Home Blog Page 5487

Challenges and recent advancements in the fight against Coronavirus: JNU organises a 2-day international webinar

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Challenges and recent advancements in the fight against Coronavirus: JNU organises a 2-day international webinar

The Jawaharlal Nehru University organized an international webinar on the Coronavirus Pandemic to discuss the challenges and the recent developments on its preventive measures. Over 1000 participants across the globe registered, and hundreds of them successfully attended the webinar through online mode. 

The meeting was inaugurated by the Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar, who praised the initiative and discussed the role of digital medium in the modern-day education system. Prof. Kumar emphasized that digitization of the education system will gain further importance in the post-COVID era, and JNU will be leading the movement, which will be an efficient way to make education available to all. The organizing committee, comprising conveners Prof.  Gobardhan Das, Special Center for Molecular Medicine, JNU, Dr Arnab Bhattacharya, School of Computational & Integrative Sciences, and Coordinator Dr Saurabh Kumar Sharma, School of Computer & Systems Sciences of JNU ensured seamless two-days lectures of the webinar. Leading scientists across the globe, including from countries like China, Italy, the USA, and India, presented their research related to characterization and preventive measures for COVID-19.

The first speaker of the first day on 25th April was Prof Gobardhan Das, Special Center for Molecular Medicine, JNU. He discussed his ongoing research on BCG vaccine that can be effective to combat the current outbreak of COVID 19. He presented some interesting data analysis done by the group of Dr. Arnab Bhattacharya in support of his claim. Prof. Debprasad Chattopadhyay, Director, ICMR-NITM, then discussed the traditional medicine approach to counter the pandemic. 

Prof Yufang Shi from Shanghai, China, joined the webinar as a speaker and discussed the immune responses in COVID-19 patients. He explained how China handled the COVID-19 Pandemic and also explained specifically the importance of lockdown. 

Prof Arun Kharat from School of Life Sciences, JNU, discussed the Indian scenario of the coronavirus pandemic and possible means to halt the rapid progression. He explained the comparative study within the Indian state and How India is fighting with this COVID-19 in comparison to the whole world. Following it, Dr RK Brojen Singh from School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, JNU,  discussed the complexity in SARS-CoV-2 genome data through the price theory of epidemic by using  Mathematical Modelling.

The second day of the webinar commenced with a note from Prof. Rana Pratap Singh, Rector, and also the Pro Vice Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Prof. Singh, who is a distinguished cancer biologist, presented a compact overview of how coronavirus is causing death in humans. This has set the tone for the second lecture of the session given by Prof. Saumitra Das, who is a virologist of international repute and also the current director of the National Institue of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG). Along the line, Prof. Vibha Tandon, a professor at the Special Centre for Molecular Medicine, JNU, discussed the experimental methods to identify small molecules as a potential drug of the coronavirus infection. Prof. Neel Sarovar Bhavesh (Group Leader, ICGEB) depicted various molecular biological aspects of in silico discovery of coronavirus drugs through an illustrative presentation. 

Prof. Enrico Bucci (Director, Research Integrity Solution), who joined the webinar from the USA talked about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic and its potential transmission from bats to humans

Prof. Gerry Melino, the Editor in Chief, Nature Cell Death, and Differentiation journal, was the last speaker of the session, who joined from Italy and presented an excellent lecture on a comparative study highlighting the differences in COVID-19 scenarios in Italy and China. 

The webinar ended successfully with a vote of thanks from the convener Prof. Gobardhan Das and Dr. Arnab Bhattacharya. 

Overall, the webinar received very positive response from its huge number of participants. Altogether, the organizers received over 1000 registrations for the two-day long webinar, among which around 300 were faculty. Approximately 800 students joined from the various 84 national, international universities and institutions such as JNU, IITs, DU, BHU, Canadian Institute for Genomics and Society, Shanghai Institute of Biological Sciences, China, NPRC Texas, University of Rome, Italy etc.

The webinar was organised in collaboration with ‘Labify’ which is a web-based application and helps research labs to keep a record of project funds and compliance documents. 

Suicide bombings are permitted by Sharia Law: Grand Mufti Of Libya Sheikh Sadiq Al-Ghariani

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Suicide bombings are permitted by Sharia Law: Grand Mufti Of Libya Sheikh Sadiq Al-Ghariani

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Grand Mufti of Libya Sheikh Sadiq Al-Ghariani has stated that the Sharia law allows suicide bombings provided they are carried out to rattle the enemy, demoralise them and cause great harm and losses to the enemy.

