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‘Kiss for love’ campaigner Rehana Fathima, who attempted to desecrate Sabarimala, booked for posting video of her kids painting on her topless body

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‘Kiss for love’ campaigner Rehana Fathima, who attempted to desecrate Sabarimala, booked for posting video of her kids painting on her topless body

The Thiruvalla police of Pathanamthitta district in Kerala have booked Rehana Fathima, the controversial former ‘model’ and ‘kiss for love’ campaigner, who attempted to desecrate Sabarimala, after she posted a video of her children painting on her semi-nude body.

The Kerala police have booked the ‘activist’ under the Juvenile Justice Act and the section 67 of the Information Technology Act (Electronically transmitting sexually explicit content) for non-bailable offences.

Rehana Fathima, the controversial ultra-left wing activist, on June 19 took to her youtube channel to post a 2:00 minute video where she is seen lying on bed wearing only a pair of red shorts, while her children attempt to paint on her torso. She also uploaded the same on her Facebook page with hashtag #BodyArtPolitics.

According to Rehana, the video was made to reiterate that women need to be open about sex and their bodies in a society where sex and nudity are taboo. In her Facebook post, Rehana writes that “no child who has seen his own mother’s nakedness and body can abuse the female body. Therefore, vaccines against false perceptions about women’s body and sexuality should be initiated from home”.

Rehana furthers, “The feminine body and her nakedness are more than 55 kg of flesh, compared to the male body. Leggings are aroused by the sight of the legs, while the man standing with his knees bent over his chest and his legs half-naked, forces men and women to approach the body in a manner that does not elicit ejection. It is the false sexual consciousness that is currently being given to society. Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is porn in the eyes of the beholder.”

The Facebook post had shared a video uploaded on her YouTube channel, where Fathima’s children are seen painting flowers and leaves on her naked torso while she lies on the bed. Viewer discretion is advised for the video as it has nudity content.

Rehana’s obnoxious effort to ‘sex-educate’ her children was not received well by Netizens, with many users pointing out that the act amounts to and child abuse and sexual exploitation.

Rehana Fathima and her other controversial activities

Last month, Fathima was sacked from her job after BSNL authorities after a probe found that her Facebook messages had incited communal tension and she had violated service rules.

For the past 18 months, she was under suspension after BSNL had received complaints from the public about her abusive pictures and videos, which had hurt religious sentiments.

The controversial activist, Rehana Fathima had sparked a huge controversy after she had tried to enter the holy Sabarimala shrine and desecrate it following the controversial Supreme court judgement granting permission to women of all ages to enter the temple ignoring the shrine’s age-old tradition barring women of menstruating age to enter the holy place.

In 2018, the Pathanamthitta police had registered a case against activist Rehana Fathima against a complaint filed by Sabarimala Achara Samrakshana Samithi for putting up social media posts that were “communally divisive” in nature.

The self-proclaimed activist was also ‘expelled‘ from the Muslim community by the Kerala Muslim Jama’ath Council for her activities.

A model of sorts in the past, Fathima has been a part of the ‘Kiss of Love’ campaign in Kochi in 2014 against the purported moral policing. Rehana Fathima was also convicted in a cheque-fraud case and awarded a fine of Rs. 2.1 lakh and one day of imprisonment in the year 2014.

Char Dham priests to protest against Uttarakhand government’s decision to set up Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board

OpIndia Staff
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Char Dham priests to protest against Uttarakhand government’s decision to set up Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board

The priests of all the Char Dhams in Uttarakhand are planning to protest against the state government after the govt took an initiative to set up a board named Char Dham Devasthanam Management board. This was informed by a member of Devbhoomi Tirtha Purohit Haqhakudhari Mahapanchayat, an association of priests of all Char Dhams on Monday.

A priest from the Kedarnath shrine has already started a solo protest with bare chest sitting outside the Kedarnath shrine in the extreme cold conditions.

The Kedarnath priest Santosh Trivedi sitting in a solo protest outside the Kedarnath shrine is meditating as a sign of protest to demand that the board should be suspended. The priest community believes that the state government is taking over the control of the temples as it is after the funds generated by the temples.

As per reports, the priests’ community of temples protested in the last December when the Char Dham Devasthanam management board was formed to manage the 51 temples including these Char Dham shrines. The priests alleged that they were kept in dark about the law. They also alleged that the step is taken to sideline them and take full control over the temple related issues.

