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Tanzania President claims goat and papaya samples tested positive for coronavirus, suspends national lab head for ‘faulty testing’

OpIndia Staff
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Tanzania President claims goat and papaya samples tested positive for coronavirus, suspends national lab head for ‘faulty testing’

Tanzania President John Magufuli suspended the country’s national lab head after goat and papaya (fruit) samples tested positive for coronavirus. He alleged that the testing was faulty for COVID-19. On May 3, the President of Tanzania, John Magufuli, had claimed reportedly that the imported Coronavirus test kits were faulty and unreliable.

Earlier, the President had asked Tanzanians to ‘pray’ the Chinese coronavirus away. Magufuli had then instructed the security forces to check the coronavirus kits wherein random non-human samples were collected and tested. These samples included goat, papaya, car oil and other things. The lab technicians were deliberately not informed about the origins of the samples. Hence, when the goat and the papaya samples tested positive, the Tanzanian President said that this would mean that some of those humans who have tested positive for coronavirus, may not really have been infected.

According to Magufuli, the car oil sample was named as ‘Jabil Hamza’, 30-year-old male and ‘his’ test came back negative. Jackfruit sample nicknamed 45-year-old Sarah Samuel tested ‘unconclusive’ for coronavirus. Papaya sample was codenamed 26-year-old ‘Elizabeth Ane’ tested ‘positive’ for coronavirus. A sample from a kware bird and a goat tested positive too while a sheep tested negative. “This way all papayas and goats should also be in isolation,” the President said.

Tanzania cracks down on health officials

After the non-human samples tested positive for coronavirus, the Tanzanian Government had decided to sack the laboratory director and the quality assurance manager to constitute a 10-person committee that would investigate the matter. This was informed by the acting head of communications at the Health Ministry, Catherine Sungura. The Head of the Government Medical Stores Department was also suspended but no reason was cited.

Madagascar herbal drink

According to a report by the fact-checking website Snopes, the viral video is a part of a televised remark made on May 3 about Magufuli’s plans to import a herbal drink from Madagascar which he believes to be the cure for the deadly pandemic. The President has been firm in his resolve despite no evidence that can prove the efficacy of such a tonic.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), scientists, and other public health officials have cautioned people against self-medicating on unproven remedies of the Chinese virus. They have recommended social distancing instead as a means to avoid exposure to the deadly pathogen.

They are concerned that the Madagascar health drink may provide resistance against the drug. The National Academy of Medicine of Madagascar has clarified on April 20, “It is a drug whose scientific evidence has not yet been established, and which risks damaging the health of the population, in particular, that of children.”

In the viral video, the President also cast aspersions about the credibility of national laboratories, besides alleging mishandling of samples and exaggerated positive results. After claiming that goat samples had tested positive for the Chinese virus, Magufuli said, “That means there is a possibility for technical errors or these imported reagents have issues.”

Politics at play

Reportedly, the claims made by Magufuli was a means to distract his countrymen from the apparent mishandling of the pandemic. The President of Tanzania has also come under fierce criticism for not announcing lockdown in the country and encouraging people to congregate in places of worship instead.

A leader from the Opposition has also defended the national laboratory. John Nkengasong, President of CDA (Africa) told Reuters that the tests in Tanzania are working well. The truth behind Magafuli’s assertions could not be substantiated by Snopes as no evidence exists besides his own ‘testimony.’

Repercussions

A reader from Tanzania wrote to Snopes alleging that the claims made by the country’s President have created confusion amongst his friends and family. I’m afraid that people might actually refuse to test/avoid being tested out of fear of getting infected, he said.

Tanzania, in contrast to other African countries, does not provide regular updates about the number of Coronavirus cases in the country. However, as per data website worldometers, as of May 11, the country has reported 509 live cases of the Chinese virus, besides 21 deaths. In general, Africa has a fewer number of cases, perhaps due to low testing rates (500 tests per million people).

Pokhran: CPIM supported North Korea being a nuclear power, but not India

Abhishek Banerjee
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Pokhran: CPIM supported North Korea being a nuclear power, but not India

Are you proud of India being a nuclear power? Of course, you are. A nation of India’s standing in the world cannot settle for anything less. This image was one of the defining moments for kids of my generation, after the Pokhran test.

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Atal Bihari Vajpayee, George Fernandes and Dr APJ Abdul Kalam after Pokhran tests

The nation will always remember this.

