool Congress worker has however claimed that the BJP polling agent was not harassed. “He is not a voter here so we asked him to leave respectfully. Nobody threatened him,” the man claimed. Voting for the 7th phase of polls is currently underway in 34 constituencies in West Bengal. These include 4, constituencies in Kolkata, 6 constituencies each in Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda, and 9 constituencies each in Murshidabad and Paschim Bardhaman.

Delhi CM Relief Fund collected Rs 35 crore since beginning of pandemic but ‘NIL’ was utilised for COVID, RTI reveals

Anurag
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Delhi CM Relief Fund collected Rs 35 crore since beginning of pandemic but ‘NIL’ was utilised for COVID, RTI reveals

An RTI (Right To Information) application has revealed that Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Government received almost Rs 35 crores under LG/CM Relief Fund from March 2020 to January 2021. The Kejriwal government spent over Rs 17 crores from the amount. However, it failed to provide information on funds it spent to control the Covid-19 pandemic from March 2020 to January 2021. It has to be noted that the Delhi Government has been accusing the central government of the surge and mismanagement of pandemic in the national capital.

Details of the RTI

RTI applications were filed by RTI activist Vivek Pandey. Speaking to OpIndia, Vivek informed that he filed two RTI applications with Delhi Government to get information on funds collected under CM/LG relief fund since March 2020 and how it was utilised.

He also asked the AAP-led Delhi Government if they had spent any money on controlling the Covid-19 pandemic during the period. The first RTI was filed in November 2020 and second was filed in February 2021.

Both RTIs had almost similar replies

Vivek shared the questions he had sent in both RTIs and screenshots of the replies he had received from the Delhi Government. In the first RTI application submitted on November 16, 2020, he asked the govt to provide details of the amount deposited in LG/CM relief funds from March 2020 till date. In the reply, it was mentioned that a total of Rs 34.69 crores were collected during that period.

RTI application by Vivek Pandey and reply by Delhi government in November 2020

On the question of how much the government had spent from the fund, it was mentioned that Rs 17.02 crores were spent to date. However, the government of Delhi was unable to provide the details of where they spent the money, stating the data was not finalized and reconciled yet. To the query on how much money was spent on Covid pandemic control, the reply came as NIL.

RTI application by Vivek Pandey and reply by Delhi government in February 2021

After waiting for three months, Vivek submitted another application hoping to get a better answer from Kejriwal’s Government. The only difference in the replies that Delhi Government provided was the difference in the amount they received (Rs 34.77 crores) and the amount they spent (Rs 17.27 crores). To the query, how much money they spend on Covid pandemic control was NIL.

Delhi Government should have used funds for preparations, said Vivek

Speaking to OpIndia, Vivek said that the Delhi Government had been consistently blaming the central government for the mismanagement of health infrastructure in the national capital amid a rising number of Covid cases. However, despite of having funds in hand, Kejriwal allegedly did nothing to control the pandemic. “He could have established oxygen plants or make some arrangements beforehand with the funds from CM Relief Fund,” said Vivek. Notably, Kejriwal Government tried to take credit for the relief work Central Government did after Delhi Government failed to manage the pandemic last year. Even during the second, they tried the same tactics but failed.

Out of proportion ad expenses of Delhi government

As per reports, Delhi Government has spent hundreds of crores on ads in print, television and online media in the last few months. With over Rs 150 crores spent just on ads in 2021, Delhi Government appears to have a different set of priorities. In March alone, the govt spent whooping Rs.92.48 crores on ads. A Twitter user said that he counted ads playing for 15 times within six hours on TV.

The covid situation in Delhi

On April 25, Delhi reported 22,933 new cases. So far, the state has recorded 10,27,715 Covid-19 cases, out of which 9,18,143 have recovered. There are 94,592 active cases in the state, and 14,248 people have lost their lives to Covid-19 related complications. 350 people died on April 25. The state has been reporting over a 30% positive rate from the last one week. There is also a consistent drop in the number of vaccinations administered in the state from the last two weeks. Since April 10, when the state had issued 1,05,918 vaccine shots, Delhi could not cross the 1 lakh/day mark. On some days, the state was struggling to administer even 50,000 shots. 