In last year December, the Uttarakhand government had passed a Char Dham Shrine Management bill. Later it made a small change by replacing the ‘Shrine’ with Devasthanam on the last day of winter session.

President of the priest body of Kedarnath, Kedarnath Tirtha Purohit Mahasabha, Vinod Shukla said, “Santosh Trivedi, the tirtha purohit of Kedarnath has been protesting since June 12 against the formation of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board. As a sign of protest, Trivedi meditates thrice a day outside the shrine when prayers are being offered.”

Prayers are offered three times a day at the shrine which takes around 4 hours. The spokesperson of Devbhoomi Tirtha Purohit Haqhakudhari Mahapanchayat, Brijesh sati said that agitation against the bill will soon take place at the other shrines also. Sati said, “The priests of shrines like Gangotri, Yamunotri and Badrinath are discussing on how to step up the protests, and soon they will start at those shrines also.”

Ravinath Raman, the CEO of the Char Dham Devasthanam management board said that priests can protest but the board is formed by an act and is a government body. Raman said, “It is their democratic right to protest, so we cannot say anything about this. The Board is a government body made through an Act, so we cannot comment.”

CNN News 18 refers to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as “Azad Kashmir”, watch video

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CNN News 18 refers to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as “Azad Kashmir”, watch video

CNN News 18, in a recent report on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, referred to it as “Azaad Kashmir.” The Pakistani officials often use the term as they consider it as Kashmir’s area that they got freed from the “Indian occupation.” However, PoK which Pakistanis refer to as ‘Azad Kashmir’, was and will continue to remain an integral part of India.

In a 3-minute report, the ticker mentions the area as Azaad Kashmir multiple times. The report was about Pakistan Army chief writing to ‘Health Minister of PoK’ to ensure 50% bed reservation for Pakistan Army and keep blood stock ready.

Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is facing an unprecedented health crisis due to a high number of Covid-positive cases after the Pakistan government allegedly sent corona-positive cases from Punjab province in PoK.

Home minister Amit Shah pointed out last year on several occasions that the Modi government will take strong action to take back the occupied area of Kashmir from Pakistan. 

A day after Pakistan Cricket Board declared Mohammad Hafeez as coronavirus positive, the cricketer claims he is negative after second test done personally

OpIndia Staff
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A day after Pakistan Cricket Board declared Mohammad Hafeez as coronavirus positive, the cricketer claims he is negative after second test done personally

A day after Pakistan’s cricket board confirmed that seven more Pakistani cricketers, including Mohammad Hafeez, have tested positive for Covid-19 infection, the Pakistani batsman has claimed that he is coronavirus negative.

The Pakistani cricketer took to his Twitter account to share the news along with the screenshot of his test report. Hafeez said that he took the second test in his personal capacity with his family and all are reported negative.

“After Tested positive COVID-19 acc to PCB testing Report yesterday,as 2nd opinion & for satisfaction I personally went to Test it again along with my family and here I along with my all family members are reported Negetive Alham du Lillah. May Allah keep us all safe,” Hafeez tweeted. 

PCB confirmed that seven more Pakistani cricketers, including Mohammad Hafeez, tested Covid-19 positive

Yesterday, PCB had confirmed that seven more Pakistani cricketers have tested positive for Covid-19 infection, taking the total count to 10. In a press release, the board informed the names of the players as Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hasnain, Wahab Riaz, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Kashif Bhatti and Imran Khan.

On 22nd June, the board had confirmed that Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and Haider Ali had tested positive for the infection.

Though experts believed that these test results were a massive setback for the team, PCB’s CEO Wasim Khan suggested that the tour of England will happen as per the schedule.

Khan said, “The tour is very much on track, the squad will depart as per schedule on 28th. Fortunately, all first-choice red-ball players, barring Rizwan, are negative, which means they can start training immediately after they are tested & given all clear when they arrive in the UK.”

Pakistan will play three-match test series and T20 matches in England during their tour in August. The players who got tested positive for the infection are under self-isolation at home. They may join the team later after clearance from the board. Shoaib Malik and bowling coach Waqar Younis have not been tested yet.

If the England tour gets canceled, it will cost PCB an estimated loss of 90 million dollars in broadcasting revenues.