It may sound unbelievable today, but not every Indian was happy to see India take one step towards claiming its rightful status among nations of the world. Among them, the Communists.

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Archive article by Indian Exrpress

At the time, the CPIM’s excuse was of non-proliferation and all sorts of supposed humanitarian concerns. Quite comparable to the rhetoric that you see today against the abrogation of Article 370.

The hollowness of the CPIM’s argument was most clearly exposed almost a decade later, when North Korea carried out nuclear tests.

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Archive article by Indian Express

According to the CPIM, mouthpiece, North Korea had a legitimate right and a legitimate need to carry out nuclear tests, but not India.

Think about that for a second. For Communists, North Korea occupies a higher position on the world stage than India. They care more about protecting North Korea than about protecting India.

Will it be so unfair now to say that the Communists are anti-national?

In case you think the CPIM’s concern for North Korea was a one time thing, it was not. Sympathy and admiration for North Korea is very systematic in the Communist Party. This is Kerala’s Communist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan addressing his party in 2018.

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Economic Times article

Such fraternal love for the brutal Communist dictator Kim Jong Un. You might be interested in knowing that  V S Achutanandan, the previous Communist CM of Kerala, had mocked Dr. Kalam as a man who plays with cracker rockets.

Now you tell me : where does CPIM’s loyalty lie? With India or with North Korea? 

In 2006, the CPIM condemned an international rally in Brussels to highlight human rights violations in North Korea, calling it a “smear campaign aimed at tarnishing the image of the DPRK.” Now think about all the times that CPIM has accused India of committing human rights violations! (see recent example here)

Let me repeat the question: Will it be so unfair now to say that the Communists are anti-national? 

There are two reasons I am telling this story today. The first is that we should never forget history. Especially, we cannot afford to forget who Communists are. The second reason is that the contours of the debate from 1998 are almost the same today.

The CPIM wasn’t alone in being unhappy with India’s nuclear tests. Their point of view was faithfully amplified by the liberal ecosystem at the time.  Most opposition parties seemed to be saying much the same. Here are the words of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

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Report by India Today

To remind you, the 1998 nuclear tests were named Operation Shakti. So is Sonia ji saying India should not have performed those tests? Does she want India to be a nuclear power or not? Will Congress clarify?

The Opposition pretending to have all sorts of supposedly humanitarian concerns and accusing the ruling BJP of showing off hyper-nationalism. At the same time, the world appearing to gang up against us. Sound familiar?

The hand wringing over Article 370, over CAA and NRC, has followed much the same path. But the history of Pokhran tells us what the future holds.

Nobody questions the Pokhran tests today. The nuclear tests are now a cherished moment in our national memory. Those who opposed the test at the time would be embarrassed today if reminded of it.

A decade or so later, the abrogation of Article 370, leading to the complete and total integration of J&K, will become another such cherished moment in India’s history. So if you feel overwhelmed by the liberal cacophony, take a deep breath and relax.

And smile. Because we are going to prevail. But what liberals are saying now will remain floating around on the internet, like ghosts. A decade later, liberals will be haunted by what they have said today.

Congress just admitted in Court that the ‘investigation into Arnab Goswami’ is nothing but vendetta: Here is how

OpIndia Staff
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Congress just admitted in Court that the ‘investigation into Arnab Goswami’ is nothing but vendetta: Here is how

Arnab Goswami, the Republic TV chief has been hounded by the Congress party for weeks now. First, a physical assault on Arnab Goswami and his wife by two Congress goons was reported, then, a flurry of FIRs was filed against him and he was made to sit in the police station for over 12 hours under the pretext of ‘interrogation’. Now, concerns are being raised about the fact that one of the police officers who interrogated Goswami has been tested positive for Coronavirus. It may be recalled that Arnab had requested that he be questioned through video conferencing exactly for this reason, with Mumbai being a hotspot, and that request was denied. One of the cases filed against Arnab Goswami is by the Raza Academy. It charges him with fanning “communal hate” while he was reporting the Palghar mob lynching of two sadhus. It comes as no surprise that the lawyer representing Raza Academy is senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal.

During the hearing of the plea by Arnab Goswami for quashing the case against him filed by Raza Academy for “spreading communal disharmony”, Harish Salve, the advocate representing Arnab Goswami stated that considering the serious allegations made by Arnab Goswami against the police in the handling of the Palghar mob lynching case, they will have no problem if the investigation of the case is transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

To that, Kapil Sibal raised a strange objection.

