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Pakistan Embassy to organize puppet show celebrating 70 years of diplomatic relations with China, netizens cannot keep calm

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan Embassy to organize puppet show celebrating 70 years of diplomatic relations with China, netizens cannot keep calm

On March 21, the Pakistan Embassy in Beijing is reportedly going to hold a puppet show to celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations with China at the China Puppet Art Theater. The event is being organized in collaboration with Rafi Peer Art Theater and China Puppet Art Theater. It will celebrate Pakistan-China civilizational and cultural heritage.

As per reports, the puppet show is a part of over 100 events that are in the pipeline to celebrate relations between two countries in a wide range of sectors, including economic, trade, military and cultural. The organizers are hoping to attract a younger generation from both countries to participate in the events actively. The celebrations were launched by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on March 2.

Netizens called it an ‘irony’

March 21 is also celebrated as World Puppetry Day. Though the event was first celebrated in 2003 by Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA), and it has nothing to do with Pakistan or China, netizens could not resist the chance to take a jibe on the planned event.

Since Pakistan is often termed as the ‘puppet of china’ jokes were inevitable.

With heavy debts from China under the CPEC and other infra projects, Pakistan is very much dependent on China on issues ranging from defence to agriculture and even administration. Pakistan is often cited as an example of the Chinese debt trap. China’s pressure on Pakistan is to the extent that the country that presents itself as an emerging leader of Islamic nations failed to stand for Uyghur Muslims facing atrocities in China.

Uttar Pradesh: Meerut youths on their way to namaz steal woman’s undergarment hanging for drying, people suspect occult practice

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Meerut youths on their way to namaz steal woman’s undergarment hanging for drying, people suspect occult practice

Two men on their way to offering namaz in Uttar Pradesh’s meerut were caught stealing women’s underwear which were kept for drying. The whole act was caught on camera.

In the video shared by journalist Sachin Gupta, one can see two men arrive on a two-wheeler in a lane. One of the youth then wears the skull cap, getting ready to offer namaz while the other one sneakily steals the underwear hanging out for drying. While the man with skull cap goes ahead for namaz, the other person drives away with the stolen underwear.

As per reports, the residents of the area approached police station to register a complaint regarding the same. While the police were surprised at such a complaint, the residents believe this stealing of underwear could be part of some occult practice. AajTak report cites Sadar Bazar Police station’s Sunil Dua who said that initial investigation points to some occult practice. People pointed out that there is a religious place nearby and suspected someone related to that place to have done it.

One Mohammad Romin has been arrested by Meerut Police. The police is currently investigating the case.

Yashwant Sinha – Story of a Compulsive Betrayer and Political Migratory Bird

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Yashwant Sinha – Story of a Compulsive Betrayer and Political Migratory Bird

Adding to the already heated political drama in West Bengal, former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha joined the Trinamool Congress yesterday. Sinha had resigned from BJP in 2018, and become a very bitter critic of the Narendra Modi government and the BJP. He had subsequently teamed up with left-wing propagandists like Prashant Bhushan to launch attacks on the government.

However, this is not the first time the former union minister has changed his political leaning. His entire political career is marked with switching loyalties, changing party affiliations, changing viewpoints on various matters. This is an account of his various moves in the last several decades.

Yashwant Sinha, always quitting something and going somewhere else.

  • Mr. Sinha was a bureaucrat and cultivated his image as a poor man’s bureaucrat in his initial days as private secretary to the legendary Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur.
  • He quit his IAS post and joined politics as a member of the Janata Party in 1984.
  • When the Janata Dal was formed in 1989, Sinha, a founding member, was appointed the party’s general secretary. He refused to join Vishwanath Pratap Singh’s government as he thought Minister of State was not a ‘suitable post’.
  • Later, he became the Finance Minister for Prime Minister Chandrashekhar.
  • Once Chandrashekhar’s future began to become bleak, he deserted Chandrashekhar and moved to the BJP.
  • He was given great respect and important posts by the BJP including Minister of Finance but when he felt the BJP’s star was dipping, he began to speak against the BJP leadership even back in 2009 itself by attacking the party leadership!
  • After hanging around and becoming certain by 2014 that he wouldn’t get any posts, he quit the BJP.
  • Then Mr. Sinha started to be seen with supposed critics of the government and opposition parties. He was seen on the stage with Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal at a rally in Delhi.
  • He deserted that also and now joined the TMC.
  • This political migratory bird is only concerned about his own position and benefits, and has no ideology or principles!

