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From fake Remdesivir in Sharad Pawar’s constituency to fake RT-PCR reports: Thugs are having a free run in Maharashtra amid pandemic

OpIndia Staff
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From fake Remdesivir in Sharad Pawar’s constituency to fake RT-PCR reports: Thugs are having a free run in Maharashtra amid pandemic

After receiving a tip-off about black-marketing of Remdesivir, the Pune rural police arrested four persons for allegedly selling fake Remdesivir injections in the Baramati area. 

A police official informed that three injenction vials labeled as Remdesivir, filled with liquid form of paracetamol were seized from the accused. Baramati is home town of NCP chief Sharad Pawar who also represents it in the Lok Sabha.

Narayan Shirgavkar, deputy superintendent of police, Baramati division informed that the accused were selling the fake drug at ₹35,000 per vial while its authorized market price is ₹1,100. “We have arrested four people under relevant sections of the IPC, Essential Commodities Act, Drug & Cosmetics Act and Drugs (Price Control) Act,” he added.

According to the information given by the police, Prashant Gharat (23), Shankar Bhise (22), Dilip Gaikwad (35) and Sandeep Gaikwad (20) have been arrested.

The four accused have sold seven duplicate injections to the relatives of Covid-19 positive patients until now. The police also fear that the patients to whom the fake injections were sold might develop some side effects. The police are now tracing the relatives of seven patients, to whom the injections have been sold. 

The arrests were made after laying a trap upon receiving information, where the police recovered two Remdesivir vials. The vial seal was broken when the injection was examined and injection holes were visible in the rubber caps.

One of the accused worked as a ward boy at various hospitals and procured used Remdesivir vials to fill them with the liquid form of paracetamol while others found needy customers to sell the fake injections, the police officer said.

The state of Maharashtra is currently facing a shortage of Remdesivir, a critical drug used in the treatment of Covid-19.

Police busts fake RT-PCR report racket

Pune City Police on Saturday arrested two persons for allegedly selling fake Covid RT PCR reports in the name of a private lab at J M Road. During the police investigation, it was revealed that the two accused had issued fake Covid RT-PCR reports to multiple people.

A case was registered with Pune’s Deccan police station after a diagnostic centre received information that somebody is issuing fake reports under their lab’s name. 

The police have booked the two accused identified as Sagar Hande and Dayanand Kharate under IPC sections 419, 420, 465, 468, 469, 471 and 336, and further investigation is being conducted.

The police informed, “They have sold it to many people till now and police is investigating further links in the case.”

The Maharashtra government in an order issued on April 10 had made it compulsory for anyone delivering essential services to carry a negative RT-PCR report, valid for 15 days from issuance. The sudden high demand in testing and delay to release reports by the labs made it easy for the accused to release and sell fake reports to the needy.

After finishing rallies in all poll bound states amid rising COVID cases, Rahul Gandhi ‘cancels’ future rallies in Bengal where Congress has no chance

OpIndia Staff
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After finishing rallies in all poll bound states amid rising COVID cases, Rahul Gandhi ‘cancels’ future rallies in Bengal where Congress has no chance

After addressing crowded rallies across all poll bound states, Rahul Gandhi today took to social media to announce that he will not be addressing any future rallies in West Bengal.

Rahul Gandhi claimed that in view of COVID situation, he is suspending all public rallies in West Bengal with three phases of polling remaining. It is imperative to note here that Rahul Gandhi had continued to hold massive rallies across all poll-bound states, sometimes joined by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, despite rising COVID cases.

On April 4, 2021, Rahul Gandhi addressed and boasted about massive rally in Kerala. Kerala is second worst affected state in terms of maximum COVID cases. On 4th April, Kerala had over 11 lakh total coronavirus cases, of which almost 28,000 were active cases. At the time of this report on 18th April, 2021, Kerala has 80,000 plus active cases.

Here is Rahul Gandhi addressing massive gathering in Tamil Nadu. On 28th March, 2021, Tamil Nadu had a total of 8,79,473 total cases of which 13,070 were active cases. As of today, there are 65,000 active cases in Tamil Nadu.

Here is Congress boasting about massive gathering of people biding farewell to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Assam.

Elections in Assam, Tamil Nadu and Assam along with Union Territory of Puducherry have already concluded.

In West Bengal, where Congress is in alliance with Left parties, does not quite stand a chance to form government. Many are predicting even fewer seats than the 2016 tally for Congress and its alliance in the West Bengal elections.