Delhi: As per Union Home Ministry’s order, ITBP takes over Radha Soami Satsang Beas in Chattarpur, India’s largest COVID-19 care facility

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Delhi: As per Union Home Ministry’s order, ITBP takes over Radha Soami Satsang Beas in Chattarpur, India’s largest COVID-19 care facility

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police has taken over the massive 10,000 bedded Covid-19 care centre which is newly developed at Radha Soami Satsang Beas(RSSB) in South Delhi’s Chattarpur a day after Home Minister Amit Shat informed on twitter that the COVID-19 centre will be operational by 26 June.

Several teams of ITBP personnel, including medical and support staff, visited the ashram and held a series of discussion with the stakeholders. It is India’s largest COVID care facility. The ITBP will act as the nodal agency in charge of the centre’s operations and the administrative authority will be the South Delhi District Administration.

As per reports, the dedicated Covid Care Centre currently has 2000 beds and will soon have 10,000 beds. More than 1000 ITBP personnel, including doctors, paramedical staff and other CAPFs will be deployed at the centre.

Home Minister informed that the centre will be operational by 26 june

In a response to Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Home Minister Amit Shah had informed on Tuesday that the work for setting up a 10,000 bedded Covid-19 care centre is in full swing and the ITBP will take over the centre at the earliest. Amit Shah had informed on twitter, “Dear Kejriwal Ji, it has already been decided in our meeting 3 days back and MHA has assigned the work of operating the 10,000 bed COVID Care Centre at Radha Swami Beas in Delhi to ITBP. The work is in full swing and a large part of the facility will be operational by 26th Jun.”

This response from the Home minister came after the Arvind Kejriwal had reportedly wrote a letter to the Home minister and invited him to visit the 10,000 bedded COVID facility in Chattarpur. The makeshift facility at Radha Soami Satsang Beas campus will be the largest COVID-19 facility in the national capital, having a bed capacity of about 10,000.

Union Home Minister took over the charge of Delhi’s fight against coronavirus

Last week, the Union Home Minister had convened an all-party meet to discuss the coronavirus situation in Delhi and later visited the LNJP hospital to take stock of the situation. He met senior doctors in the conference room of the hospital who provided him with details about the number of patients treated at the facility, deaths there, and admission of people from outside Delhi.

Shah reportedly also inquired about deaths of COVID-19 patients, recovery rate and other details. Delhi is the second-worst hit state by the coronavirus outbreak after Maharashtra. The national capital’s tally of coronavirus caseloads has reached 62,655-mark and the number of fatalities has risen to 2,233.

Excruciating accounts of coronavirus patients scrambling to get a hospital bed in Delhi hospital were doing the rounds on the Internet. The Union Home Minister put himself in the saddle to handle the crisis which appeared to be spiralling out of control in the national capital.

Kolkata: Hackers intrude e-class of class 6 students of a girls’ school, threaten students with rape and murder

OpIndia Staff
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Kolkata: Hackers intrude e-class of class 6 students of a girls’ school, threaten students with rape and murder

The coronavirus pandemic has caused almost all activities, be it learning, work, or leisure to shift online, due to which there has been a significant spike in cyber-crime. Recently, an online session of class-6 students of a girls’ school in Kolkata was intruded by hackers who threatened the students of rape and murder.

According to a report by Times of India, the incident took place on Tuesday when some people entered the online session and started making indecent comments. The hackers then reportedly started abusing and threatening girls with rape and murder. Petrified by the threats, the students alerted their teacher and parents, after which the intruders stopped speaking.

However, the hackers then started writing sexual comments in the chatbox, following which the e-class had to be suspended.

As per the primary investigation, there were two logins in the name of one student. The school authority has said that they are investigating whether any student shared their login id with someone, which may have caused the intrusion. Parents of students from other classes alleged this wasn’t the first such incident during online classes conducted by the school, but it was the most serious one.

This comes as several schools and colleges across the country have been holding online classes as educational institutions are closed due to the ongoing coronavirus lockdown.

Past incidents where hackers hindered online classes

In the month of April, in a similar incident, an unknown man hacked into an online class in Gujurat and allegedly started masturbating. The National Commission for Women (NCW), had taken cognisance of the incident and had written to Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP), asking for probe in an incident.