Kapil Sibal, who was representing the Reza Academy, said that transferring the case to CBI would mean that the “Investigation will go into your hands”.

What that statement would mean is that Kapil Sibal wants Arnab Goswami to be “investigated” by the Congress party or agencies that Congress parties can control unquestionably.

Harish Salve in this hearing even went on to say that the comment by Kapil Sibal proved that this investigation into Arnab was politically motivated since he wants ‘his people” to investigate Arnab.

Harish Salve said, “Mr Sibal’s statement shows the need to transfer the case to CBI. This is a political problem between state and centre and I (Arnab Goswami) have been caught in a crossfire”

The Mumbai Police’s conduct has been questionable through the Arnab fiasco and all for his comments against Sonia Gandhi. Firstly, there was no justification to make a journalist sit in the police station for interrogation for over 12 hours when there is a pandemic that needs to be dealt with and also, Mumbai is the city that is most affected by it. Further, when the assault against Arnab Goswami and his wife happened, it is pertinent to note that the Mumbai Police refused to add that the goons belonged to Congress even though their affiliation was apparent. They even had photographs with Congress leader Malikkarjun Kharge, proving their association with the party.

The CBI, being the premier investigative institution of the country, is one that at least those who are entrusted with governance should have faith in. But the fact remains that Arnab is being hounded by the Congress because he chose to question Sonia Gandhi and break the long-established Omertà amongst the media.

So miffed was Congress with the comments against Sonia Gandhi, that Kapil Sibal, a leader of the party that today talks about the right to dissent being paramount, claimed that Arnab Goswami was indulging in “communal violence”. It is interesting that Congress is now resorting to branding mere works and questions to Sonia Gandhi as “violence”.

Further, Sibal made another strange comment.

He equated “making allegations against Congress” as “communal”. It appears incomprehensible why Sibal would equate the two and it is entirely possible that he meant something completely different which was lost in translation. However, his statement nonetheless proves that for the Congress, Sonia Gandhi is beyond reproach and questions from the media and anybody daring to do so will be hounded with the party using its state machinery and non-state actors to hound the journalist.

Lifting the lockdown and revival of the economy: An open letter to PM Modi

Vijaya Dar
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Lifting the lockdown and revival of the economy: An open letter to PM Modi

Dear Prime Minister,

I was one of those few who disagreed with you when you announced a complete lockdown of the country for 21 days with effect from 24 March 2020. I could foresee the havoc this cessation of all activity would result in. You managed to get the acceptance of the citizens for all the hardship this lockdown brought to their lives, only because no one doubted your sincerity and intention to save us from an unknown, invisible enemy. We clapped, lit lamps, and tried to maintain social distance as far as possible in our daily lives. When the lockdown was enforced for another 21 days, the people continued to be solidly behind you. The untold misery that lakhs of migrant labourers suffered, trapped in cities and towns far away from their homes, was borne by them with utmost patience and stoicism. Now that you have opened up some transport facilities to take them home and are also bringing back stranded Indians from abroad, the immediate distress of families has been addressed to a certain extent.

How far can social distancing be possible

As per the latest announcement, Lockdown #3 should end with 17th May 2020. The partial relaxation announced at the end of Lockdown #2 has resulted in a spike in the infection cases as well as deaths. This should have been anticipated. The infection curve will never be a parabola, but will always show a sine curve until a cure or a vaccine is found and introduced on a massive scale. Lockdown will result in the number of cases looking to be under control, but its repeal will inevitably result in a spike. The social distancing norm practically puts every individual in a 6’ x 6’ cell; condemning people to solitary confinement in cellular jail.

Human beings are products of biological cells that have been combining and recombining over billions of years. Our intellect is hardly a few hundred thousand years old, or maybe less. Even though the intellect tries its best to impose its will upon the biological being, the billions of years of evolutionary history cannot be wished away. The biological cells are social by evolution, and cannot be condemned to solitary confinement without enormous psychological damage.

So, in my opinion, the damage done by social distancing will be impossible to reverse. All the social units we know – families, friends, neighbourhoods, communities, etc will suffer enormous alienation resulting in a complete breakdown of society. Fortunately, in India, we have very strong cultural roots, that have largely survived Westernization, but one can sense the bonds getting frayed at the edges. The West is already experiencing and reporting this breakdown.

