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MiG-29 fighter jet of Indian Air Force crashes in Punjab near Nawanshahr, pilot ejects safely

OpIndia Staff
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MiG-29 fighter jet of Indian Air Force crashes in Punjab near Nawanshahr, pilot ejects safely

An Indian Air Force fighter jet MiG-29 crashed in Punjab after developing a technical snag. The Russian fighter plane crashed in an open field in Chuharpur village near Nawanshahr, fortunately injuring no one. As per reports, the pilot has ejected himself safely and is under medication after landing. The Air Force pilot MK Pandey opened his parachute right after ejecting from the cockpit that made him land safely.

The eyewitnesses are saying that they noticed something like a fireball in the sky at 11 am which was approaching towards the ground. After they ran towards the field they found a plane crashed. Some explosion in the aircraft also took place after the crash happened. As per reports, farmers were working in the field when the incident happened.

The local authorities and police rushed to the spot after they got the information about the crash. The exact location of the accident is unknown as several media outlets are reporting the different locations in Punjab.

In a statement, the Indian Air Force has said, “The aircraft had developed a technical snag and the pilot ejected safely as he was unable to control the aircraft. the pilot has been rescued by a chopper. A court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the caused of the accident.”

The Mig-29 aircraft was on a training mission and it had taken off from Adampur Air Force base in Jalandhar, the officials said.

The Mikoyan MiG-29 is a twin-engine jet fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It was developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, although later many of them have been adapted as multirole fighters. Indian Air Force operates 65 MiG-29s at present, while the India Navy has 36 fighters in the naval version. The IAF fighters have been upgraded many modern advanced features and modern weapons in the recent years.

Tripura: 24 more BSF Personnel test positive for Coronavirus, infection reported from 86th Battalion after 138

OpIndia Staff
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Tripura: 24 more BSF Personnel test positive for Coronavirus, infection reported from 86th Battalion after 138

Twenty Four more Border Security Personnel (BSF) personnel have tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus in Tripura. These men belong to the 86th Battalion headquarters located in Ambassa, Dhalai district. Earlier, 62 personnel from the 138th Battalion headquarters, located near to that of the 86th Battalion, had tested positive for the virus. No fresh cases have been reported among civilians.

The total number of active cases in Tripura now stands at 86. The number includes two women and five children, all family members of the infected personnel. In addition, a mess worker has also tested positive for the virus. Two people had earlier been infected with the virus and subsequently recovered. Most of the infected individuals were undergoing treatment at the Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital, a dedicated Covid-19 hospital, in Agartala.

Additional Chief Secretary S K Rakesh said that 916 samples of BSF personnel and civilians from Dhalai district have been sent for tests. “We are prepared even if the number of COVID-19 cases further rise in Tripura,” he said. Dhalai District has been designated a red zone and three locations, including the headquarters of the 138th battalion of the BSF, a camp at Gandacherra village and the Kareena border outpost, have been declared containment zones.

Video from Pakistan International Airlines shared on social media to claim that Air India is charging thrice the ticket price

OpIndia Staff
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Video from Pakistan International Airlines shared on social media to claim that Air India is charging thrice the ticket price

On May 8, a Twitter user named Hussain shared a video claiming that Air India, the national carrier of India, has charged three times the normal fare to its passengers under the pretext of social distancing.

In the 45-second long video, a male passenger can be seen arguing with the crew about the airlines’ commitment to ensure social distancing. He says, “We have paid money for this (journey). You are not taking us for Allah’s sake.” The irked man says that the airline is charging them $3000 for a one-way trip.

A female passenger in Hijab can be heard saying, “This is a shi**y flight.” The male passenger reiterates, “How many TV screens are working? How may seats are perfectly aligned? Keeping everything aside, ensure adequate social distance between passengers.”

What is the Truth?

On Friday, Press Information Bureau (PIB) took to Twitter to clarify that the contentious video wherein passengers are seen complaining about lack of social distancing, despite high fares belonged to a “neighbouring country” (Pakistan). It confirmed that the flight in question was not Air India, as confirmed by the Ministry of Aviation.

We found that the video of the same incident was shared by Pakistani users who confirmed that it happened in a Karachi to Toronto flight of Pakistan International Airlines.

The Twitters users from Pakistan also confirmed that PIA was charging $3000, which us thrice the normal fare for the flight, to compensate for empty seats they were mandated to maintain to ensure social distancing.

