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Supreme Court seeks status report from Maharashtra govt in Palghar lynching case, asks how did mob assemble despite lockdown

OpIndia Staff
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Supreme Court seeks status report from Maharashtra govt in Palghar lynching case, asks how did mob assemble despite lockdown

The Supreme Court has sought a report from Maharashtra Police regarding the status of the investigation in the Palghar lynching case in which two Hindu sadhus and their driver were lynched by a mob on the night of April 16. The court was hearing a plea seeking a CBI probe into the case monitored by an SC monitored SIT or a judicial commission.

According to the reports, the apex court refused to stay the current investigation in the case by state CID and asked the petitioner to serve a copy of the plea to standing counsel for Maharashtra. The Supreme court ordered the Maharashtra government to file a report pertaining to investigation within four weeks.

How did such a mass gathering happen during lockdown: Supreme Court

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna hearing the petition through video-conferencing said that it wanted to know the status of actions that have been taken so far by the police against the perpetrators of the crime. The court also asked how did the authorities allow such a mass gathering of people to violate the lockdown.

The plea said, “This happened despite the fact that the whole country is under Lockdown since March 25 and that no person is allowed to be out of their house and everyone has been asked to follow social distancing which raises a huge suspicion on part of local police.”

The plea, filed by petitioner Shashank Shekhar Jha through his counsel Rashi Bansal, has sought a direction to the authorities to constitute an apex court-monitored SIT or a judicial commission headed by a retired top court judge to deal with the case. The plea also sought CBI investigation into the matter.

Plea demands FIR against police for failure to prevent mob lynching

The plea also demanded filing of FIR against concerned police officials for their failure to prevent the incident. The plea stated that the incident was a failure on the part of the police as a mob had gathered there in violation of the lockdown rules. The petitioner referred to the media reports and claimed that police was complicit in the incident as they did not use force to prevent it. 

The plea alleged that the whole incident was “pre-planned and there could be police involvement as well” and urged the court to transfer the case from Palghar to a fast track court in Delhi.

Palghar Mob Lynching incident

On 16th April 2020, two Sadhus associated with the Juna Akhara, 70-year-old Kalpavrishka Giri Maharaj, and 35-year-old Sushil Giri Maharaj along with their driver 30-year-old Nilesh Telgadewere were on their way from Mumbai to Gujarat to give Samadhi to another Sadhu. At Gadakchinchale village, a wild and frenzied crowd of over more than 100 people attacked them. The villagers deemed them as thieves and started attacking them. The police claim that their team which had rushed to the spot to rescue the 70-year-old man also came under the attack of the violent mob.

But later videos emerged which completely debunked the claim of police, as it was seen that the sadhus were in the custody of the police, but the police personnel handed them over to the mob. The mob then proceeded them to beat them to death in front of the policemen.

Later, it was also revealed that the killing of the Sadhus was intentional and it was done due to political reasons and it was also suspected that Christian missionaries backed by NCP, left parties were behind the lynching of two Hindu Sadhus.

While Sharjeel Imam was a product of The Wire, here is how his counterpart, promoted by Newslaundry and others, is working against India

K Bhattacharjee
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While Sharjeel Imam was a product of The Wire, here is how his counterpart, promoted by Newslaundry and others, is working against India

The ideological compatriot of Sharjeel Imam, Sharjeel Usmani, has announced his intentions of using Muslims as the fifth columns in the country to undermine Indian interests. Sharjeel Imam is the same individual who had urged Muslims to cut off North-East India from the rest of India by blocking the Chicken’s Neck, the vulnerability and the importance of which would have made his proposed action an Act of War. And now, it appears that Usmani, who shares his first name with the fan of Jinnah currently rotting in jail, wishes to wage a propaganda war against India. He is a student of political science at the Aligarh Muslim University, the university that was at the heart of violence during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Sharjeel Usmani made the announcement on Friday that he, along with two of his friends, will put English subtitles on the videos of ‘hate crimes’ against Muslims in India in order to circulate them among social media influencers for wider global reach. While every crime is one too many, the objective of such an effort is quite clear: To weaponize the crimes committed against one particular community while ignoring all the rest in order to tarnish India’s reputation abroad. We have already seen the manner in which significant sections of Muslims in India have targeted Hindus living in the Middle East and thereby, ruin India’s growing partnership with Gulf countries. The effort launched by Sharjeel Usmani appears to be consistent with these attempts.