Damages to the economy

The damage that this lockdown has done to the economy is beyond simple comprehension. Paralysis has affected every limb and the body is very close to extinction. The world seems to be coming to a similar state that prevailed at the end of the Roman Empire. When the Roman Empire fell, the people who brought it about never understood that they had done it. They paralyzed Roman social structure to a point where everybody forgot what that structure was. Taxes were not collected, armies didn’t get paid, and everything just lapsed. The patterns of civilization were forgotten, and a Dark Age enveloped all.

We are quite likely to fall into this paralytic trance if those in charge of things fail to comprehend the threat and lead the fight against it. Their paralysis is not because of an external threat, but by their own inner construction that prevents them from understanding what is happening. Robert M. Pirsig, author of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” captures this paralysis superbly in his second book “Lila – An Enquiry into Morals” with the following analogy:

“It was like watching the spider waiting while the wasp gets ready to attack it. The spider can leave any time to save its life, but it doesn’t do so. It just waits there, paralyzed by some internal pattern of responses that make it unable to recognize its own danger. The wasp plants its eggs in the spider’s body and the spider lives on while the wasp larvae slowly eat it and destroy it.”

Our society today is in danger of becoming that spider and if we do not shrug off the paralysis that is descending upon us, we will soon be devoured and consumed by the wasp. No doubt Covid-19 is a formidable enemy, and we do not possess the weapons to defeat it at this time. But, by sitting immobilized, almost hypnotized, inside our 6’ x 6’ cells, we are not going to avoid its deadly embrace. By boldly stepping out of the gossamer web of the virus do we have a chance of confronting it.

Many experts have spoken and written about the damage that two months of economic paralysis have done to our country. Travel and Tourism, Hotels and Restaurants, Retail and Print Media, Mass Entertainment including spectator sports, Automobile manufacture and sales, are some of the sectors that have suffered enormous losses due to zero revenues during this lockdown period. They are also sectors that provide employment to a large number of people in the organized economy. How many of these businesses will be able to survive is anybody’s guess. Millions of their employees are either already rendered redundant or awaiting retrenchment. Many would have taken housing loans, automobile and educational loans that would become NPAs as there is no likelihood of new employment opportunities opening up in the near future. As more and more people work from home, many blue-collar jobs in offices will become redundant. The list of economic distress can become almost endless.

The possible solutions

The nightmare scenario that is unfolding before our eyes can be countered if we immediately resort to the following:

  1. Completely remove the lockdown everywhere and open up the country to a pre-20th January state.
  2. Abolish GST for 2 years.
  3. Abolish Income Tax for 2 years.
  4. Freeze outstanding bank loans for 6 months without them accruing any interest, giving the borrowers reasonable time to get back on their feet. Once the economy gets back on rails, these loans can be unfrozen and interest charged from thereon.
  5. Advance working capital loans to help reopening of closed businesses on terms that are easy. Reduce lending rates by Banks to 3% or thereabouts.
  6. Allow cheap foreign capital to come in the form of borrowings by corporates. Right now LIBOR rates are 1% or below 1%.
  7. Keep all pending Income Tax cases in deep freeze. Don’t resume Inspector Raj. Once economy is back to some health introduce a mechanism for a one-time settlement of these cases.
  8. Expedite infrastructure development. Current low cost of oil should be of great help here.
  9. Continue MGNREGA scheme to provide succour to unorganised sector. MUDRA Yojana must expand its scope to revive rural economy.

To finance all this we need to print currency. Do that unhesitatingly. But in order to control inflation, do all that is necessary to increase production, especially of food grains. Remove all unnecessary controls on sowing, movement of grains, etc. Reduce the role of middlemen to the barest minimum.

A pandemic needs dynamic solutions

The Coronavirus has taught us one big lesson. It is that a pandemic can happen without notice and spread like wildfire. Every time the virus will be different and we will not have the remedy for it readily available. Our response cannot be static like the one we provided this time. It has to be dynamic and measured. To achieve all this we will need a  massive investment in the public health sector. Government hospitals must be expanded, modernized with lightning speed. Beds, equipment, ambulances, and all other infrastructure should be added to cater to increased requirements. Those private hospitals that have suffered huge losses should be taken over and converted into government hospitals. Start short medical training courses in nursing, radiology, and pathology all over the country to augment the availability of skills at these levels.