Fake News amidst pandemic

Amidst the Coronavirus outbreak, images and videos from Pakistan are being routinely shared in India with misleading claims to further a specific agenda. Earlier, former Aaj Tak and ABP News journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai had posted an image that showed the chapped, rough feet of some children. He added the text, “Mother India ke panv dekhe hain kabhi”? which means, ‘have you ever seen the feet of mother India?

The post was shared on May 6, 2020. However, in his attempt to score browny points over poverty porn, Bajpai forgot to verify when and where the image was from. As pointed out by Twitter user @theFirstHandle, Bajpai had used an image that was published in a 2018 report by The London Post, in an article titled “Real Face of Pakistani Democracy- Children need a sponsor for medical treatment”.

Kerala: 21-year old girl studying to become nun in a convent mysteriously found dead in a well

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: 21-year old girl studying to become nun in a convent mysteriously found dead in a well

In a shocking incident, a girl who was studying to become a nun was suspiciously found dead in a well in the compound of Paliakkara Beselian Convent in Kerala where she was living.

According to reports, the deceased has been identified as Divya P Johnny, a native to Chungappara. The 21-year-old Divya has been living in the convent for long to attain nunhood.

On Thursday, the inmates of the convent heard a sound of something falling into the well at around 11 in the morning. A few inmates looked into the well in the compound of the Baselian Convent at Thiruvalla, around 120 km from the state capital and found Divya inside the well.

In about 20 minutes, Divya was taken out of the well and shifted to a private hospital by the police. She was declared dead on arrival. The body has been shifted to Thiruvalla taluk hospital. The police are set to begin a probe into the unnatural death after the autopsy.

A police source said that the prima facie suspicion was that the girl could have either committed suicide or have slipped into the well while taking water from the well. A police officer said that as now no foul play is suspected in the incident. The actual cause of death is yet to be ascertained and her dead body has been sent to postmortem.

Bengal: Mandatory to play Mamata Banerjee’s ‘corona song’ along with ‘selected’ Tagore songs on the poet’s birth anniversary, BJP shares ‘order’

OpIndia Staff
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Bengal: Mandatory to play Mamata Banerjee’s ‘corona song’ along with ‘selected’ Tagore songs on the poet’s birth anniversary, BJP shares ‘order’

On Thursday, Locket Chatterjee, BJP MP from Hooghly in West Bengal alleged that Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee has made it compulsory to sing the “Coronavirus awareness song” written by her in “important” residential areas and housing complexes on the eve of the birth anniversary of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

The songs must also be played between 9:00 am and 11.30 am. Chatterjee had also shared a letter allegedly written by Additional Director General of Police on May 5, 2020, to all the Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) in West Bengal, urging them to ensure the implementation of the said order.

Coronavirus in West Bengal

It is important to remember that the order to sing the Corona song written by Mamata Banerjee comes at a time when West Bengal is reeling under the looming threat of Coronavirus pandemic. The Union Home Ministry in a letter to the West Bengal government has revealed that the state has the highest rate of coronavirus fatalities.

In a memo, the Union Home Ministry also pointed out that the state has a “very low rate of testing in proportion to the population and a very high rate of mortality of 13.2 per cent, by far the highest for any state.”

Kerala: BJP fumes as Devaswom Board transfers Rs 5 crores from the Guruvayur Temple’s fixed deposits to CM’s relief fund

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: BJP fumes as Devaswom Board transfers Rs 5 crores from the Guruvayur Temple’s fixed deposits to CM’s relief fund

Kerala BJP President K Surendran has criticised the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government for making Guruvayur Devaswom Board transfer Rs Five crore from its fixed deposit to Chief Minister’s relief fund.

Reportedly, K Surendran attacked the Kerala government for transferring the money from Hindu temples to the relief fund and said that Devaswom’s step was wrong. This money should have been sent to temples that have been struggling to light the lamps.

He also asked the Kerala government why the chief minister’s fund was not accepting money from other religious institutions.

Guruvayur Devaswom donates money despite no source of income

On Tuesday, the Guruvayur Devaswom had contributed Rs 5 crore to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund sparking a fresh controversy. Handing over the fund to District Collector S Shanavas, Guruvayur Devaswom chairman KB Mohandas said that the contribution to the fund was a part of the Devaswom’s social responsibility. 

“Guruvayur Devaswom had also donated a fund to CMDRF after the flood and it was given after obtaining the permission of the Devaswom Commissioner,” he said. The devaswom used the interest amount received from the fixed deposits from the banks.

Addressing concerns over payment of staff slalries during the lockdown when the temple’s income has suffered massively due to the lockdown, Mohandas claimed that the Devaswom will manage salaries through the interest amount from its fixed deposits.