The announcement made by Sharjeel Usmani

Sharjeel Usmani links with Sharjeel Imam

After the incendiary speeches of Sharjeel Imam had gone viral on social media, Sharjeel Usmani had rushed in to defend him. He had urged Muslims to not disassociate themselves from the JNU scholar and declared that he was ‘in this together’ with the radical Ismamist. Sharjeel Imam also played a critical role in organizing the Shaheen Bagh protests and weaponizing blockades in order to make the state bend to Islamist demands was his idea. That Sharjeel Usmani threw his full weight behind him, although his weight is insignificant, only goes on to demonstrate his own ideological inclinations.

The unconditional support of Sharjeel Usmani towards Sharjeel Imam

Sharjeel Usmani calls Aysha Renna his ‘leader’

Sharjeel Usmani calls Aysha Renna his ‘leader’. Aysha Renna is one of the faces of the Jamia protests that were a contributory factor in the riots in North-East Delhi in the month of February. After she was hailed as a ‘shero’ by Barkha Dutt, it was revealed that she had called India fascist for executing 1993 Mumbai Blasts Terrorist Yakub Memon after a fair trial. Her friend, Ladeeda Farzana (Sakhaloon), another face of the Jamia protests hailed as a ‘shero’ by Barkha Dutt, had called for Muslims to wage Jihad against India which had initiated a vicious cycle of violence that culminated with the anti-Hindu riots in Delhi. Ladeeda had also glorified the genocidal maniacs who were responsible for the murder and pillaging of Hindus during the Moplah Massacre.

Sharjeel Usmani calls Aysha Renna his leader

Ladeeda farzana had spoken out in the defense of Sharjeel Usmani after the latter was booked in a case. “This witch-hunting of Sharjeel Imam and Sharjeel Usmani need to be stopped. If you share this witch-hunting psyche are equally dangerous at this juncture. I unconditionally stand with both our brothers who are at lead against this fascist government,” she had said.

The Media has learnt no lessons

As it so happens, Sharjeel Usmani writes columns for Two Circles, FirstPost, Newslaundry and DailyO. It isn’t surprising given that Sharjeel Imam also wrote for the far-left propagandist website The Wire. In a column for The Wire, Sharjeel Imam had whitewashed the crimes of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and asserted that the Father of Pakistan holds great relevance for Indian Muslims, insinuating his was the path that Indian Muslims needed to follow. Given the high regards in which Sharjeel Usmani holds Sharjeel Imam, it is only to be expected that he hold the same views as the latter.

The profile of Sharjeel Usmani on Twitter

The Ideological Inclinations of Sharjeel Usmani

The ideological inclinations of Sharjeel Usmani is abundantly clear from his tweets. In one tweet from November, he declares that he is from ‘Kashmir’ and “You’re from India” while quoting a tweet by filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, thus, insinuating that Kashmir is not a part of India. The Radical Islamic nature of the separatism in the Valley is well known to everyone. Thus, the underlying connotations of the tweet is abundantly clear to the keen observer. And yet, such individuals continue to write bylines for ‘esteemed’ ‘secular’ media portals.

Sharjeel Usmani insinuates that Kashmir is not a part of India

If all of this wasn’t enough, in another tweet from October 2019, Sharjeel Usmani glorified a woman who was carrying an axe to a protest in Kashmir. When people carry axes to a protest, it can be said quite safely that nonviolent protests are not what they have in their mind. And when it is happening at a place which has witnessed great terrorism and even a genocide, the motive could not be clearer. And yet, the scholar at AMU glorifies her nonetheless. In case anyone had any doubt about the ideological inclinations of Sharjeel Usmani, none should remain now. And it is interesting to note that Sharjeel Usmani had started writing for media portals long before this tweet and has been writing extensively since then as well.