Yashwant Sinha, the sulking benefactor within BJP

  • When he saw the fortunes of the Janata Dal declining in the 1990s, he jumped ship to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
  • Despite being an import, he was accorded respect and was appointed Finance Minister in March 1998. He was later also appointed as Minister for External Affairs.
  • In 2004, he lost elections for the Lok Sabha seat of Hazaribagh. Despite that, he was made the Vice President of the Party.
  • In 2009, when the BJP lost elections once again, Mr. Sinha instead of standing with the party chose to attack other leaders in the party. In his resignation letter, Mr. Sinha remarked that ‘it appears as if some people in the party are determined to ensure that the principle of accountability does not prevail so that their own little perch is not disturbed’.
  • This has been a feature of his character. When the times are good, he stays for the benefits. In tough times, he starts turning against his own colleagues!
  • In 2014, his son Jayant Sinha was given a ticket from Hazaribagh and post his victory even made Minister by the present Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, holding different portfolios at different times. Even now, he is the chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Finance, despite Mr. Sinha’s dour behaviour towards the present government.

The Naraz Fufaji syndrome, on display since 2014

  • Mr. Sinha since 2014 has exhibited the ‘Naaraaz Fufaji’ behaviour since 2014, apparently for not being taken in as Minister. Reflecting his anger on the issue in 2015, Mr. Sinha said that “All those who are above the age of 75 were declared brain dead on May 26, 2014.”
  • Mr. Sinha worked with former Janata Dal (United) leader Sharad Yadav to chalk out plans to bring together different groups working on Kashmir for a national conclave in the capital this month, which will attempt to ‘seek a unified voice on resolving the Kashmir unrest and restoring peace’. We all know what such agenda on Kashmir means.
  • Finally revealing his real ambitions in 2019, Mr. Sinha threw his hat in the race for prime ministership when he declared himself as the “closest” person who could deliver on job creation, building roads, townships and industries. That month, he even told the Outlook that he had regretted the decision to nominate PM Modi’s name for the PM candidate in 2014 as if Modi became PM because of him.
  • In August 2018, Mr. Sinha was part of a press conference claiming that Bofors pales into insignificance before Rafale ‘scam’. It is well known that Rafale was a clean and clear deal.
  • Mr. Sinha even joined hands with a rabidly anti-national person such as Prashant Bhushan on the Rafale matter.
  • In 2019, after the massive BJP victory under PM Modi, Mr. Sinha continued to rail against the government. He was critical of the watering down of Article 370.
  • P. Chidambaram has in the past remarked that ‘Yashwant Sinha’s tenure as FM was worst since 1991’. Despite this insult, Sinha today has found a common cause with Congress.
  • In the latest display of opportunism and attempting to stay relevant, Mr. Sinha has joined the Trinamool Congress on 13 March 2021.
  • His agenda is just to side with anything that opposes PM Modi.

A series of second chances

  • In 2004, Yashwant Sinha lost elections from the Lok Sabha seat of Hazaribagh. Despite that, he was made the Vice President of the Party by BJP. Immediately after, BJP sent him to Rajya Sabha too.
  • Despite others being far ahead of him, the BJP side-lined several others and made him the leader of the opposition in Bihar. Today he can be seen supporting Lalu against the very same BJP.
  • Yashwant Sinha wasn’t even Atal Ji’s pick for the post of Finance Minister. Observers noted that his mismanagement during the UTI scam and tax treaty with Mauritius caused Atal Ji to remove him. He had at that time gone out of the way to appease the RSS, an organisation which he is attacking so badly today.

Author: @knowthenation

Politics of Contradiction: Congress allies in other states decide to support Mamata Banerjee in the West Bengal polls

OpIndia Staff
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Politics of Contradiction: Congress allies in other states decide to support Mamata Banerjee in the West Bengal polls

The West Bengal State Legislative elections, which are scheduled to commence from March 27, have become the battleground of political contradictions. While the upcoming polls are expected to be a tough contest between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), it is a case of political survival for the grand-old Congress party.