Meanwhile, BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan had raised objections by stating that the contribution to CMDRF from devaswom income was not legal. 

“As per section 27 of the Guruvayur Devaswom Act, the main deity, Sree Krishna, is a minor and the owner of all property and income. It is well written by law that this income and properties should only be used for temple purposes. Moreover, there already exists a case in the High Court challenging Guruvayur Devaswom’s contribution to CMDRF after the 2018 flood,” he said.

Kerala follows Tamil Nadu in seeking money from Hindu temples

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department of Tamil Nadu had issued a controversial order dated April 22 asking Hindu temples to transfer Rs 10 crores to the State to the Chief Minister’s Coronavirus Relief Fund.

The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government in Tamil Nadu had directed 47 temples to give Rs 10 crore of funds to CM relief fund.

HR&CE Principal Secretary K Panindra Reddy had directed all officials working under him in 47 temples including Madurai, Palani, Thiruchendur, Tiruttani, Thiruvannamalai, Rameswaram, Mylapore, and others to contribute Rs 35 lakhs each from the funds towards feeding the poor due to lockdown. Other temples have been directed to give an amount ranging from Rs 15 lakhs to 25 lakhs. All 47 temples were ordered to transfer the fund of 10 crores to CM Corona Relief fund.

This move had come under severe criticism as questions were raised on Edappadi K Palaniswami government’s prejudice against Hindus’. 

Finally, the Tamil Nadu took back its order after the Madras High Court found it ‘not legally tenable. 

Maharashtra: 15 Migrant workers walked 45 km, run over by goods train while sleeping on the tracks

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: 15 Migrant workers walked 45 km, run over by goods train while sleeping on the tracks

In a shocking incident, at least fifteen migrant workers, who were sleeping on the railway tracks, mowed down by a goods train at Gadhejalgaon village in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district on Friday morning.

According to the reports, the migrant workers were walking from Jalna to Aurangabad, a distance of nearly 65km, to catch a train to return home. They had walked along the rail tracks for 45 mins before taking some rest. They were mowed down by the goods train carrying petrol and diesel from Nanded to Manmad at 5.15 am. Five of them escaped with injuries and they have been rushed to a hospital.

Payal Mehta, a journalist at CNN News 18 said that labourers worked in a steel factory in Jalna and wanted to catch a special train for Madhya Pradesh. The migrants had decided to take the railways track to reach Aurangabad to avoid getting zeroed by the police on the highways.

The accident has occurred near Karmad, Aurangabad. The RPF and local police have reached the spot to asses the situation. The injured have been sent for treatment.

“An accident happened near Karmad, Aurangabad when an empty rake of goods wagon ran over some people. RPF and local police are reaching spot to asses the situation. More details are awaited,” Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of South Central Railway (SCR) said.

PM expresses anguish

PM Narendra Modi has shared a tweet saying that he is extremely anguished to hear about the incident.

The PM added that he has spoken to railway minister Piyush Goyal and every step is being taken to extend all possible help.

AAP cheerleader and NRI ‘Journalist’ of US-based news portal wishes cancer and death upon Home Minister Amit Shah

Dibakar Dutta
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AAP cheerleader and NRI ‘Journalist’ of US-based news portal wishes cancer and death upon Home Minister Amit Shah

In a viral Facebook post, Vijayalakshmi Nadar, the Bureau Chief of ‘The India Observer’ which claims to be a US-based e-paper that caters to the NRI community, can be seen wishing death to Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

In a Facebook post, Nadar stated that the lipoma surgery undergone by Shah has transformed into a “full-blower cancer.” She further hoped that the alleged ‘prediction by astrologers’ that his ill health condition will continue till October ‘ends conclusively’.

Spewing inner vitriol against the Union Home Minister, Nadar further wished “hastened” death to Shah and added that his demise ought to be “celebrated in the larger interest of humanity.”

Facebook post by Vijayalakshmi Nadar, the Bureau Chief of ‘The India Observer’

Wants other journalists jailed

Not just the Home Minister, the sheer hatred of Vijayalakshmi Nadar towards journalists is evident from her Facebook posts. In one such posts, she claimed that half of today’s journalists would have been jailed if Arvind Kejriwal was in power in a “full State.” She also wondered why all the CMs are not jailing journalists and added that she wants to see the incarcerated journalists bailed out by the ‘Dhokla duo’.