Lifting of the lockdown will, no doubt, result in a large spike in the number of cases and fatalities, but it will also provide the opportunity for herd immunisation to kick in. The spike may last a little longer on the graph but it should eventually tend to flatten. Meanwhile, the medical fraternity worldwide is sure to come up with a remedy that will counter this threat. The people also are largely aware of the dangers of this virus and have been given enough lessons in maintaining personal hygiene, washing hands, wearing facial masks, and reducing physical contact. But it is unrealistic to expect to maintain the kind of social distance we have been advocating when living space for a large section of people is so little. There are whole families living in 6’ x 6’ rooms. It is not possible to provide each member of these families with that much space.

Similarly, travel by air, rail, or road will also not become viable keeping this distancing norm in view. It will have to be given a go-by. It is impossible for any state to babysit a small town, let alone a country of 1.35 billion people. You have done your job in making them aware of the nature of the enemy. Now leave it to them to defend against it. Let them choose their priorities and live their lives as they deem fit. A normal life is what most people look forward to. In its absence, there will be untold and perhaps unredeemable psychological disruptions. Instead of hospitals, we will have to build more mental institutions, making the problem even more intractable.

So please, lift the lockdown and let the country return to health and sanity.

One of the cops who interrogated Arnab Goswami tested positive for coronavirus, senior Advocate Harish Salve informs SC

OpIndia Staff
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One of the cops who interrogated Arnab Goswami tested positive for coronavirus, senior Advocate Harish Salve informs SC

One of the policemen who interrogated Arnab Goswami for over twelve hours in April last week has now tested positive for coronavirus, senior advocate Harish Salve informed the Supreme Court while arguing for the Republic TV chief seeking quashing of the fresh FIR against him.

An FIR was filed by Mumbai based Raza Academy alleging Goswami indulged in disturbing communal harmony over the gathering of migrants in Bandra near a mosque. Raza Academy had organised the August 2012 protests at Azad Maidan in Mumbai which escalated to riots. The most shocking incident of the Azad Maidan Riots was the desecration of Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial by the Muslim mobs. The war memorial is dedicated to the fighters of 1857 – the First Indian Freedom Struggle.

However, two of the officers who interrogated Goswami were asymptomatic and later one of them have tested for coronavirus.

Arnab Goswami interrogation

On April 27, 2020, Goswami was questioned by Mumbai Police for over 12 hours for questioning Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi’s silence over Palghar Sadhu lynching. He was questioned after the Congress party filed more than 150 FIRs against him in various states of the country. The Supreme Court had merged all the FIRs into one and transferred to Mumbai. A week later, a fresh FIR was filed by Raza Academy.

Over the Palghar incident, Arnab, during the hearing on quashing of FIR requested that the case be transferred to the CBI for further investigation since he has made serious allegations against the local police in Palghar incident. “It’s a union vs state problem and I have become a party to this. Of course I can go to Bombay High Court, my request is that the CBI can probe and file report,” Goswami said in the court.

Arnab Goswami vs Sonia Gandhi

Republic TV Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami questioned Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi alias Antonia Maino’s silence over the lynching of Sadhus in April 2020 in Palghar. Congress is in power in Maharashtra with alliance partners Shiv Sena and NCP. However, after Goswami questioned Sonia Gandhi’s silence, he was attacked online by Congress leaders and supporters where multiple FIRs were registered against him across the country. He was also attacked by Youth Congress workers for questioning Sonia Gandhi’s silence. He then moved the SC which granted him protection against multiple FIRs.

Doctor’s suicide case: AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal and associate sent to 4 days of police custody, connections with water tanker mafia alleged

OpIndia Staff
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Doctor’s suicide case: AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal and associate sent to 4 days of police custody, connections with water tanker mafia alleged

On Sunday, a Delhi Court has reportedly sent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA, Prakash Jarwal and co-accused Kapil Nagar to 4 days in police custody, in connection to the suicide case of a 52-year-old doctor named Rajinder Singh.

A First Information Report (FIR) was filed with the police by the son of the deceased who claimed that the duo extorted money from his father who was into water tanker business since 2007. Depressed over financial issues, the doctor had taken his own life. It is accused that the AAP MLA has connections with the water tanker mafia operating in the Deoli and Sangram Vihar areas.

Arguments in Court

While the police had sought 10 days remand for the duo, District Magistrate Nitika Kapoor sent them to four days in police custody.