In a bid to turn around its political fortunes, the Congress has forged an alliance with its once arch-rival Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Islamist Abbas Siddiqui’s Indian Secular Front (ISF). The grand old party hopes to strengthen its hold over the Muslim vote bank and save its face in the upcoming polls. While chances of the Congress party are slim to none in the elections, the party is now being shunted out by its allies in other States.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), which fought alongside the Congress in Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha polls of 2019, have decided to support Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) instead of its own ally. Although Congress and JMM run the coalition government in Jharkhand, JMM leader Hemant Soren informed that his party would not contest the polls in West Bengal. He instead extended his full support to TMC so that BJP could be stopped from coming to power.

Screengrab of Times Now article

It must be mentioned that Mamata Banerjee had earlier requested Hemant Soren to campaign for her party so that the ‘communal forces’ could be defeated in the State. Soren, the incumbent CM of Jharkhand, yields influence over the workforce from Jharkhand who are employed in Bengal’s tea gardens. But, instead of vouching for its own ally, JMM realised that the Congress party lacks the potential to stop the BJP in the State.

Screengrab of the Hindustan Times report

Besides JMM, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has also snubbed the Congress ahead of West Bengal polls. It must be mentioned that the two parties are part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, a coalition involving the Shiv Sena. Even the Sena, which had forged an alliance with the Congress after betraying its ally BJP post-elections, also seemed to have no hopes from the grand old party.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut had extended his party’s support to the TMC and decided against contesting elections in West Bengal. Hailing Mamata Banerjee as a ‘real tigress’, he claimed that the TMC camp was being hounded using money, muscle and media power. He also took to Twitter to claim that the Vidhan Sabha polls are a fight between the TMC and everyone else.

Justifying the party’s position to support TMC, Raut commented, “All ‘M’s – Money, Muscle and Media are being used against ‘Mamata Didi’. Hence, Shivsena has decided not to Contest West Bengal polls & stand in solidarity with her. We wish Mamata Didi a ‘roaring’ success, ‘cos we believe She is the real Bengal Tigress.”

Screengrab of the article in The Hindu

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), an ally of the Congress in Bihar’s Mahagathbandhan and Jharkhand’s UPA government, had also backed TMC earlier this month. After meeting Mamata Banerjee, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said, “This is a battle for values. Laluji ka nirnay hai Mamataji ko full support karna hai (Laluji has decided that we should fully support Mamata ji). We will stand by her wherever we can. This is a larger fight to stop communal forces from dividing our nation.”

Screengrab of the Times of India article

He further added, “Bengal has a lot of Hindi-speaking people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. I would appeal to everyone to back Mamata Didi with all our strength to ensure her win. We support her in her fight for Bengal’s language, culture, literature.” Even Samajwadi leader Akhilesh Yadav has voiced his support for the TMC. While SP and RJD have been the erstwhile allies of the Left front, they have ditched both the Left-Congress coalition to stop the BJP.

It is ironical to witness that the Congress, which hopes to turn its fortunes in West Bengal, is facing abandonment by its allies from other States. While Congress has decided to forge an alliance with the Left in West Bengal, it is fighting the same party in the State of Kerala at the same time. Political opportunism is not new to Indian politics but the glaring ideological contradictions continue to diminish the grand old party’s electoral prospects.

Sovan Chatterjee and friend Baisakhi quit BJP over ticket denial: Read their resignation letters to state party president Dilip Ghosh

OpIndia Staff
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Sovan Chatterjee and friend Baisakhi quit BJP over ticket denial: Read their resignation letters to state party president Dilip Ghosh

Sovan Chatterjee and Baisakhi Banerjee, prominent BJP leaders in West Bengal, have quit the party after the former was denied ticket from Behala East. The party has nominated actress Payal Sarkar from the constituency.

Baisakhi Banerjee has vowed to ‘fight back’ against the ‘conspiracies and treachery’ in a Facebook post. Since then, their resignation letters have surfaced in the media. While Sovan Chatterjee says that he has resigned because Baisakhi Banerjee was denied a ticket, Baisakhi’s letter says that she has resigned because the former did not receive a ticket from Behala East.