Sharjeel Usmani had been booked earlier by the Police earlier for an objectionable post on Lal Krishna Advani. The post allegedly had a photograph of the veteran BJP leader with the caption “Punish those guilty of Babri Demolition”. Given the history of his support towards Sharjeel Imam and his devotion towards terrorist sympathizers and his own glorification of terrorists in Kashmir, his announcement of distributing videos among ‘social media influencers’ appear far more sinister than it looks on the surface. Having lost the battle on the streets with the refusal of the Indian government to rescind the Citizenship Amendment Act in any shape or form, the war appears to have moved on to social media and propaganda at the global level.

Sinister Designs

We have already witnessed one attempt to destabilize India’s relationship with Gulf countries through the use of social media as a weapon. The latest move by Sharjeel Usmani appears consistent with that initiative. In this context, it is important to remember that Sharjeel Imam had said in one of his viral videos that an ‘intellectual cell‘ had been established to carry forward the devious plans as laid out by him. We had speculated earlier that Jamia Coordination Committee, or at least a few of its members, might have links with this ‘intellectual cell’. Since then, a few people associated with the JCC have been arrested. In this regard, it is also quite possible that Sharjeel Usmani is part of this ‘intellectual cell’ although it cannot be claimed with any certainty as yet. The larger goal of these band of individuals on social media is to use Muslims as a fifth column in their war against the Indian State. And it appears that no attempts are being made to even hide their intentions.

Meerut: Islamist target a fruit seller for sporting Bhagwa flag, UP Police refuse to bow to their agenda

OpIndia Staff
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Meerut: Islamist target a fruit seller for sporting Bhagwa flag, UP Police refuse to bow to their agenda

Even as the country is battling the menace of coronavirus, a surreptitious plan of harassing Hindus for displaying their religious identities is underway by online Islamists. After the Hindu fruit-sellers in Jamshedpur were browbeaten into removing the banners that sported photos of Hindus Gods, a similar case of Hindu vegetable vendor being threatened with disciplinary action has come to the fore.

An Islamist Twitter account named Tehzeeb TV shared a video of a fruit-vegetable seller ambling through Guru Nanak bazaar of Kanker Kheda area, seeking action against the fruit-seller for carrying a saffron flag on his handcart. A raft of Meerut police Twitter handles, including the IG Range Meerut, was tagged by the Islamist seeking action to be taken by Meerut Police against the poor fruit-seller.

Taking cognisance of the complaint by the Islamist Twitter handle, the IG Range Meerut responded to the video, asking Meerut Police to look into the matter.

Soon after IG Range Meerut asked the Meerut Police to intervene, the official account of Meerut Police responded that they have informed the concerned station-in charge of Kankar Khera police station to take necessary action against the aforementioned complaint.

However, shortly afterwards, the Meerut Police responded on the complaint filed by the Islamist by stating that the concerned fruit-seller had the permission of selling goods online and has been asked to follow social distancing norms and lockdown restrictions.

It is pertinent to note that the complaint filed by the Islamist Tehzeeb TV was regarding the presence of a ‘saffron flag’ on the fruit-seller’s cart and not about the violation of lockdown restrictions by him as clarified by the Meerut Police.

Response by UP Police

Though the UP Police did not take action against the fruit seller for sporting the Bhagwa flag, the very fact that they acknowledged the malicious complaint by an Islamist who had wanted to harass a poor vendor for the simplest issue of displaying his faith, did not sit well with many on social media.

Many users stated that the UP police should be wary of encouraging such elements by wasting efforts and aiding them into carrying out their nefarious agenda to intimidate and harass poor Hindus.