In a video that was broadcasted on Al-Tanasuh TV (Libya) on April 15, 2020, the Mufti said, “If blowing up oneself while carrying out a suicide operation unnerves the enemy and results in his crushing defeat, then it is permitted by the Sharia law. Even Prophet Muhammad’s associates hurled themselves from walls. They gave up their life in order to weaken the enemy.”

“If a person is confident that this act will cause grave damage to the enemy or have a significant impact on the result, and that this attack will cause extensive destruction and bring about crushing losses to the enemy, then it is allowed by Sharia law. However, it is not allowed to kill oneself,” Mufti added, as per a report in Memri.

Suicide bombings and terrorists

Suicide bombings are a recurrent feature of conflicts involving Islamic fanatics. The Islamic zealots have often taken the refuge of suicide killings as a pivotal instrument to further their asymmetric warfare against nations and organisations perceived by them as their enemies. The extremists routinely cite Islamic scriptures and laws and distort the concepts of ‘sacrifice’, ‘martyrdom’ and ‘jihad to justify suicide killings by their kin. This is the modus operandi followed by the Islamic State(ISIS), Al Qaeda and other Islamic terror organisations. It is by this doctrine that last year a Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorist blew himself up by ramming his car laden with 300 kgs of explosives with one of the vehicles in the CRPF convoy, killing 40 CRPF personnel in India’s Pulwama. In April 2019, multiple suicide bombings in Sri Lanka had killed over 300 civilians.

Government junks report by IRS officials that suggested tax hike, orders probe against concerned officers for violation of code of conduct

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Government junks report by IRS officials that suggested tax hike, orders probe against concerned officers for violation of code of conduct

On Sunday, the Finance Ministry had junked an unsolicited report titled ‘Force 1.0’ (Fiscal Options & Response to Covid-19 Epidemic) drafted by 50 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officers on the official Twitter handle of the IRS Association. The Chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has also been directed by the Ministry to seek an explanation from the officers about their misconduct.

An inquiry has been initiated into the matter to check whether the “ill-conceived views” aired by the officers violate Extant Conduct Rules. While reiterating that CBDT did not ask the IRS officers to prepare any such report, it further stated that the unauthorised views of the officers did not reflect the official stand of the Finance Ministry of the CBDT.

The Contentious Report

In the contentious report, the IRS officers suggested introducing the ‘wealth tax’, over-burdening the rich, and charging an additional 4% cess to bridge revenue deficit caused due to the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. As per the 43-page report, the Government can earn up to ₹18,000 crores by implementing the suggested proposals.

One of the recommendations of the report was the introduction of the wealth tax to be charged to those with a net worth of ₹5 crores or more. Besides, the IRS officers suggested levying a one-time 4% ‘COVID Relief Cess’ on individuals with more than ₹10 lac annual income. Moreover, the document also proposed taxing individuals with more than ₹1 crore annual income at 40%, which is 10% higher than the current 30%. As such, the income tax liability on such individuals will be close to 56%.

Along with the above measures, the IRS officers also recommended increased surcharges for foreign companies in India, creation of an amnesty scheme to collect unpaid tax, sanctioning of ‘Coronavirus Savings Certificates’ for investments not more than ₹2.5 lacs for 5 years, taxation of multinational firms making royalty payments to their parent companies and 3% equalisation charge to e-commerce companies.

Finance Ministry miffed over the report

The report drew the ire of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for two primary reasons. First, the action of the IRS officers is in direct violation of the rules of conduct that prohibits them to air their personal views without the government’s permission. Second, the report has come to light at a time when the Central Government is trying to win over the trust of corporate houses and industrialists.

“Increased taxes or proposals are bad news to improve the confidence of the industrialists and corporates in the current situation. There is distress and the government is looking at incentivising businesses to restart the economy”, an MoF official was quoted as saying.

IRS distances itself

Soon after the so-called report received massive criticism on social media platforms, the IRS association distanced itself from the controversy. In a statement, the IRS association stated that the concerned paper prepared by young officers suggesting policy measures has been forwarded by the association for the consideration of the government. It does not represent the official view of the entire IRS or the I-T department.

Economic Measures announced in March

In a press conference held last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made key announcements amidst coronavirus crisis that has wrought havoc on the economic mood of the country. In a big relief to direct taxpayers, the Finance Minister extended the last date for filing personal income tax for FY 2018-2019 to June 30, 2020. Moreover, the interest rate levied on delayed payments have also been reduced to 9% from 12%.

The Central Government has also extended the deadline for filing Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns for March, April, and May 2020 to 30 June 2020. For companies with annual turnover less than ₹5 crores, no interest/late fee/penalty will be charged. For businesses with higher turnover than 5 crores, only the interest amount will be charged. Late fee and penalty have been waived.