Sovan Chatterjee says in his letter to BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, “You have always been encouraging and I will treasure this throughout my life but a few minutes back, I got a call from Honourable Shiv Prakash ji who told me that the party has decided to give me ticket from Behala West and also not to give Baisakhi Banerjee, Co Convenor, Kolkata Zone any ticket from anywhere.”

Sovan Chatterjee’s resignation letter

“I feel extremely humiliated and pained to accept this decision as being a public representative for thirty six years, I had contributed to the development of the area from wherever I have been elected. As a Mayor and Minister, I have contributed to the development of not only Behala, but entire Kolkata at large. My dedicated commitment to the people of West Bengal at large can not be denied by even my opposition parties. But the party’s decision not to give me nomination from Behala East is a moral defeat for me and I have never compromised with my principles,” the letter says.

Chatterjee stated further, “I clearly said that Baisakhi and I have contributed jointly and in a very small span of time i.e. from 27th December till date, not only I but Baisakhi also have been able to penetrate within the mass and could garner huge support for herself in the entire Kolkata Zone, especially in Behala. But you have decided to overlook her contribution and have decided not to give her an opportunity to contest the election, I tender my protest against that also. In view of the above situation, I am hereby tendering my resignation from all posts given by your party and also dissociate myself from your party with immediate effect.”

Baisakhi Banerjee, in her letter, says that the two of them have been treated in a “very shabby manner” by the BJP. She says that she feels “it is essential to tender my protest against such unilateral decision not to grant him ticket from Behala Purba”.

Baisakhi Banerjee’s resignation letter

“l am extremely pained that the party has overlooked our contribution and have treated us in a very shabby manner. Thus, I abdicate all posts in Bharatiya Janata Party and severe all ties with your party from today,” she said in her letter to Dilip Ghosh.

The BJP announced its candidates for the 3rd and 4th phases of the West Bengal Assembly Elections on Sunday. Journalist-turned-politician Swapan Das Gupta, who is currently a nominated Rajya Sabha member, has been fielded from the Tarakeswar Assembly seat. BJP MP Nisith Pramanik has been fielded from the Dinhat constituency.

Hooghly MP Locket Chatterjee will contest the elections from Chunchura. Bengal actor Yash Das Gupta, who had joined BJP recently, will contest from Chanditala. MP Babul Supriyo will contest from Tollygunge.

Congress trolls attack ‘journalist’ Nidhi Razdan over a critical article on Party’s performance in recent elections

OpIndia Staff
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Congress trolls attack ‘journalist’ Nidhi Razdan over a critical article on Party’s performance in recent elections

On March 14, alleged ‘journalist’ Nidhi Razdan was viciously attacked by the trolls from the Congress party over a critical article on Party’s performance in Gujarat. Razdan had written an oped for Gulf News in which she had criticized Congress Party for its poor performance in recent elections and said that the Party needs to reinvent itself.

Screenshot of Nidhi’s tweet about her report on Congress Party in Gulf News

Razdan quoted Andolanjivi Yogendra Yadav in her article, who had said in 2019 that the Congress Party must die. Notably, Yadav also faced a backlash from the Congress supporters at that time. Razdan pointed out that in Kerala, there is dissent within Congress Party as Senior Party leader PC Chacko quit the Party stating there is no democracy in the Party.

Coming to another poll-bound state of West Bengal, she said that the Congress Party had lost significant ground. In Tamil Nadu, Razdan pointed out that Congress ally DMK is in the driver’s seat. She also pointed out that BJP has also lost its ground, but the criticism was much more diverted towards the Congress party throughout the report.

The primary issue that Congress supporters found with the report was where Razdan claimed that Aam Aadmi Party became the number two party in Gujarat in the recent local body polls, which was factually incorrect. BJP won 6,239 seats, Congress grabbed 1,805, and AAP managed to win only 42 seats, out of which 25 seats were from Surat. AAP came second in Surat, but Nidhi claimed that AAP came second in entire Gujarat, angering the Congress army on social media.

Several trolls (possibly hired recently as social media warriors) supporting the Congress party picked up this particular point and started attacking her. Big names like Gaurav Pandhi was among the leaders who led trolls towards Nidhi’s profile.