Speaking to OpIndia, an official of the UP police stated that the social media handles are managed by a separate cell and they act as per complaints received by them.

Fruit Sellers in Jamshedpur booked for writing ‘Hindu’ on their banners

Earlier last week, a group of Hindu fruit sellers in Jamshedpur were booked by the city police today for writing ‘Hindu’ on their shops. The fruit-sellers had written “Vishwa Hindu Parishad ki anumodit Hindu fal Dukan” which translates to “Hindu fruit shop approved by Vishwa Hindu Parishad”.

An Islamist named Ahsan Razi had lodged a protest with the Jamshedpur police on Twitter against the use of “Hindu” on the banners of the fruit sellers. Acting on his complaint, the Jamshedpur police acted against the overt manifestation of religion by the shop owners, removed the banners and threatened the fruit sellers with further action if they continued to write Hindus on their banners and have photos of Hindu Gods on them.

Poor vendors harassed in Telangana and Bihar

Similar cases have been reported from Telangana and Bihar too, where Hindu vendors sporting saffron flags on their carts were targeted by Islamists, and eventually harassed by the police.

Muslim mob thrash Hindu driver in Kuwait for praising PM Modi on social media claiming it is against Muslim Community

OpIndia Staff
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Muslim mob thrash Hindu driver in Kuwait for praising PM Modi on social media claiming it is against Muslim Community

A complaint has been registered with the Union Home secretary against an individual named Asi Chullikara for allegedly assaulting a Hindu resident in Kuwait after he had praised Prime Minister Modi on his social media account.

According to the complaint filed by advocate Pratheesh Vishwanath, Asi Chullikara, hailing from Kasargod district of Kerala and currently residing in Kuwait, along with his friends had barged into the residence of Praveen on April 28 and brutally assaulted him after Praveen had made pro-Modi comments on social media.

The video of a mob attacking Praveen had gone viral across social media platforms. In the video, it was clearly seen how a mob allegedly led by Asi Chullikara had thrashed Praveen over his Facebook posts.

In his complaint, Pratheesh Vishwanath has stated that the mob led by Asi Chullikara threatened and forced Praveen to apologise to the Muslim community at large and made him confess that the post he had put in his Facebook account was against the Muslim community.

Assault was recorded on camera

Shockingly, the entire assault was recorded by the mob and was published across social media platforms with a warning that whosoever engages in such activities against Muslims will be taught a lesson.

“A section of persons who are working in Gulf countries especially one who are from Kerala are spreading hatred towards the country as well as Hindus are targeting Hindu expatriates in Gulf pointing any FB post posted by them in support of the present government ruling the nation and its leaders labelling them as anti-Muslim,” the complaint read.

The complaint said that the mob led by Asi Chullikara had committed a serious offence under IPC sections 153A, 153B, 124A. 321,330, 340, 348 and 503. He requested the Home Ministry to give prior sanction under Section 188 of the CrPC to prosecute the accused in India for the offences they have committed in Kuwait.

Asi Chullikara’s anti-India propaganda

Several social media users have pointed out that the accused Asi Chullikara has been continuously propagating anti-India and anti-Hindu propaganda on social media platforms.

Read- Kuwait joins Saudi, Oman and Qatar to denounce anti-India propaganda on social media

In his social media posts, Asi Chullikara had repeatedly insulted the Indian Army and often referred to Kashmir as ‘Indian occupied Kashmir’ (IOK).

First chargesheet filed in Delhi anti-Hindu riots, Shahrukh Pathan named for shooting at police, Kaleem Ahmad and Ishtiyak Mallik for aiding him

OpIndia Staff
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First chargesheet filed in Delhi anti-Hindu riots, Shahrukh Pathan named for shooting at police, Kaleem Ahmad and Ishtiyak Mallik for aiding him

The National Capital of Delhi had seen violent clashes and anti-Hindu riots that had broken out on the 23rd of February. In the three days that the riots raged on, the seeds of which were sown in November when the anti-CAA riots were started by Islamists, saw over 50 people dead and hundreds injured. During the riots, an image of head constable Deepak Dahiya standing strong and defiant in the face of Islamist Shahrukh Pathan brandishing a gun and the opening fire had gone viral.