Rahul Gandhi criticises rallies four days after addressing massively crowded rally in Bengal

Dibakar Dutta
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Rahul Gandhi criticises rallies four days after addressing massively crowded rally in Bengal

On Sunday (April 18), Congress scion Rahul Gandhi sparked a new controversy by attributing election rallies to the rising Coronavirus cases in the country.

In a tweet, he said, “Bimaro aur mritako ki bhi itni bheed pehali baar dekhi hai (I have seen such a large crowd of infected and deceased people too for the first time).” Gandhi’s tweet was followed with the hashtag ‘#rallies’. The Congress dynast took potshots at the ruling BJP for its aggressive campaign ahead of the 6th phase of polls in West Bengal.

Screengrab of the tweet by Rahul Gandhi

However, Rahul Gandhi was seen addressing a large gathering in Goalpokhar in West Bengal ahead of the 5th phase of Vidhan Sabha polls. Despite his criticism of election rallies, the Congress dynast has been guilty of doing the same thing. And the Congress party has been boasting about large crowds at his rallies, hoping to project it as the turn of the party’s political fortunes.

In a tweet on Wednesday (April 14), the official handle of the party tweeted, “Shri Rahul Gandhi receives a tremendous reception as he arrives for his public meeting at Goalpokhar in West Bengal.” The tweet was followed with the hashtag WBWelcomesRahulGandhi. The visuals, shared by the party, clearly showed how social distancing guidelines went for a toss during his rally.

Screengrab of the tweet by Congress

Despite holding a rally just 4 days ago, Rahul Gandhi has now resorted to virtue signalling.

During his address to Congress party workers, the Congress scion said, “Mamata Banerjee has been saying that a game would be played at the time of elections. What kind of game? Please explain who will build roads here or construct colleges and universities. If you want, we can play on that field.”

Screengrab of the tweet by Congress

Ahead of the polls in the State of Kerala, Rahul Gandhi was also seen conducting a roadshow on April 1. In a video uploaded on Youtube by the official handle of the party, the Congress MP from Wayanad was seen waving at people from a car. Interestingly, thousands of party workers were seen marching behind him with no regards to social distancing protocols.

(Video Courtesy: Youtube/ Indian National Congress)

While poll-bound West Bengal has a total of 45,300 active Coronavirus cases, Maharashtra has recorded 6,49,563 cases. This is despite the fact that no election rallies are being conducted in Maharashtra. It must be mentioned that the Congress is a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which is currently running the government in the State.

Uttarakhand BJP leader Suhail Pasha resigns after video shows him boasting about making village ‘Pandit-free’ goes viral

OpIndia Staff
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Uttarakhand BJP leader Suhail Pasha resigns after video shows him boasting about making village ‘Pandit-free’ goes viral

On Friday (April 16), BJP leader Suhail Pasha tendered his resignation from the party after a video showed him boasting about making a village ‘Pandit-free’. He is the husband of the Pradhan in Jeevangarh village and former District President of BJP Minority Morcha in Dehradun.

In a video shared by Pachhwadoon Khabar on Wednesday (April 14), Suhail Pasha was heard claiming that Jeevangarh village would be freed from the Pandits. “Jeevangarh was once called the hub of Pandits. And as of today, Jeevangarh is on the verge of being freed from the Pandits,” he boasted.

Suhail Pasha further warned that if Holi celebrations are conducted in the area, then, he would make the Muslims offer Namaz in the middle of Pitt Bazar. He cautioned that he would put up a signboard and tell Muslims to offer the Eid Namaz in the market. “We already have a mosque in place. We don’t have any such necessity to (offer prayers in the market) but we will do so to create chaos,” the former BJP leader added.

(Video Courtesy: Youtube/ Pachhhwadoon Khabar)

After his video went viral on social media, several organisations including Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Uttarakhand Pragati Manch etc. came forward to demand action against Suhail Pasha. They said that his comments against the Brahmin community hurt their religious sentiments.

Demonstrations were carried out the Herbertpur chowk in Dehradun and the effigy of Suhail Pasha was set on fire. The protestors said that Hindus would not tolerate such comments by a district-level leader. They warned about intensifying the protests if stringent action is not taken.