Congress supporters compare Sonia Gandhi to Goddess Sita

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Congress supporters compare Sonia Gandhi to Goddess Sita

Days after hailing and saluting their interim party president Sonia Gandhi with revered slogans like ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ and calling her ‘mother’, Congress supporters have now compared her to Goddess Sita.

A social media handle ‘With Congress’ which refers to itself as ‘biggest online initiative’ by volunteers at Congress, shared an image which stated that like Sonia Gandhi alias Antonia Maino, who has roots in Italy, Goddess Sita, too, had roots in Nepal. ‘With Congress’ stated that in Tretayug, a ‘rakshas’ (demon) had questioned Goddess Sita’s character and insulted her while in Kalyug, a ‘rakshas’ has questioned Sonia Gandhi’s character and abused her.

The comparison with Goddess Sita comes soon after Sonia Gandhi’s silence over Palghar Sadhu lynching was questioned. Sonia Gandhi’s party, Congress, is in power in Maharashtra in alliance with NCP and Shiv Sena. Last week, two Sadhus were lynched by a mob in Palghar, Maharashtra.

The ‘With Congress’ social media account is followed by verified Twitter handles such as official Congress account, Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh, Alka Lamba, journalists like Rahul Kanwal, Gargi Rawat and also Aam Aadmi Party leaders like MLA Raghav Chadha.The ‘With Congress’ social media account is followed by verified Twitter handles such as official Congress account, Congress leaders Digvijaya Singh, Alka Lamba, journalists like Rahul Kanwal, Gargi Rawat and also Aam Aadmi Party leaders like MLA Raghav Chadha.

People following ‘With Congress’

The same image was also posted on its Facebook page which has over a million ‘likes’.

Facebook post comparing Sonia Gandhi to Goddess Sita

Arnab Goswami attacked by Congress goons

Last week, referring to Sonia Gandhi by her maiden name, Republic TV’s Editor in Chief Arnab Goswami had questioned Congress Interim President’s silence over Palghar lynching. Following the debate, many Congress leaders and supporters took to social media and attacked Goswami for the same. They threatened with legal action for ‘insulting’ Sonia Gandhi. Hours later, Goswami and his wife were attacked by two men, associated with Youth Congress near their residence in Mumbai.

On Monday, Mumbai Police sent two notices to Goswami in a span of 12 hours for immediate interrogation. Goswami then issued a statement that he will make himself available for interrogation with Mumbai Police on Monday morning.

Karnataka: CRPF COBRA commando beaten, humiliated and tied up in chains by police, was assaulted for cleaning his bike in front of his house

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Karnataka: CRPF COBRA commando beaten, humiliated and tied up in chains by police, was assaulted for cleaning his bike in front of his house

In a shocking incident, Sachin Sunil Savant, a CRPF COBRA commando was beaten, abused, humiliated and dragged to the police station in Belgavi district, Karnataka.

A twitter user Mithanshu had shared the story of the COBRA commando in a post, detailing the incident. The CRPF staffer was seen tied up in chains in the police station.

In a note, Mithanshu had informed that the CRPF jawan was on leave and in his home in Yaksamba village in the Chikkodi Taluk in Belgavi district. On 23 April, the jawan was cleaning his bike in front of his house when he was approached by the police and accosted for not wearing a mask. Sachin Sawant was then allegedly beaten by the police personnel, without any warning.

Despite informing the police personnel that he is a CRPF commando and is currently on leave, and since he was cleaning his bike in front of his own house and not going anywhere, and thus he did not need to wear a mask, the police personnel allegedly kept beating and abusing him.

Mithanshu’s post added that Sachin Savant then was paraded to the police station in handcuffs and was put under custody. The SHO of the police station had allegedly registered an FIR under section 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty),504 & 505 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of IPC. Mithanshu has informed that the FIR has been registered without informing the controlling authority of the CRPF commando.

As per a report in News 18, Belgavi SP Laxman Nimbargi stated, “An argument started regarding central police versus state police, the CRPF jawan then held the collar of our constable and started kicking him, the head constable then had to rescue his colleague, that’s when you see him using the lathi, based on which the FIR was registered”.

The police have also stated that during interrogation, the CRPF staffer has admitted that he was in a foul mood because of a fight in his household.

In a video of the incident shared by journalist Soumyadipta, the commando is seen standing near a bike (his service bike, as per reports), while multiple police personnel argue with him. One police official is even seen holding the pants of the CRPF jawan in a humiliating manner, in an apparent attempt to stop him. The police officials repeatedly push and shove the jawan.