Shahrukh Pathan brandishing a gun during anti-Hindu riots in Delhi
Shahrukh Pathan brandishing a gun during anti-Hindu riots in Delhi

On the 3rd of March, Shahrukh Pathan was arrested for his role in the riots. Now, the Delhi Police has registered the first FIR in the Delhi anti-Hindu riots case and named Shahrukh Pathan for his role in the riots.

Shahrukh was one of the first persons to be arrested during the anti-Hindu riots.

The police have also named Kaleem Ahmad and Ishtiyak Mallik for aiding Pathan on the spot and sheltering him. A weapon too has been recovered from Pathan with two live rounds. The police have lodged 48 cases and two SITs constituted by the Crime Branch are probing into it.

The Delhi police have established that the Islamist shooter was in constant touch with the members of the Chenu gang, however, they are not yet sure whether he was an active member of the gang or not.

The semi-automatic 7.65-bore pistol used by Shahrukh was made in Bihar and was procured by him about two years ago.

Sources informed the news agency IANS that Shahrukh was given shelter in Bareilly by one of the friends of his father who is also allegedly a drug supplier.

Investigations into the case have reportedly revealed that Shahrukh’s father, Shawar Pathan, who came to Delhi in 1985, is also a criminal and has several cases registered against him on charges of drug peddling and smuggling fake currency notes. He had, in fact, been released on bail just three days ahead of Shahrukh’s shooting incident during the anti-Hindu riots in Delhi’s Maujpur area in broad daylight on 24 February.

The father was reportedly born as a Sikh who had later converted to Islam for marrying a Muslim woman. According to reports, Shahrukh’s mother also is said to be a notorious drug peddler.

On the day of US President Donald Trump’s visit to India, the national capital had witnessed unprecedented violence. A Delhi police constable has lost his life in the riots that have ensued in the national capital in wake of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Another DCP has been injured during clashes in Delhi’s Gokulpuri. An IB official, Ankit Sharma, was brutally murdered and his dead body was thrown in a drain. Amidst the riots, a video of a man opening fire at the police, and one policeman bravely standing in his way emerged. The shooter, identified as Shahrukh, has now been arrested.

Congress leader Maher Haider seen barging into Mumbai hospital and misbehaving with doctors, hospital files complaint: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Maher Haider seen barging into Mumbai hospital and misbehaving with doctors, hospital files complaint: Report

In a CCTV footage of a Mumbai hospital has emerged in which Congress leader and Municipal Corporator Maher Haider is seen storming into the premises and misbehaving with the doctors. As per a report by Republic TV, the incident is of 24 April midnight and had come to notice on Friday. The Global Hospital and Research Centre have filed a complaint against the Congress leader. However, despite filing a complaint and even after one week of the incident, the Mumbai police haven’t filed an FIR.

Endangered lives of patients

In the complaint, the hospital has alleged that Maher Haider ‘unauthorisedly, illegally and unlawfully’ entered the hospital without information and without an appointment at 12 o’clock on 24 April. The complaint alleged that she forcefully, entered the patient’s ward, disrupting the hospital’s rules and regulations, and endangered the lives of patients. The hospital alleged that she stayed in the hospital for 45 minutes. She allegedly yelled at the doctors calling them ‘drunk’ and threatened to convert the hospital into a coronavirus quarantine centre. The Municipal corporation disturbed the patients and endangered their lives.

Congress leader’s statement

Speaking to Republic, the Corporator later stated that she was screened at the entrance, despite the CCTV footage showing that she had barged into the premises. She denied the allegations made by the hospitals and stated that the hospital had tampered with the CCTV footage to blame her.

As on Friday, 1st May, Maharashtra has over 9915 confirmed cases of coronavirus. 432 people have so far succumbed to the deadly disease.