Suhail Pasha resigns from the party following anti-Hindu comments

In the aftermath of widespread criticism, BJP leader Suhail Pasha tendered his resignation from the party on Friday. In his resignation letter, he claimed that the viral video was maliciously edited to suggest that he made derogatory comments against a ‘particular section of the society.’ He alleged that his comments were directed against one influential family, who had occupied the gram panchayat of Dakhpathhar. Pasha said that he had referred to wiping out that family from power and not the Brahmin community.

Screengrab of the resignation letter

While submitting his resignation letter, Suhail Pasha further claimed that it is a ‘conspiracy’ against him. He demanded a fair investigation into the matter and said that the ‘real’ culprits should be punished. In his defence, he emphasised that he made the party stronger in Muslim-dominated area and requested the BJP Chief of Uttarakhand to accept his resignation.

Devendra Fadnavis alleges harassment by Uddhav govt to Remdesivir supplier as Maharashtra struggles with coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Devendra Fadnavis alleges harassment by Uddhav govt to Remdesivir supplier as Maharashtra struggles with coronavirus

Mumbai Police on Saturday detained and questioned director of Daman-based pharma company Bruck Pharmaceuticals over supply of Remdesivir vials, one of the anti-viral drug prescribed to some patients with severe symptoms of Chinese coronavirus. While Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis alleged that the director was arrested because BJP managed to get permissions in place for supply of the drug to Maharashtra, Mumbai Police claims they only ‘questioned’ him because of rampant black marketing of the drug.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi Minister Nawab Malik on Saturday through a series of tweets questioned the Centre over Remdesivir’s shortage in the state and country and alleged that the Centre is denying permission to companies willing to sell the drug in the country.

In the purview of the critical shortage of Remdesivir, leader of opposition Devendra Fadnavis sought FDA’s permission for a Bruck Pharma to supply the drug to the state in a sincere attempt. However, in a shocking turn of events, Mumbai police summoned a director of Bruck Pharma at 9 pm on Saturday alleging that the Remdesivir stockpile was going to be illegally flown out abroad by air cargo from their storage facility.

In a major embarrassment for the state government, the director of the Daman-based pharmaceutical manufacturing company was questioned for about 45 minutes. The director was released after former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and another top BJP leader Praveen Darekar rushed to the police station to submit the permission letter.

In a media interaction, Devendra Fadnavis informed that a Maharashtra minister’s OSD had called company officials and questioned threateningly as to why the provisions were made at the request of the opposition party.

He also informed that the company’s director was detained by a team of 10 police persons for no apparent reason.

Response by Mumbai Police

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, zone 8, Manjunath Shinge in a statement cleared their stance saying, “We had received information from our network that a huge quantity of Remdesivir made in Daman is being stored in Mumbai and will be transported out of the country by Air cargo. We all know how important the Remdesivir medicine is for treating Covid-19 patients and it’s a matter of life and death. There is a shortage of this medicine and its export has been stopped by the government. Hence, we acted swiftly and called the owner of the pharma company just to question him about where the medicine has been stored in the city. We acted in good faith for the larger interest of public.”

Another police officer stationed at Vile Parle police station informed, ”We just wanted to know why the medicine is being stored and not distributed when it’s in such high demand. It could have been black marketed.”

Seeking permission for Bruck Pharma

Praveen Darekar said that the state minister for Food and Drugs Rajendra Shingne was in the know of the plan as it required the state’s permission. He informed, “We wanted to distribute the drug through the state government. As a noble gesture, we decided to foot the entire cost of Rs 4.75 crore. Fadnavis was to hand over the Remdesivir stock to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.”

Bruck Pharma is one of the 16 manufacturers of Remdesivir in India that has permission to export however it does not have a marketing license. In order to sell Remdesivir, it has to approach one of seven pharma companies that have marketing license for Remdesivir in India.

Sharing more information, Fadnavis said, “Four days ago our leaders Pravin Darekar and Prasad Lal had gone to Daman to Bruck Pharma and requested them to supply the drug to Maharashtra. They obliged but said they did not have the license. Then I spoke to Mansukh Mandaviya and got them the license.” Mandaviya is minister of state I/c of ports, shipping and waterways as well as chemicals and fertilizers. Department of Pharmaceuticals falls under Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

On the other hand, a State FDA official said they were planning to give emergency approval to a few manufacturers for direct sale. “But right now it is in the talks stage. Bruck has not been given marketing approval yet,” he added. 