Rahul Gandhi is boring – alleged Razdan

The report mentioned the story of Rahul Gandhi, if he is going to lead the Party or not, is unending and boring. She mentioned the ‘angry leaders’ of the Congress party, known as G23, who wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi about the current situation of the Party. The outcome of raising voice against the downfall of the Congress Party resulted in the removal of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal and others from the star campaigners list, which is another setback for the Party.

After the troll attack, Nidhi claimed that the trolls were attacking her without reading her report.

Overall, while Nidhi tried to point out the problems Congress Party is currently facing, the party supporters did not like the idea and waged war against her. In the end, Nidhi, who everyone had thought to be a ‘sane’ voice in favour of the opposition, sadly became a propagandist.

Former Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee resigns from BJP after being denied Behala East ticket: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Former Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee resigns from BJP after being denied Behala East ticket: Reports

West Bengal BJP leaders Sovan Chatterjee and Baisakhi Banerjee have quit the party after the former did not receive the party ticket to contest from Behala East, reports say. Baisakhi Banerjee has reportedly made a post on Facebook where she vows to ‘fight back’ against the ‘conspiracies and treachery’.

Source: @AninBanerjee/Twitter

“Today’s humiliation cannot dampen our spirit! We will fight back and win. Conspiracies and treachery wont last long. People of Behala East love you and that is your greatest strength,” Baisakhi Banerjee says in the Facebook post.

The former Mayor of Kolkata who had joined the BJP after quitting TMC has reportedly sent a letter to BJP state president Dilip Ghosh informing the party leadership of the resignation. BJP has fielded actress Payal Sarkar, who recently joined the party, in Behala East.

Trinamool MP Derek O’Brien, taking a jibe at the BJP, said in a tweet, “Has the world’s most destructive political party got their khaki knickers in a twist before #BengalElections”.

The BJP has announced its candidates for the 3rd and 4th phases of the West Bengal Assembly Elections on Sunday. Journalist-turned-politician Swapan Das Gupta, who is currently a nominated Rajya Sabha member, has been fielded from the Tarakeswar Assembly seat. BJP MP Nisith Pramanik has been fielded from the Dinhat constituency.

Hooghly MP Locket Chatterjee will contest the elections from Chunchura. Bengal actor Yash Das Gupta, who had joined BJP recently, will contest from Chanditala. MP Babul Supriyo will contest from Tollygunge.

Election Commission takes action against officials for failing to protect Mamata Banerjee, suspends Director of Security and SP

OpIndia Staff
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Election Commission takes action against officials for failing to protect Mamata Banerjee, suspends Director of Security and SP

A day after Special Observers reported to the Election Commission (EC) that the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was injured in an accident and not due to a ‘planned attack’, the nodal election body has cracked down on officials for negligence. The EC had accepted the report earlier on Sunday.

In a statement, the Election Commission has ordered the suspension of IPS Vivek Sahay from the post of Director of Security. “Charges must be framed against him within a week for grossly failing in discharge of his primary duty as Director Security to protect the Z+ protectee,” it added.

The nodal election body has also transferred Vibhu Goel from the post of District Magistrate (DM) and DEO of Purba Medinipur and placed IAS Smita Pandey in his place. At the same time, the Election Commission has also suspended the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Purba Medinipur Pravin Prakash for a major failure in the management of the situation. “Charges shall be framed against him for major failure of bandobast,” it said.

According to Times of India journalist Bharti Jain, IPS officer Sunil Kumar Yadav (2009 Batch) will replace IPS Pravin Prakash as the SP of Purba Medinipur. She informed that the Chief Secretary has been asked to appoint Director of Security in place of IPS Vivek Sahay. The Chief Secretary has been directed to consult the Directorate General of Police (DGP) and communicate the same to the EC by 1 pm on Monday (March 15).

She further stated, “A Committee of Chief Secretary and DGP shall identify within next 3 days the other proximate security personnel below Director Security, who failed in their duties to prevent the incident and protect the Z+ protectee and take suitable action for their failure.” At the same time, the CEOs of all poll-bound states and Union Territories have been directed by the Election Commission to ensure the security of star campaigners and candidates of all political parties, in accordance with their respective category of protection.