Facebook post by Vijayalakshmi Nadar, the Bureau Chief of ‘The India Observer’

She also expressed her happiness over the motivated First Information Reports (FIRs) filed against journalists Arnab Goswami, Amish Devgan, and Sudhir Chaudhary in the Congress-ruled States. In a meme where the trio have been depicted as being behind bars, she wondered gleefully as to who would be the next person on the hit-list

Facebook post by Vijayalakshmi Nadar, the Bureau Chief of ‘The India Observer’

She claimed that the attack on Arnab Goswami by two Congress workers was orchestrated. She wrote, “He (Arnab Goswami) dreamt up an elaborate scenario of Congress youth wing attacking him, well past midnight.” Labelling his video testimony as a “cheap video”, Nadar urged the police to not register his “bogus complaint.”

Facebook post by Vijayalakshmi Nadar, the Bureau Chief of ‘The India Observer’

Publicly supports AAP

‘Journalist’ Vijayalakshmi Nadar has been a vocal supporter of the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP). On one occasion, she publicly expressed her gratitude for the “party (AAP) that she supports. “

Facebook post by Vijayalakshmi Nadar, the Bureau Chief of ‘The India Observer’

In another instance, she claimed that the AAP has reversed “years of disparity” of the labourers.

Facebook post by Vijayalakshmi Nadar, the Bureau Chief of ‘The India Observer’

In other Facebook posts, Nadar can be seen heaping praises upon the “high Coronavirus testing” of the Delhi Government, sharing screenshot of Arvind Kejriwal’s tweet about Irfan Khan’s demise and even meeting the filmmakers of the “Insignificant Man”, a propaganda film on whitewashing Kejriwal’s actions.

In a photograph shared by Twitter user @TheAngryLord, she was seen sitting with AAP leader Manish Sisodia and NDTV’s Ravish Kumar.

TOI Journo wants PM Modi and Amit Shah Coronavirus +ve

Last month, Samiya Latief, a Kashmiri ‘journalist’ working with Times of India, wished that Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah be tested positive for the deadly coronavirus which has infected more than 3.9 million people across the world.

Latief, who claims to be an Assistant Editor at Times of India, took to micro-blogging site to share a news report that stated that Congress MLA Imran Khedawala had tested positive for coronavirus just hours after he had met Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. Taking a dig at the incident, Latief wondered whether Khedawala met PM Modi or HM Shah, thereby implying that they should also meet a coronavirus positive patient who could infect them with the deadly contagion.

As Muslim cases surge, Maharashtra ropes in Mosques and Imams to issue Coronavirus awareness messages in Urdu: Report

OpIndia Staff
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As Muslim cases surge, Maharashtra ropes in Mosques and Imams to issue Coronavirus awareness messages in Urdu: Report

The rising cases of Coronavirus in the state of Maharashtra, especially among the Muslim communities, has prompted the state epidemiology department to issue Coronavirus awareness messages in Urdu in select hotspots.

The government has also decided to rope in Islamic clerics and local religious leaders for outreach towards Muslims to contain the spread of Chinese pandemic, reports Indian Express

According to the reports, at least 239 deaths out of the total 548 deaths recorded in Maharashtra are from the Muslim community, making a whopping 44 per cent of the total deaths in the state, which is almost thrice their share of the population in the state. The numbers are quite alarming as Muslims are reportedly less than 12 per cent in the state’s population.

Since the first death reported on March 17, 89 Muslims died of the 187 deaths reported till April 15 in the state. Between April 15 to May 3, of the 361 additional deaths, 150 were from the community.

Incidentally, only one death of a Filipino national is linked to Tablighi Jamaat mid-March event in New Delhi. 69 coronavirus positive cases in Maharashtra were traced to the Tablighi Jamaat.

Maharashtra acted late in enforcing ban on religious congregations: Experts

The state officials and experts have pointed out several reasons behind the surge in coronavirus cases in the Muslim community. The authorities pointed out that curbs on travellers from the Gulf came only as late as mid-March leading to spread of the virus.

In addition to that, the state authorities did not impose a ban on the religious aggregation as Friday prayers in many mosques continued until March 20.

The Indian Express report also states that a significant share of the community lives in neighbourhoods where social distancing is difficult, the authorities noted. The high population density in Muslim-dominated areas is also among the reasons for the rising number of coronavirus cases among Muslims in the state.

“A lot of people working (in the Gulf) returned home and were missed during airport screening. That was a game-changer. We noticed that several of them, although asymptomatic, spread infection in the community,” state epidemiologist Pradeep Awate said.

Additionally, it was only after March 16, almost two months after the first China advisory, that the government started the quarantine of passengers coming from the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. The same day, passengers from EU, Turkey and the UK were banned, and on March 22, all international flights were suspended.