Politics over Remdesivier

The late-night drama unfolded after Maharashtra’s Minister Nawab Malik alleged that the Centre had asked Remdesivir manufacturers to not supply to Maharashtra. Threatening the government, he said under such circumstances, the state government would have no choice but to seize the stocks from these export manufacturers and supply them to those who need them.

In an attempt to create panic Nawab Malik alleged that the Centre gave permission to one of the export companies to supply Remdesivir to the state of Gujarat only.

However, the BJP leaders were quick to call his bluff. BJP MP Manoj Kotak shared images of two identical letters issued by the FDA’s of the respective state governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat, stating the Centre has no role in the matter.

Mumbai BJP spokesperson Suresh Nakhua also shared the two letters, one by the BJP-led Gujarat government on April 12 and the other by the Mava Vikas Aghadi on April 16. He stated that the MVA government has not been prompt enough in dealing with the crisis at hand.

Union Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandaviya also lashed out at Malik saying the latter’s tweets are full of half-truths and that his threats are unacceptable.

Maharashtra is currently one of the worst affected states in the Chinese coronavirus pandemic. There are currently 6,47,933 active coronavirus cases in Maharashtra of which 1,20,452 are in Mumbai. Almost 60,000 people have lost their lives in Maharashtra due to the virus since beginning of pandemic.

Christian Pakistani rights activist says he may be deported back to Pakistan, was earlier attacked by Jihadists

OpIndia Staff
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Christian Pakistani rights activist says he may be deported back to Pakistan, was earlier attacked by Jihadists

Rahat John Austin, a Pakistani Christian who has been raising his voice against the persecution of minorities in the neighbouring Islamic country, is facing possibilities of deportation. He had to flee Pakistan with his family and now living in South Korea with his family as a refugee and South Korean resident. On April 18, Rahat posted on Twitter that he is on the edge of being handed over to the Islamic State of Pakistan. “It means I’m gonna be killed by Jihadists,” he added.

Rahat further urged the South Korean government to show mercy and not violate the rule of non-refoulment of Recognized Refugees. He said, “I hope Great Korea will show mercy & will not violate the rule of non-refoulment of Recognized Refugees.”

Rahat was attacked in January 2021

On January 5, Rahat alleged that he was stabbed by Jihadists. In a video message shared with OpIndia, Rahat Austin recounted, “Just moments ago, I was attacked by an Islamist jihadi. He had a knife and just by the way he said ‘Allahu Akbar’, I assume he is from a middle eastern country… Why do these people keep doing such things everywhere in the world? We are not doing anything wrong.”

Rahat Austin is one of the frontrunners to bring cases of persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan. He has exposed several cases on social media that would have otherwise gotten brushed under the carpet by the Pakistani regime.

Refugees in South Korea

Refugees in South Korea are classified into two main categories that are Korean and Non-Korean. The refugees coming from North Korea do not need to go through the process of seeking asylum, and they are granted citizenship automatically. The government also provides them support and services for easier assimilation. For non-Korean refugees, as a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, South Korea has an obligation to accept and protect them.

The country started accepting refugees in 1994. In 2013, it became the first Asian country to adopt its own refugee law. A 2020 study suggests that the South Koreans are against a more open refugee policy. The country faced internal backlash in 2018 when over 500 Yemini asylum seekers landed on Jeju Island. According to South Korean government data, out of 40,400 asylum seekers between 1994-2018, only 839 received it.

Gujarat: Three Bangladeshi intruders arrested from Surat for human trafficking, minor girl rescued from prostitution

OpIndia Staff
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Gujarat: Three Bangladeshi intruders arrested from Surat for human trafficking, minor girl rescued from prostitution

Three Bangladeshi nationals including a husband-wife duo were arrested by Surat Police after a human trafficking racket was busted. As per reports, Mijanur alias Shariful Shailk (36), his wife Ajmira Khatun (32) and agent Murtuza Shaikh (31), all three Bangladeshi nationals were arrested. Mijanur and his wife Ajmira had allegedly illegally crossed the border to India and were living in Surat. Due to extreme poverty, they reportedly decided to get into human trafficking.

The couple reportedly approached Murtaza, a resident of Ankleshwar, to get a girl from Bangladesh for prostitution. Reports state Murtaza travelled to Bangladesh and brought girls to India for Rs 15,000. He used to pay Rs 4,000 to agents for helping him cross the border illegally.

On Saturday, while working on a tip-off, Special Operation team busted the racket and arrested the trio. 17-year-old girl who was rescued was sent to children’s home. Earlier, Murtaza was arrested by police in bogus document case.