Hemkunt Foundation accuse Rajasthan Police of detaining oxygen cylinders meant for critical COVID patients

OpIndia Staff
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Hemkunt Foundation accuse Rajasthan Police of detaining oxygen cylinders meant for critical COVID patients

Amidst the rising cases of Coronavirus in the country, several NGOs have come forward to help needy citizens with the supply of free medical oxygen cylinders. One such non-governmental organization has been the Hemkunt Foundation, which has supplied more than 1000 cylinders so far at a nominal, refundable security deposit of ₹10,000.

Despite its best efforts to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of liquid oxygen, the foundation has alleged that they are being harassed by the Rajasthan Police. “Our driver and truck of cylinders have been detained at Bhiwadi Police Station meanwhile critical patients are waiting at our Drive-Thru in Gurgaon,” it said in a tweet yesterday.

In another tweet, the NGO informed that while critical Coronavirus patients had been desperately waiting for oxygen cylinders and had run out of resources. “Police have stopped all trucks. We can’t do anything about it,” lamented a man in the background.

Rajasthan police responds to the controversy

Following outrage on social media, the Rajasthan police intervened and directed the Bhiwadi police branch to look into the matter urgently. “Still waiting,” responded Hemkunt Foundation.

Screengrab of the tweet by Rajasthan police

The Rajasthan police Help Desk directed the Inspector General of police post an update about the matter. In response, the Twitter handle of IGP Jaipur informed, “According to the information received from Bhiwadi police, a pickup vehicle was found parked in Ghatal village. A total of 5 empty oxygen cylinders were found in the car. On not receiving a satisfactory answer from the driver of the vehicle, he was brought to the police station and released after interrogation at 2:56 am in the night.”

Screengrab of the tweet

Citing cases of black marketing of oxygen cylinders, Bhiwadi police justified their action against Hemkunt Foundation. While conveniently ignoring the fact that the police high-handedness led to delay in supply of medical oxygen to critical Coronavirus patients, it said, “Keeping in mind the cases of black marketing of oxygen cylinders, the driver was called to the police station on not receiving a satisfactory answer. He was allowed to go at 2:56 am and the vehicle was permitted to go.”

The development was also confirmed by IPS Arun Bothra. He tweeted, “Vehicles have been released. You may verify and confirm.”

Noida: Hospitals ordered to clear 200 beds, were occupied by patients with little need of hospitalization

OpIndia Staff
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Noida: Hospitals ordered to clear 200 beds, were occupied by patients with little need of hospitalization

Multiple private hospitals in Noida were pulled up for admitting patients with little need or no need for hospitalization and for sensationalizing the shortage of oxygen and other medical essentials when there was none. 

As per reports, Various city hospitals were inspected by the District Magistrate(DM) and Chief Medical Officer(CMO) of Noida who got the hospitals to free up nearly 200 Covid beds that were occupied by patients who actually didn’t require hospitalization. The beds were made free for critical patients in need of hospitalization.

As per a report in India Today, the hospitals where beds were freed are: GIMS, Yatharth, Kailash, Sharda, JayPee, Fortis, Prakash, Sector 39 Covid hospital, Indogulf, JR hospital, SRS hospital, Surya, and Metro Hospital.

The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration said on Friday that several people had occupied beds in private hospitals of Noida and Greater Noida without being in need of them.

Following an inspection by the health department, an official indicated that strict action will be taken against those private hospitals which took to social media raising an alarm of shortage of medical oxygen which turned out to be baseless and “fact less”.

Action to be taken against private hospitals that kept beds occupied with patients who didn’t need them

As per reports, District Magistrate Suhas LY conducted a virtual meeting with senior administration and health officials of Gautam Buddh Nagar, including Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Deepak Ohri, to discuss the grave mismanagement at private hospitals and other issues related to the Covid-19 situation. He has ordered the committee to submit a report on the same. 

District Information Officer Rakesh Chauhan said, “The DM made it clear to all officials that every Coivid-19 patient in the district should be provided all facilities as per the instructions of the state government.”

“On the DM’s directions, the CMO and his team reviewed the ground situation in several hospitals on Friday and found that several patients in some private hospitals were occupying beds although they do not need to be hospitalized. On the other hand, some private hospitals have put out “factless” information related to the availability of medical oxygen in the district through social media which has been taken very seriously by the district administration,” he added.