Coronavirus: No ration, petrol to those not wearing masks in Goa

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: No ration, petrol to those not wearing masks in Goa

The State Executive committee of Goa has decided to not to provide ration and petrol to those who are not wearing masks. The decision was taken during the meeting of the State Executive committee chaired by Chief Secretary Parimal Rai on Thursday.

The SEC decided that the use of masks and face cover will have to be used mandatorily across the state amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. Petrol pumps and fair price shops have been directed not to sell the commodities if the buyer is not wearing marks or mandatory face cover.

The statement of SEC said, “To enable this, the state should launch a campaign, like ‘no mask-no petrol’ or ‘no mask-no ration’. The committee asked the Director of civil supplies to launch a campaign in order to reach out to the petrol pumps and fair price shops so that they will act further.

State Inspector General of Police Jaspal Singh said during the meeting that the police have recovered fine from 1,000 people for not wearing masks.

Earlier the Goa govt had made wearing mask mandatory for all people who step out of their homes. A statement issued by Goa govt had said that actions will be taken against those who violate the order. “Wearing masks is compulsory at public and work places, including streets, hospitals, working sites, etc, under the Goa Epidemic Diseases (Act), COVID-19 Regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the State,” the statement had said. The violators of this rule will be liable for penalty of Rs 100 and in case of non-payment, shall be liable for action under IPC section 188.

Goa has zero active Coronavirus cases in the state at present. Seven persons had tested positive for the infection earlier, but all of them have recovered and no new case has emerged after the last patient was discharged on 19th April.

Dear Mahua Moitra, I am an NRI doctor and your article was a litany of lies promoting sycophancy over talent

Guest Author
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Dear Mahua Moitra, I am an NRI doctor and your article was a litany of lies promoting sycophancy over talent

Respected Mahua Moitra Madam, 

The role of opposition in a democracy can be quoted very aptly through the words of Walter Lippmann which goes as the following, “In a democracy, the opposition is not only tolerated as constitutional but must be maintained because it is indispensable.” Being a learned member of the parliament of the largest democracy in the world, I am sure you are very well aware of it. But your recent comments on the non-residential Bengalis as published in Anandabazar Patrika are very unfortunate, to say the least. Expats supporting the party are often deployed to defend the shortcomings. Whereas those raising questions against the Bengal government are being projected as uprooted (rather than non-residential) Bengalis. This derisive attitude is very unbecoming of your stature and against the spirit of democracy. 

In your recent writing, you have put forward a lot of data from across the globe. I would like to remind you of some data from our own state of West Bengal. Our population is 7.54% to that of India. If the national percentage of COVID19 testing is to be followed, West Bengal should have carried out 43,720 tests whereas only 9880 tests have been conducted which is 442% less (at the time of publication of original Bengali article in Bangladesh on April 28th). Can you kindly explain why the numbers of COVID19 tests being carried out in central research centres were reduced? What steps were undertaken by the government to increase the number of daily tests? In the recent past, CM Mamata Banerjee had said that her government is considering the possibility of a partial relief of lockdown. But how could the situation become so dire within such a small span of time? Did the government not have enough information at hand? When the lockdown started, the Bengal government seemed to have set up isolation centres almost in a war footing. But as soon as the videos depicting mismanagement of these isolation wards went viral, the use of mobile was banned. Thanks to social media, news of closedown of Hospital units and midnight funeral of possible COVID19 victims (often without informing the kin) has come forward. Do the people of Bengal have no right to raise these questions? 

As you have compared Gujarati and Bengali ex-pats in your writing, it is necessary to bring forth some hard facts. Gujaratis go across the country primarily for business and travel across the globe for business or job. Whereas Bengalis cannot set up a business within their own state. Syndicate, non-payment, high handedness is constant impediments that vitiate the environment. Scores of industrious Bengalis have gone bankrupt due to these troubles, what has the government done to improve the situation? 