Mumbai Police issues order allowing only vehicles with colour coded stickers to run on streets: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai Police issues order allowing only vehicles with colour coded stickers to run on streets: Details

The Mumbai Commissioner of Police has issued an order stating that only colour-coded vehicles will be allowed to operate on the streets in the wake of the second wave of the Coronavirus. The stickers with the colour-code will be available at the local police station, check nakas and toll nakas.

Yellow stickers will be for vehicles involved in essential services such as BMC officials, telephone, media, electricity departments and others. Red stickers will be for doctors, nurses and medical supplies vehicles. Green stickers will be for vehicles supplying vegetables.

The order will come into effect at 7 a.m. on the 18th of April and remain in force till the 1st of May, 7 a.m. The stickers will have to be stuck on the front and back of every vehicle. Maharashtra has been suffering greatly due to the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Unavailability of hospital beds has been reported. The healthcare system in the state is undergoing a great crisis as well.

ABP journalist falls for joke where iPhone user claimed to have started ‘Indu ki Dhaba’ after job loss

OpIndia Staff
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ABP journalist falls for joke where iPhone user claimed to have started ‘Indu ki Dhaba’ after job loss

Astha Kaushik, journalist with ABP News, fell for a fake tweet on Saturday which appears to have been made in jest. In a screenshot she shared, a person with the username @lostgirl005 says that she has suffered a job loss recently and has therefore decided to open a dhaba where one can have a thali for only Rs 30. A photograph of the thali was attached.

The person decided to call it ‘Indu ka Dhaba’. Astha Kaushik bought the claim without any verification. She has since then deleted the tweet.

ABP journalist Astha Kaushik falls for fake tweet
Astha Kaushik falls for fake tweet

Indu had posted the tweet on the 14th of April and immediately, people had realised that she had made the tweet as humour. Users had pointed out the same on the 14th of April itself where another tweet of Indu revealed that she wanted to increase her reach on social media. Ironically enough, the user had tweeted the same from an iPhone.

The trick appears to have worked as Indu has received over 40,000 ‘likes’ on the tweet and over 5,500 retweets. Quite clearly, Astha Kaushik did not bother to verify the authenticity of her claims and just went along with it. A lot of others have fallen for it too.

People also pointed out that the user had once claimed that her Dhaba was in Nepal and on a separate occasion, she claimed that it was in Kanpur.

People mocked the ABP journalist for falling for the fake tweet.

The user probably did not realise that the tweet would blow up to this extent. The biggest red flag should have been the fact that the tweet was made from an iPhone. However, no harm appears to have been done as no financial transaction appears to have been involved.

Video claiming a dargah was recently constructed on footpath along Sabarmati riverfront road in Ahmedabad goes viral: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Video claiming a dargah was recently constructed on footpath along Sabarmati riverfront road in Ahmedabad goes viral: Details

An undated video alleging that a dargah had mysteriously sprung up on the footpath along the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad is going viral on social media websites. In the video, one can see a dargah beside the road along the riverfront road in Ahmedabad.

Several people, while sharing the video on internet, have alleged that the dargah was recently constructed and did not exist before. They have questioned the city administration as well as the Gujarat government for allowing the encroachment of a government land for the construction of a dargah.

Scores of people took to Twitter to express their shock and dismay at the mysterious appearance of the dargah which they claimed did not previously exist.

A social media user Hemin Punadiya posted the now-viral video claiming that he had recently spotted a dargah on the riverfront. He asked the government if it is allowed and suggested that such constructions should be removed or else in future the riverfront will be flooded with mosques and temples. Hemin further commented that he thinks there are enough dargahs in Ahmedabad already.

The video was shared by another social media user as well, who said that the area is newly developed and still the new dargah appeared there. The user tagged Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, alleging that the municipal body does nothing to stop illegal constructions.

Another Twitter user tagged Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, CM Vijay Rupani and BJP Gujarat Unit to question on what basis did they give authorisation for the construction of a dargah at the riverfront.

Many others are also sharing the video, expressing their disapproval with the government for allowing the construction of a dargah along the riverfront road.

Sabarmati Riverfront is a waterfront being developed along the banks of the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad, India. While it was proposed in the 1960s, the construction began in earnest only in 2005. The promenade was inaugurated in 2012, and it was gradually opened to the public as and when the facilities were constructed. Various facilities are still under construction at the Sabarmati riverfront.

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