Prior to this, in an incident, two hackers hindered a geography lesson just a day after Singapore shut schools as it re-introduced a partial lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus, forcing the country to ban the use of Zoom app for online classes for students following ‘breaches involving obscene images’. The hackers had hijacked a lesson and showed obscene images to students. 

India also to turn to Vidyo

A host of privacy concerns related to virtual meetings of top government officials during the coronavirus pandemic has compelled India also to turn to Vidyo, a video conferencing application vetted by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

Delhi University principal Masroor Ahmad Beg accused of plagiarism

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi University principal Masroor Ahmad Beg accused of plagiarism

A complaint has been registered at the UGC chairman and vice-chancellor of DU against Masroor Ahmad Beg, the principal of Zakir Husain Delhi College (evening) accusing him of plagiarism, reports Times of India.

According to the reports, the members of Indian National Teachers’ Congress and Delhi University academic council have submitted a complaint to the UGC alleging that Masroor Ahmed Beg had plagiarised a number of papers and copied from the work of noted economist and former UGC chairperson Sukhadeo Thorat to get promoted as the principal of the college.

The complaint signed by several current and former academic council and executive council members was registered on June 20.

Beg manipulated his work, copied contents from other source

According to the UGC guidelines, for selection to the post of principal, one has to secure a minimum API score of 400. However, the fellow professors allege that Beg manipulated his work, copied full papers of other authors without mentioning or giving credit to get an appointment as the principal of the college.

The letter further mentioned that Beg achieved the score “through dubious and fraudulent means”.

The letter alleged that Thorat’s 2015 paper co-authored with AMU professor Mashkoor Ahmad titled “Minorities and poverty: Why some minorities are more poor than others?” published in the Journal of Social Inclusion Studies was copied by Beg in his work titled, “A Comparative Analysis of Poverty of Indian Minorities with respect to the Majority” in 2018.

Balram Pani, who is the dean of DU colleges confirmed that the university had received the complaint. He added that the university was looking into the matter and will take necessary action.

In another letter to the UGC, AC member Naveen Gaur on Monday said as per its “Promotion of Academic Integrity and Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institutions Regulations 2018”, DU should constitute Departmental Academic Integrity Panel and Institutional Academic Integrity Panel to probe the allegations.

Sikh-owned restaurant vandalized by white supremacist group in the US, walls covered with racist and anti-ISIS graffiti

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Sikh-owned restaurant vandalized by white supremacist group in the US, walls covered with racist and anti-ISIS graffiti

A Sikh-owned restaurant named ‘Indian Palace’ in Santa Fe city, in New Mexico state of the US, was vandalized on Monday allegedly by a white supremacist group. Restaurant owner Baljit Singh said that they had suffered damages worth $100,000 (Rs.75.6 lakh). Vandals left slogans like “white power,” “Trump 2020”, “F**K ISIS,” and “go home” on the walls. The reports say that local police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are investigating the case.

Sante Fe Reporter, a local daily, reported that vandals overturned the tables, destroyed the front desk area and kitchen of the restaurant. The police found piles of broken glassware across the restaurant. The wine racks were emptied and a statue of the goddess in the restaurant was beheaded. They took away the restaurant’s computers as well.

Singh said, “I walked into the kitchen, I saw everything and I was like, hold on, what? What is going on here?” The restaurant was closed for some time due to Covid-19 restrictions and Singh re-opened it recently.

A non-profit civil rights organization, the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDEF) issued a statement in which they condemned the incident. Simran Singh, the SALDEF board member, said, “Santa Fe is a peaceful town, and the Sikh community has lived here, beautifully integrated, since the ’60s.” Kiran Kaur Gill, executive director SALDEF, said that such incidents of hate and violence are unacceptable.

Possible case of mistaken identity

white supremacist
Image Credit: SFR

Some of the graffiti against terrorist organization Islamic State on the restaurant walls suggest that it might be mistaken identity. This is not the first time Sikhs have been mistaken for Islamists or Iranians because of their turbans. On 29th April, a Sikh American Lakhwant Singh was brutally attacked in Lakewood, Colorado. He was told to go back to his country during the attack. A formal hate crime case was not registered in that incident. Many such incidents took place after the 9/11 terror attack in the US in which Sikhs were assaulted.