The Election Commission has also directed the West Bengal Chief Secretary to complete the probe in Mamata Banerjee’s accident case in Nandigram (Case No. 97/21) and take necessary action within 15 days. The nodal election body also asked for a report on the same by March 31, 2021. The EC has also appointed Anil Kumar Sharma, former Punjab DGP (Intelligence), as 2nd Special police Observer along with Vivek Dube.

Mamata Banerjee was injured in an accident, no evidence of attack: Special Observers

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was injured on Wednesday evening in Nandigram, where she had claimed that she was pushed by 4-5 people, and there was no police security around her. Following it, the TMC leaders had launched a massive attack against BJP and the Election Commission, accusing them of the ‘attack’.

Special police observer Vivek Dubey and special observer Ajay Nayak inspected the accident site in Nandigram before submitting their detailed report to the Election Commission on Saturday. , the report by the special observers has ruled out any possibility of an attack on Mamata Banerjee, saying there is no evidence of any attack.

The observers said that the CM was surrounded by heavy police cover at the time of the incident, and it was not possible for anyone to come near her and push her causing the injury, as claimed by the CM minutes after the incident on Wednesday.

How Sachin Vaze was reinstated into Mumbai Police overnight following 16 years of suspension citing Covid: Report

OpIndia Staff
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How Sachin Vaze was reinstated into Mumbai Police overnight following 16 years of suspension citing Covid: Report

Mumbai top cop Sachin Vaze is at the heart of the grave conspiracy that has surfaced over the Antilla Bomb Scare case. The controversial cop who remained suspended for 16 years over a case of custodial death finds himself embroiled in another controversy less than a year following his reinstatement.

The circumstances of his reinstatement has come under intense scrutiny as well following his arrest by the NIA. According to Goa Chronicle, Sachin Vaze was reinstated following a decision that was reached in 10 minutes.

The Goa Chronicle report says that Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh called for a meeting at 10 pm on the 5th of June, 2020. A Committee was convened at 11 pm to review the suspension of Mumbai Police officers.

Following the decision in 10 minutes, the gazette notification for the reinstatement of police officers including one Sachin Vaze was sent to print at 2 a.m. in the night. The notification was printed by 3 a.m. and an hour later, concerned police officers have the gazette notification with his reinstatement.

Thus, at 4 a.m. on the 6th of June, 2020, Sachin Vaze was officially reinstated into the Mumbai Police. the same day, when he reported to the Mumbai Police Arms Division, he was asked to report to the Mumbai Commissioner of Police Office at 10AM. Reportedly, an internal order was issued by the Mumbai Commissioner of Police to depute him to Mumbai Crime Branch.

While his reinstatement was explained away as a measure to deal with staff shortage precipitated by the Covid-19 pandemic, even the Indian Express noted that he was by no means a ‘staff filler’.

The Indian Express noted in its report, “Within days of being taken back into the force, Vaze was moved to the Mumbai Crime Branch and made in charge of the CIU. Soon after, he began probing cases such as the fake social media followers case in which rapper Badshah was summoned.”

“Despite his relatively junior position in the hierarchy, he was soon handling every important case in Mumbai, from the Television Ratings Point (TRP) scam, to leading the team that arrested Arnab Goswami in the Anvay Naik suicide case to the Dilip Chhabria case to the Hrithik Roshan fake e-mail case,” it added.

Sachin Vaze was even part of the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) that was felicitated by Param Bir Singh for “best detection of the TRP scam”. The team comprised of ACP Shashank Sanbhor and assistant police inspectors Sachin Vaze, Nitin Londhe, Santosh Kotwal and Riyaz Kazi. Riyaz Kazi has also been reportedly arrested by the NIA in the current case.

Sachin Vaze was suspended in March, 2004 over the custodial death of Khwaja Yunus, a 27-year-old software engineer. He resigned three years later and following his resignation, he reportedly joined the Shiv Sena.

Since his arrest late Saturday night, he has admitted that he was involved in the Antilla Bomb Scare case, ABP News has reported. The report says that sources have claimed that Sachin Vaze was a very small part of the plan and the Shiv Sena leaders he named played a bigger role.