Read- West Bengal Doctors Forum writes to Mamata Banerjee asking that Coronavirus data should be genuine, transparent and verifiable

Also, the job prospect looks equally dire within the state. As soon as Mamata Banerjee came to power, she stopped SEZ and took a stand against FDI. The land is not being allotted; even the port construction on the Bay of Bengal has been stopped. There are no four-lane state highways; the land is not being allotted for national highways. Jiagunj-Azimgunj bridge construction has not finished in 10 years due to legal problem with only 1 Katha of land!! Metro rail was not allowed to invest 50% (like in other states) nor is the land being allotted, airport expansion was halted. The land was not provided for Kolkata Delhi freight corridor. No significant investments have come in even after 4 industrial summits. Neither industrialization has taken place, nor is there focus on infrastructure development. The last hope people had was government service. Now with the rampant corruption, that has also become a distant not so feasible dream for most. RICE, MICE coaching centres are on the decline as pupils are quickly losing faith in the exam. 

The first IIT, IIM, IISWBM, ISI in India were set up in West Bengal, not Gujarat. Centre government constructed Teesta, Farakka, DVC in Bengal, whereas Gujarat paid for Sardar Sarovar Dam out of their own pockets. Gujarat did not have centre funding for industrial hubs like Durgapur, Haldia, Kharagpur, Saltlake, Kalyani etc, we did. But today, Gujarat is successful because their successive governments have worked for the state. Whereas Bengal, after suffering three decades of communism was already a sick state, Mamata Banerjee government has fared hardly any better. 

Read- Doctors write letter flagging mismanagement of Coronavirus crisis in West Bengal, TMC MP Mahua Moitra says ‘you don’t even pay taxes’

We are researchers living abroad and we would love to return to our state and work for her development. But sadly, the present environment in West Bengal promotes sycophancy than talent. The pay scale of doctors in Bengal is equivalent to that of nurses at AIIMS. The humungous failures of the state government are beyond comprehension. 

It is true that the total number of COVID cases is higher in Gujarat, but at least they are being transparent with their numbers, unlike Bengal. The present regime in Bengal is trying hard to suppress the numbers thinking of electoral politics rather than the health of the people of Bengal. It is only expected that concerned citizens will ask questions when a state government eyes for electoral politics at the time of a global pandemic. 

Lastly, we may be ex-pats, but a lot of us are Indian citizens and we have a democratic right to ask questions to the government of the day. At least we are not demanding an UN-monitored referendum like our CM did in case of an internal matter like CAA. 

(This article was first published on bangodesh.com in Bengali, authored by Rudra Prasanna Banerjee who is a researcher, University of Alberta, Canada)

Guntur: Deceased coronavirus patient contracted the virus from a Tablighi Jamaati after visiting the same tea stall, spreads the infection to over 50 others

OpIndia Staff
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Guntur: Deceased coronavirus patient contracted the virus from a Tablighi Jamaati after visiting the same tea stall, spreads the infection to over 50 others

A coronavirus positive cable operator from Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur, who became the sole reason for a massive outbreak of coronavirus cases in Narasaraopet, Guntur, infecting over 50 people of the town, had contracted the virus from a Tablighi Jamaat member.

Guntur Rural SP Ch Vijaya Rao who had formed a special team to investigate how the 45-year-old coronavirus positive cable operator who died on April 10, contracted the virus, revealed that the deceased had contracted the infection from a 54-year-old man of Guntur who attended Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi, reports The New Indian Express. 

Cable operator visited same tea stall as the Tablighi Jamaat attendee

According to the report, during the inquiry, it was revealed that 13 persons of Guntur attended Tablighi Jamaat. The seventh among them visited Narasaraopet on March 20 to see his parents, who reside at Shalem Nagar.  On his way to his parents’ house, the Delhi returnee had a cup of tea at a stall at the bus stand centre. At the same time, the cable operator also visited the stall and ordered a cup of tea. The duo stayed at the stall for sometime when the cable operator might have contracted the virus from the Delhi returnee.