As per a report in Times of India, the public prosecutor had sought remand of the accused by highlighting the preliminary stage of investigation, heinous nature of the crime and recovery of the extortion money. The Delhi police also need to verify the match their voice samples with that of the threat call received by the doctor who committed suicide. Prakash Jarwal has also been accused of having ties with the tanker mafia in Deoli and Sangam.

Mohammed Irshad, the counsel for accused AAP MLA, however, argued that “no recoveries remained to be affected” and as such the point of police custody was meaningless. He, however, stated that his client was willing to co-operate with the law enforcement authorities and also stated that he was being falsely implicated in the case due to his stature as a public figure.

Prakash Jarwal and the Suicide Case

The deceased doctor, identified as Dr. Rajendra Singh, was a resident of the Deoli neighbourhood in South Delhi and had committed suicide on the 18th of April. In his suicide note, he accused Prakash Jarwal and his associate Kapil Nagar of harassment and blamed them for his decision to take the drastic step. Consequently, the Police had registered an abetment of suicide case against the AAP MLA and his associate and others in the matter.

They were arrested on Saturday evening by the Delhi Police after the Saket Court issued a non-bailable warrant against him. According to police officials, a team of about 15 policemen including ACP Sudhanshu Dhama, Vijay Chandel, and Neb Sarai’s SHO Naresh Solanki raided the MLA’s residence in Tigri on Friday afternoon. Govindpuri, Rohini, and other areas of Delhi were also raided. During this time, the assistants and others found at the MLA’s house were also interrogated.

Pakistan: Hearing and speech impaired minor Christian girl abducted and sexually assaulted

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Hearing and speech impaired minor Christian girl abducted and sexually assaulted

In yet another horrific incident of attack on religious minorities in Pakistan, a Christian minor girl, Komal Patras, was abducted and sexually assaulted in Lahore’s Shibli town.

In a video that has now gone viral on social media, a mother can be seen crying as she retells the painful incident where her hearing and speech impaired daughter was abducted. She says how when she found out that her daughter was missing, she filed a missing person report. She also said that three men, Alim, Bashar and Asim in the FIR but the police has not taken any action against them. She also alleged that the kidnappers also sent naked pictures of their daughter to her.

Komal’s sister and mother say that while abducted, Komal managed to call and tried to communicate with them the way she would while at home. Since she is speech impaired, she could not speak about her plight but she did manage to try and communicate with her family. “She kept screaming,” her sister said while talking about the phone call Komal made.

After widespread outrage over the horrifying incident, Pakistan’s Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari took to Twitter to claim that she has taken up the matter related to the incident and has promised the culprits will be caught.

Abduction and forceful conversion of minor non-Muslim girls in Pakistan

This incident comes days after a 14-year-old Christian girl Myra Shehbaz was abducted in Pakistan’s Faisalabad when she was travelling to her workplace. Eye witness accounts by Pervez Masih, Younas Masih, and Naeem Masih state that Myra was forcibly abducted in a car while she resisted. The men were armed and as such the eyewitnesses could not help the victim. She was then married off to one of her abductors and forcibly converted. Earlier in January, a Muslim man abducted a Hindu girl while her wedding was in progress and forcibly converted her to Islam before forcing her to marry him. In December last year, another 14-year-old Christian girl in Karachi was abducted and forcibly converted to Islam and married off to her abductor.

Former PM Manmohan Singh admitted to AIIMs due to fever and chest pain, currently under observation

OpIndia Staff
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Former PM Manmohan Singh admitted to AIIMs due to fever and chest pain, currently under observation

On Sunday evening, former Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh was admitted at the cardiothoracic department of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), following complaints of chest pain and uneasiness. He was admitted at around 8.45 pm.

Following the initial reports of Dr Singh’s hospitalisation, his office had released a statement saying, “He is okay. He was taken to the hospital as he had a fever due to the side effect of the medication given yesterday. He is under observation.”

AIIMS has not released any statement regarding the former PM’s condition.

As per reports, the former PM is stable. Journalist Pallavi Ghosh has informed that he was admitted for investigation after redeveloped a febrile reaction to a new medication. He is kept under observation to rule out any other causes of the fever.