Earlier, it was reported that the explosive laden car found outside Reliance Group’s chief Mukesh Ambani’s residence Antilia was the same that was used by Mumbai top cop Sachin Vaze to escort Alibagh Police in Arnab case.

Furthermore, a white Innova, which was found tailing the explosive-laden Scorpio was recovered from Mumbai Police commissionerate office. The Scorpio car owner, Mansukh Hiren, was later found dead under mysterious circumstances. He was reportedly in touch with Vaze. Hiren’s wife has accused Vaze of murdering her husband.

He has been has been sent to NIA custody till 25th March.

As India reports more than 25,000 Covid-19 cases in a single day, Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab become the top contributors

OpIndia Staff
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As India reports more than 25,000 Covid-19 cases in a single day, Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab become the top contributors

The number of cases recorded in India was under 10,000 at a point in January. Sadly, they are again on the rise. What is more alarming is that the top three states are contributing a little over 76% of the new cases. On March 13, India reported 25,154 new cases. Out of these, Maharashtra contributed 15,602 new cases, Kerala reported 2,035, and Punjab was in the third position with 1,510 new cases totalling 19,147. While Kerala has seen a downfall in the number of cases, Maharashtra and Punjab are possibly heading towards a strong second wave of the cases in next few days.

The 30-day trend

Just 30 days ago, on February 11, India had recorded 9,353 cases. On that day, Maharashtra had reported just 652 cases. Kerala was the highest contributor with 5,281 cases, followed by Punjab with just 306 cases.

India has reported over 25,000 cases (Image source: https://www.covid19india.org/)

The next day, Maharashtra reported over 3,000 cases, and since then, the number in the state has been on the rise. The state crosses the 10,000 marks on March 5 and the 15,000 marks on March 12. The visuals of people breaking mask mandate in Maharashtra are still common. Recently, a video went viral in which a large group of people were seen pushing each other at a vaccination centre. As per the government’s guidelines, only one person can be vaccinated at a given slot to ensure there is no spread of infection. However, the regulations were tossed away.

Maharashtra is currently the largest contributor (Image source: https://www.covid19india.org/)

Kerala, which was leading the race of contributing maximum cases across the country, has come down to the second position. However, the state is still contributing over 2,000 cases. Notably, the Kerala model of Covid management was lauded by many intellectuals during the initial months of virus spread.

Kerala with 2035 new cases is on the second position (Image source: https://www.covid19india.org/)

In Punjab, the numbers were very much in control in February. The state was reporting less than 400 cases till February 22. After that, the cases started to rise, and by March 4, the state started to report over 1000 cases per day. Currently, the state is reporting above 1300 cases from the last four days, with a rise in cases every day.

Punjab has seen rise in consistent rise in the cases (Image source: https://www.covid19india.org/)

Other major contributors in the last 24 hours are Karnataka (921 new cases), Tamil Nadu (695 new cases),  Madhya Pradesh (675 new cases), Gujarat (775 new cases), Chhattisgarh (543 new cases), and West Bengal (276 new cases).

Lockdowns announced in Maharashtra, Punjab and Kerala

Shiv Sena’s Udhdhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra has imposed lockdowns in Nagpur, Nashik, Parbhani and Pune amid the rising number of Covid-19 infections in the state.

Night curfews have returned in Congress-led Punjab in several districts, including Ludhiana, Patiala, Mohali, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur. All Anganwadi centres and schools have been closed in these districts.

States sharing a border with CPI(M)-led Kerala have imposed strict guidelines for the travellers coming from Kerala. In Karnataka, if someone is coming from Kerala, a Covid-19 negative report is mandatory. Notably, Lakshadweep reported its first Covid-19 case in January 2021 when it relaxed travel norms and a passenger who arrived from Kerala infected over 40 people. As of now, there are 604 reported cases in Lakshadweep, with 208 active cases and one death.

The current state of Covid-19 cases and vaccination in India

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India has reported 1,13,59,048 cases. 1,09,89,897 have recovered while 1,58,607 have lost their lives. 2,97,38,409 people have been vaccinated [state wise PDF] so far out of which 2,43,07,635 have received the first dose while 54,30,774 have received the second dose.

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