Social distancing is difficult in slums

Awate added that most cases were now coming from the lower socio-economic strata. He added that the cases are spreading in slums not because of a particular religious group, but because of poor living conditions. In the slums, Muslims are in large numbers and at least 8-10 people live in a small room where social distancing is difficult, Awate said.

It was evident is wards of Agripada and Nagpada, where 34 deaths were recorded, the second-highest coronavirus toll after the G-South ward (Worli) in Mumbai.

“Several in this ward live in chawls and it is there that cases are increasing. One residential building with Muslim residents had 26 people with foreign travel history, but only one tested positive. The infection did not spread in the building. But in a chawl one case can potentially infect several others, and all nearby chawls have Covid cases,” said Prashant Gaikwad, assistant commissioner, BMC.

Govt ropes in community leaders, Mosques

Following the development, the state public health department has roped in Mosques and local Maulanas to relay coronavirus awareness messages to the Muslim community.

“We are now trying to look for local popular figures who can act as messengers and disseminate information about the disease locally. We will soon issue awareness messages in Urdu in hotspots like Malegaon and Mumbai to reach out to minority,” said Awate.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra had recorded 651 deaths and 16,758 cases of coronavirus. Mumbai and Pune together account for 75 per cent of cases of the state.

Ujjain based NGO claims Dainik Bhaskar made a 10-year-old girl pick up grains from the road for a photo-op: Here are the details

OpIndia Staff
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Ujjain based NGO claims Dainik Bhaskar made a 10-year-old girl pick up grains from the road for a photo-op: Here are the details

The Hindi daily newspaper Dainik Bhaskar has come under the scanner for a picture it published in its Ujjain edition on May 5, where it showed a young girl collecting scattered grains from the road under a scorching sun. The description attached to the picture read that the mother of 10-year-old poor Aarti has asked her to pick up the grains from the road so that her family could be fed for the next one or two days. Dainik Bhaskar now seems to be in trouble because of the picture.

The picture published by Dainik Bhaskar on May 5

An NGO named YUVA Ujjain, based in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain city has taken to social media to attack the Hindi daily for misleading people by not only making a 10-year-old girl pick up grains from the road for a photo-op but also attributing incorrect information to it.

YUVA Ujjain approached the family and recorded Aarti and her mother’s statements. Based on their statements the NGO claimed that the photographer had deliberately scattered the grains and asked the girl to pose for his camera. It said that the mother of the young girl refused to have asked Aarti to go out on the road in the middle of the afternoon to collect the scattered grains.

NGO shot video evidence to claim Dainik Bhaskar staged the act

In the video evidence recorded by the NGO the mother says that in order to make a sensational story which would garner viewership for his publication, the photographer purposely scattered the grains on the road and asked Aarti to pick it up. Aarti also confirmed that she picked up the grains and fed it to her goats, unlike what the report claimed.

The caption written below the picture had claimed that Aarti told the photographer that when a cart full of the wheat grains was passing through the road, a small number of grains slipped from the cart and scattered on the road. When Aarti informed her mother about the same, she asked her to quickly collect the grains in a packet which she would then grind and make chapattis for Aarti’s siblings, read the report published in Dainik Bhaskar.

OpIndia gets in touch with Dainik Bhaskar’s editor

When OpIndia contacted the editor of Dainik Bhaskar, Ujjain edition, Kapil Bhatnagar, he refused to acknowledge the allegation levelled at his newspaper. Bhatnagar said: “It is possible that Aarti’s mother had been asked to say what she had. I cannot comment until we investigate that matter. We have with us pictures taken from various angles and the CCTV footage. Only after a thorough investigation can we come to any conclusion”. In addition to this, Bhatnagar said that he was an Indian, not a foreign journalist, who would depict India as a poor country. We are responsible citizens of the country and would not do anything irrational, said the editor.

Bhatnagar further justified that “we only published the picture after confirming with the photographer. The content published was only after the photographer’s consent. Neither did we tamper with the photograph nor the content, said Bhatnagar.

The NGO castigated the publication saying that such behaviour does not befit a robust publication like Dainik Bhaskar. They said that instead of collecting millions of rupees as donations by depicting the sorrowful state the country with heartbreaking pictures like these, a flourishing media house like Dainik Bhaskar should have instead come forward and helped Aarti’s family.

Saying this, the NGO announced that henceforth the NGO would be taking care of Aarti’s family. They also said that Dainik Bhaskar had not only showed them in bad light but discredited all other organisations which were working relentlessly in Ujjain to make sure that no one sleeps hungry amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

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