Dr Manmohan Singh is 87. He has served two consecutive terms (2004-2014) as India’s Prime Minister. He is one of the senior-most leaders of the Congress party. Prior to becoming the PM, Dr Singh was the finance minister in the PV Narasimha Rao government from 1991 to 1996. Prior to that, he served as the Chief Economic Advisor (1972-76) and as the Governor of the Reserve Bank from 1982 to 1985. He was also the head of the Planning Commission from 1985 to 1987.

Political leaders from across the spectrum have wished Dr Singh a speedy recovery and have prayed for his health.

You don’t vote for us, no ration for you: Poor in AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan’s constituency allege religious discrimination amid coronavirus lockdown

OpIndia Staff
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You don’t vote for us, no ration for you: Poor in AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan’s constituency allege religious discrimination amid coronavirus lockdown

The poor in Sarita Vihar area of New Delhi are left to fend for themselves amid the coronavirus lockdown as they were turned away because they didn’t vote for AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan. In a video shared by Rohit Kumar Choudhary, PhD Research Scholar at IIT Delhi on social networking site Twitter, some residents of the Sarita Vihar could be heard saying that they were turned away by those distributing ration because they don’t vote for them in elections. Sarita Vihar falls under Okhla constituency which is represented by Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan.

In the above video, a woman can be heard saying how when they went to take ration, they were asked where they come from. “We said we come from Khadar… So they said that they will not give us ration as we do not vote for them. I said, even all Muslims don’t vote for you, but you are still giving them ration. I told him that some day you give them daal, rice, potatoes, give some to us also… but then he drove us away,” she said. She added that the ones distributing ration threatened that they will call in the police if they don’t leave. The residents allege that everyone living in the jhuggi settlement were denied ration.

In subsequent video, the woman alleges that some are even distributing money along with ration for the poor but they are denied because of their religion. The woman alleges that good amount of ration is being distributed in Shaheen Bagh while they are left to fend for themselves. “We had gone to the MLA thrice, but then he sends us to these people who turn us away,” the woman said.

“They keep insulting us and tell us that were are insects,” the local residents allege. Speaking to OpIndia, Rohit Choudhary, the IIT Delhi student who has been engaged in relief work amid the coronavirus outbreak said that some of the migrant workers don’t have ration cards based in Delhi. Hence, Delhi Government had claimed that they would be provided temporary ration card. However, they are not provided such ration cards. “Moreover, those who do not have access to mobile phones have to pay sometimes as high as Rs 100 to get the temporary cards done,” Choudhary said.

Coronavirus Lockdown: Indian Railways to resume train services gradually, 15 pairs of trains to run from May 12

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus Lockdown: Indian Railways to resume train services gradually, 15 pairs of trains to run from May 12

Even as the government of India has started relaxing the lockdown measure in an effort to bring back the country to normalcy, the Indian Railways has announced the gradual resumption of passenger train services in the country. In a press release issued on May 10, Indian Railways said that it plans to gradually restart passenger train operations from 12th May, 2020.

Initially, the services will restart only with 15 pairs of trains, which will mean a total of 30 return journeys. The trains will run as special trains, but they will be open to be booked by general passengers, unlike the current Shramik special trains which are booked by individual state governments to transport people stranded at various places due to the Coronavirus Lockdown.

The 15 special trains which will start operating from 12 May will connect national capital New Delhi with Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.

After these trains start, more special trains on new routes will be added by the Indian Railways. But before adding new trains, 20,000 coaches will be reserved for COVID-19 care centres and adequate number of coaches are being reserved to enable operation of up to 300 trains everyday as “Shramik Special” for stranded migrants. The new trains after the first 15 trains will be added based on the number of available coaches, the ministry said.

Booking for reservation in these trains will start at 4 pm on 11th May and will be available only on the IRCTC website. Ticket booking counters at the railway stations shall remain closed and no counter tickets will be issued, including platform tickets. Ministry has added that only passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations.

Moreover, it will be mandatory for the passengers to wear face cover and undergo screening at departure and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the trains. Railway will publish the schedule and other details of the trains later on. It may be noted that passenger train services were suspended in the country from 23rd March to contain the spread of Coronavirus. Initially it was suspended till 31st March, but when the country went into a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of Coronavirus and then got subsequently extended twice, train services also remained suspended. Since last week, Indian Railways has started running special trains, named Shramik Special trains, on the exclusive request of state governments to enable migrant labours, pilgrims, students and others to reach their native places after remaining stranded at various places for over a month due to the lockdown.

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