Support from the community

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued a statement condemning the incident. In a tweet, she said, “We will not stand for such hatred in New Mexico.” She added that she had spoken to Baljit Singh to “let him know that our community is with him.”

Mayor Alan Webber called it a “sickening and appalling” hate crime. He assured strict actions against the culprits as per the law. He added, “The Singhs are a long-standing Sikh family that has used its resources to feed homeless Santa Feans through the goodness of their hearts. For them to be attacked this way breaks our hearts.” As per the reports, multiple fundraiser campaigns were started to help the restaurant.

“Relaunch of ‘the scion’ for the nth time can wait”: BJP chief JP Nadda takes a dig at Congress over LAC standoff

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“Relaunch of ‘the scion’ for the nth time can wait”: BJP chief JP Nadda takes a dig at Congress over LAC standoff

In a cutting remark against the Congress party and its former president–Rahul Gandhi, BJP chief JP Nadda said that the party has misconceptions of opposition being itself and at the time of unity and expressing solidarity with the forces, Congress is once again indulging in relaunching their ‘scion’ for the nth time.

“A rejected and ejected dynasty is not equal to the entire Opposition. One dynasty’s interests are not India’s interests. Today, the nation is united and supportive of our armed forces. This is the time for unity and solidarity. Relaunch of ‘the scion’ for the nth time can wait,” said Mr Nadda in a series of tweets.

He further tweeted that ‘one dynasty’ and its ‘courtiers’ have “grand delusions” about opposition being one dynasty. A dynast throws tantrums and his courtiers peddle that fake narrative, Nadda tweeted while taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi and Congress supporters.

The BJP chief further added that the Opposition has all the rights to ask questions of the government and the government did answer all of them in the All-Party Meet (APM) convened by PM Modi a few days ago. However, he added that “one family was an exception. Any guesses who?” alluding to the Gandhi family. He also added that other opposition parties extended their support and tendered their suggestions to the government in the APM.

Launching a stinging attack against the Gandhi family, Nadda claimed India lost thousands of square kilometres of land due to “misadventures of one dynasty”. “The Siachen glacier was almost gone. And much more. No wonder India has rejected them, he said while adding the report about the Siachen glacier to back his assertions.

Congress alleges government of mismanagement

The withering remarks by JP Nadda came on the heels of a strong-worded statement by the Congress Working Committee(CWC) which slammed the government on the mismanagement of not just the India-China standoff along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh but also for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attacking the central government, interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi said, “India has been hit by a terrible economic crisis, a pandemic of huge proportions and, now, by a full-blown crisis on the borders with China. Much of each crisis is attributable to the mismanagement of the BJP-led NDA Government and the wrong policies pursued by it.”

Corruption charges against TMC leaders in cyclone compensation distribution: Mamata Banerjee orders probe fearing impact on polls: Report

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Corruption charges against TMC leaders in cyclone compensation distribution: Mamata Banerjee orders probe fearing impact on polls: Report

In the aftermath of Cyclone Amphan that wrought havoc in West Bengal, the State Government had decided to compensate 5 lac people with ₹20,000 who had suffered damage to their houses. However, allegations of corruption and misappropriation of disaster relief funds have surfaced in recent times, thus leaving the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee irked over the conduct of administrative and panchayat officials.

According to a report by Ananda Bazaar Patrika, about 2,000 complaints had been filed by the Chief Minister with respect to the disbursement of funds for relief work. CM Mamata Banerjee informed Chief Secretary Rajiv Singh that she had received the said complaints through her sources and directed him to look into every allegation and take appropriate action. The report said that a majority of complaints were about the distribution of funds for farmers and house reconstruction. 

As per the report, several people had received the sum of ₹20,000 despite having pucca houses or not being affected by Cyclone Amphan. Reportedly, several relatives of panchayat officials had also received compensation. The disparity had been such that while several people had received funds in one particular neighbourhood, none got in the adjoining neighbourhood.

Reportedly, the State Chief Minister had also learnt about the ‘partiality’ displayed by officials in reconnecting power lines in several areas. The government officials had also informed that all complaints received by Prashant Kishore’s organisation, regarding the distribution of relief funds, had been communicated to Mamata Banerjee. 

However, government officials had claimed that the people who have been benefited by the relief funds outnumber the complaints received by them. They stated that a total of 8,500 crores had already been disbursed and errors in names, account numbers or IFSC codes were to be blamed for beneficiaries not receiving their due share.