“DM Suhas has asked CMO Ohri to present a report based on the review of hospitals on Friday where people were found occupying beds without any requirement so that strict action could be taken against such facilities,” Chauhan concluded in the statement.

Hospitals asked to not turn away critical patients

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced on Sunday that all Covid-19 hospitals in Uttar Pradesh will be required to publicly announce the number of vacant beds twice a day.

The Chief Minister also directed the officials on Sunday to ensure that no hospital in Uttar Pradesh will turn away patients that require hospitalization to treat Covid-19 and if state-run hospitals are short of beds, the patients can be sent to private hospitals for which the expenses will be taken care by the government.

Delhi Police refutes allegations that it is clamping down on ‘volunteers who are amplifying resource information’ on COVID crisis

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi Police refutes allegations that it is clamping down on ‘volunteers who are amplifying resource information’ on COVID crisis

As Delhi struggles under the fourth wave of Chinese coronavirus, a new wave of fake news and falsehoods is being created on social media by Modi-hating ‘influencers’.

Delhi-lawyer and columnist Dushyant on Sunday tweeted that multiple people have reached out to him claiming that Delhi Police is ‘hounding’ them and asking them to shut down their WhatsApp groups and other crowdsourcing efforts amid the pandemic.

Dushant’s tweet

Dushyant is a very vocal Rahul Gandhi and Congress supporter.

He was joined by NDTV’s Gargi Rawat Ansari who questioned whether Delhi Police is acting against these ‘volunteers’ because they are providing scarce resources, thereby casting aspersions that Delhi Police is trying to hamper relief efforts of ‘volunteers’.

Gargi Rawat Ansari’s tweet

Gargi Rawat Ansari is married to Yusuf Ahmad Ansari, the great-grandson of former Congress President Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari. Notorious gangster Mukhtar Ansari who was recently brought to UP from Punjab is also one of her close relatives through marriage.

Similar messages were shared with unverifiable claims where their ‘friends’ claimed their WhatsApp relief group was ‘dismantled’.

Tweet alleging a ‘WhatsApp group dismantled’ on Delhi Police order

More people had replied to the tweet accusing Delhi Police of cracking down on volunteers last year as well during the migrant crisis after Kejriwal govt ran buses to UP border while the inter-state movement was prohibited.

Tweet alleging Delhi Police of arresting people distributing meals to migrants in 2020

It is imperative to note here that none of these claims were supported by evidence.

Soon, copy-paste toolkit gang got activated and similar messages started floating on social media.

Tweet copied from Dushyant

One Twitter user ‘Piku’ tweeted the same thing as Dushyant.

Piku

@risingsurbhi is an AAP social media worker and is followed by various AAP leaders.

More such messages

Many social media users spread such messages on various platforms claiming that Delhi Police is forcing ‘volunteers’ to shut down the coordinating activities.

Here are some more tweets by influencers making similar claims about Delhi Police.

Kisse Kahaniyaan tweet

Kisse Kahaniyaan has over 4,400 followers on Twitter and is followed by many influential Twitter users, politicians, political activists and journalists.

Kisse Kahaniyaan followers

As one can see, many Congress leaders and supporters are following this influential account.

Kakul’s tweet

Similarly, Kakul Prasher is also followed by many politicians, journalists and activists.

People who follow Kakul

The Delhi Police, however, has refuted these allegations.

Delhi Police said that it takes strong objection to such motivated, unverified and unsubstantiated allegations that Delhi Police has asked volunteers to stop amplifying resource information. Delhi Police also added how they have also been on their toes helping with oxygen supply and other essentials amid the coronavirus crisis and such misinformation campaign will not deter them from continuing to do the good work.

Fake news and hoax: Influencers spread conspiracy theory

On Saturday, the government of India had to step in and ask Twitter to remove false, malicious and misleading tweets regarding the coronavirus pandemic. Filmmakers like Vinod Kapri and Swara Bhaskar starrer Anarkali of Arrah director Avinash Das had resorted to share old, unrelated pictures or pictures of different locations which could have led to a panic-like situation. Similarly, political activist like Hansraj Meena had used his influence to amplify that coronavirus is a hoax and conspiracy and that the illness does not exist.

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