The cable operator who was a Tuberculosis (TB) patient, got treatment at Narasaraopet government hospital. On April 6, the doctors referred him to Guntur Fever Hospital for treatment suspecting that he had developed Covid-19 symptoms. He was admitted to Fever Hospital on April 9 and later died. He was declared coronavirus positive on April 10. 

Phone tracing and search

As part of the inquiry, the police collected call data of mobile phones of several Tablighi Jamaat attendees and their contacts. They also tracked the location of mobile phones of the Markaz attendee and the cable operator to establish their presence at the tea stall at the bus stand centre in Narasaraopet at the same time.

The police gathered information about the duo after showing the photos of the Delhi returnee and the cable operator to a worker at the stall to ascertain the fact that he served tea to them or not. The worker at the tea stall recognised the duo to whom he had served tea. Based on the information provided by the worker, the police visited NRI hospital where the Delhi returnee is undergoing treatment. When questioned he agreed to the fact that he visited Narasaraopet on March 20. 

As the Jamaati tested negative after treatment, he was discharged from hospital on Thursday. 

Deceased cable operator infects over 50 people

The deceased cable operator who had contracted the infection from the 54-year-old Tablighi ultimately became a super-spreader of the virus infecting more than 50 people in his hometown, Guntur. Initially, five family members of the cable operator and a home guard who is his close friend contracted coronavirus. His family members, in turn, spread the virus to another 34 persons, while the home guard who tested positive for the pathogen, infected 18 persons, including five doctors, as per the NIE report.

Role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus

The Tablighi Jamaat fiasco, which took place in the second week of March 2020. was undoubtedly the biggest setback to India’s fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus. The mass gathering at the Markaz Nizamuddin in Delhi, and the subsequent transport of the virus through carriers across the length and breadth of India has jeopardised greatly the safety and health of this country.

 

Anybody can watch anything on TV: SC tells Prashant Bhushan’s lawyer over his remarks criticising Prakash Javadekar for watching Ramayan

OpIndia Staff
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Anybody can watch anything on TV: SC tells Prashant Bhushan’s lawyer over his remarks criticising Prakash Javadekar for watching Ramayan

The Supreme Court on Friday slammed lawyer Prashant Bhushan for his critical comments passed on Twitter against the Union Minister Prakash Javadekar who had shared a picture of himself watching “Ramayana” serial amidst the national lockdown on Twitter.

“As crores starve and walk hundreds of miles home due to the lockdown, our heartless ministers celebrate consuming and feeding the opium of Ramayana & Mahabharata to the people,” lawyer Prashant Bhushan had tweeted after Union Minister Prakash Javadekar shared his picture watching Ramayana.

Following Bhushan’s withering remarks against Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, an FIR was filed by former Army personnel Jaidev Rajnikant Joshi at Rajkot claiming that Bhushan has hurt religious sentiments of the Hindus by tweeting against re-telecast of Ramayana and Mahabharata serials on DD during the lockdown imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

Hearing the matter, a bench comprising of Justice Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna asked Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, who was appearing for Prashant Bhushan: “Mr Dave, anybody can watch anything on TV. How can you say people cannot watch this and that?”

Dave responded, “No, we are not on people watching something on TV. But we are on FIR”

Bhushan, in the writ petition filed in the apex court through advocate Kamini Jaiswal, defended himself claiming hist tweet was meant to highlight the apathy of the Union Minister in handling the migrant workers’ crisis and was not intended at hurting religious sentiments.

Bhushan further added that the FIR filed against him is an abuse of power, intended to muzzle valid criticism of the government actions.

The Supreme Court on Friday granted interim protection from arrest to Advocate Prashant Bhushan in FIR registered against him by Gujarat police alleging hurting of religious sentiments.

Posting the matter to be heard after two weeks, the court issued a notice to the Gujarat Government, ordering them to not take any coercive action against the defendant till the next day of the hearing.

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