Ananda Bazaar Patrika reported that around 40% of the funds did not reach the beneficiaries in the first phase but it was fixed later. A committee was formed for selecting the list of beneficiaries in consultation with Block Development Officers and people’s representatives. The amount of ₹20,000 was disbursed in accordance with the list provided by the Finance Ministry.

TMC Gram Pradhan suspended

Recently, Narendranath Singh who served as a five-time pradhan of Chanditala II block in Hoogly was reportedly expelled from the Trinamool Congress on charges of corruption in the distribution of relief funds. As per the Telegraph report, Singh had submitted a list of 166 people who were to receive the assured sum of ₹20,000.

However, the Pradhan had listed his phone number against 119 names, besides including his wife as one of the beneficiaries. In his defence, Singh said that the reason behind putting his phone number against the names of beneficiaries was that they did not have mobile phones.

“It is shocking to see that he used his own mobile number for 119 beneficiaries that included his wife. None of those had suffered any damage in Amphan. Local party workers had cautioned him, but he refused to listen. It was only after MP Kalyan Banerjee intervened that the top leadership came to know of this,” a Trinamool leader was quoted as saying. A probe was also conducted into the matter and the allegations of financial irregularities were found to be true.

When the Hooghly unit of TMC had asked him to resign, he refused to budge. As such, he was formally ousted from the party by the General Secretary Partha Chatterjee on Friday. According to reports, the Trinamool Congress had been cautious that the damage caused to the party, following corruption allegations, could hurt its prospects in the Assembly elections that are scheduled to held in 2021.

Allegations against other TMC leaders

Earlier, Minister Rajib Banerjee also reiterated that corruption by a few TMC leaders could severely affect the poll results. Earlier, a Trinamool leader in East Midnapore, Somnath Bera, had resigned after allegations of misappropriation of funds had surfaced against him. Bera submitted his resignation letter to the district president on the same day. However, Somnath has said that he was stepping down for personal reasons.

The State BJP had alleged that Rupam Bhava, TMC leader and a member of Gram panchayat in Dadpur village, had pocketed the relief fund, meant for victims of Cyclone Amphan, by submitting fake documents of about 20 beneficiaries. According to the report by ABP Ananda, the accused had listed his sister, mother, and neighbours as beneficiaries. In his defence, the TMC MP claimed that he did so to help a person who had recently met with an accident.

Show-cause notice to accused BDOs

According to the report by Ananda Bazaar Patrika, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has reiterated that corruption in the distribution of relief funds would not be tolerated. About 5-6 Block Development Officers (BDOs) from Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas have been handed show-cause notices, following complaints of misappropriation of funds.

If the response to the show-cause notice turned out to be unsatisfactory, then, stringent action would be taken against the said officials. Citing sources, Ananda Bazaar Patrika reported that Mamata Banerjee was herself looking into the issue of corruption in the distribution of relief funds.

Mamata Banerjee on June 6 had warned her party workers against ‘politicising relief work. She had reiterated that relief funds for both Coronavirus and Cyclone Amphan must reach all victims irrespective of party colours. Besides warning of dire consequences if found involved in corruption, West Bengal Chief Minister had advised the party leaders not to get involved in relief work and leave it to the administration.

Affluent people received government compensation

Earlier, it was reported that the owners of intact one-story and multi-story concrete houses in Madanpur II Gram Panchayat of Kalyani block in Nadia had received money by falsely claiming that they were the victims of Cyclone Amphan. It was found that 20 houses in the 28 did not suffer even the slightest damage, as they are pucca houses.

Local resident Narayan Haldar had lodged an official complaint with the Block Development Officer (BDO) Deep Chatterjee and the sub-divisional magistrate regarding this issue. “I was shocked to see the list of beneficiaries. They are highly accomplished people. All of them have pucca houses. It is a serious case of corruption,” Haldar was quoted as saying in media reports. Shockingly, TMC leader and Local panchayat member Somnath Adhikari, who too had received compensation for his undamaged house, had justified the same by saying that “whoever gets the opportunity will take government’s money. There is nothing poor or rich about it.”

Several other people had justified getting compensation despite suffering no loss due to the cyclone, and the complainant had accused that all of them are close to the ruling party.

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