In the video, after some argument, the jawan is attacked with a lathi by the police. After that, the jawan also retaliates.

As per Soumyadipta’s post, Sachin Savant is posted with the 27 COBRA commando Battalion and was on leave. However, he was reportedly tying to explain to the police officials that he was servicing his bike, because the COBRA commandos have to always remain on standby for any emergency. As per the post, since he was neither loitering or roaming around, he was not violating the lockdown rules in any manner.

Soumyadipta has further informed that the Belgavi police has now written to Sachin Savant’s commanding officer in Bengal, informing about the Jawan’s arrest. The letter, however, states that Savant has abused and attacked the police officials first.

The images of the jawan being tied up in chains and the video of the incident have created a furore on social media.

Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh, media water down Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, refer to him as ‘activist’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh, media water down Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, refer to him as ‘activist’

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s office on Sunday took to Twitter to appreciate Punjab Police in its breakthrough where they arrested one Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist and recovered Rs 29 lakh from him. Except, in its tweet, the Punjab Chief Minister whitewashed the terrorist and referred to him as an ‘activist’.

Punjab CMO tweet (image: @pakautweet on Twitter)

The terrorist was identified as one Hilal Ahmed Wagey is reportedly a resident of Nowgam in Pulwama, Kashmir. Many media outlets, too, referred to him as ‘activist’.

The Hindu refers to Hizbul terrorist as ‘activist’
Hindustan Times

New agency PTI, too, referred to the Hizbul terrorist as ‘activist’.

PTI
The New Indian Express on Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist

Soon, Punjab Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singh faced severe backlash for whitewashing the Hizbul terrorist by referring to him as activist.

Soon after the backlash, CMO Punjab deleted the tweet and posted another tweet identifying Hilal as Hizbul terrorist this time.

Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist caught in Amritsar

Hizbul Mujahideen is a Pakistan-sponsored designated terror group which carries out terrorist attacks on Indian soil on Indians. Hilal had reportedly visited Amritsar on instructions of the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen Riyaz Ahmed Naiku, for collecting money. The money was delivered to him by an unidentified man on a two-wheeler.

Media and terrorists

Following the killing of ISIS chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Washington Post had glorified the terrorist in its obituary and referred to him as an ‘austere religious scholar at helm of Islamic State’ as if Baghdadi being an ‘austere religious scholar’ was his primary identity. After public backlash, Washington Post changed its headline to refer to him as ‘extremist leader of Islamic State’.

Gujarat: Senior Congress leader Badruddin Sheikh succumbs to coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Gujarat: Senior Congress leader Badruddin Sheikh succumbs to coronavirus

Senior Congress leader from Gujarat Badruddin Sheikh succumbed to coronavirus. He was the former leader of opposition in Amdavad Municipal Corporation.

As reported by Ahmedabad Mirror Resident Editor, he passed away earlier today. After having tested positive for coronavirus, Sheikh’s health had deteriorated and he was put on ventilator.

Gujarat Congress MLA Imran Khedawala tested positive

Earlier this month, Gujarat Congress MLA Imran Khedawala had tested positive for coronavirus and was admitted to SVP Hospital. Khedawala, along with two other Congress leaders Gyasuddin Sheikh and Shailesh Parmar had visited Chief Minister Vijay Rupani the day he tested positive. Rupani and others have not yet shown any symptoms of coronavirus.

Arnab Goswami writes to Mumbai police accusing them of concealing Congress link of two persons who had attacked him

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Arnab Goswami writes to Mumbai police accusing them of concealing Congress link of two persons who had attacked him

On a day when Mumbai police sent two notices to journalist Arnab Goswami to appear for interrogation in connection with FIRs registered him on complaints of Congress party across the country, the Republic Editor in Chief wrote to police urging to expedite the probe on him by Congress goons on the intervening night of 22 and 23 April.

In the letter sent to the senior police inspector of the NM Joshi Marg Police Station, Goswami has alleged that despite it has been established that two persons who attacked him and his wife are members of the Congress party, the FIR makes no mention of the same. He says that the confessions of the persons and the photos and official party designations of them have been submitted to the police. Arnab Goswami also writes that the FIR does not mentioned that liquid was thrown by the attackers, which can be acid or any other harmful substance, and this matter has not even been investigated by police, and appropriate sections have not been added in the FIR.

The letter mentions that the attack happened barely 500 meters from their house when Arnab Goswami and his wife were driving back home on 23rd April at around 00:15 hours. When the two attackers were caught by the security personnel of Goswami, they had confessed sent by party higher-ups to teach him a lesson, he wrote.

Arnab Goswami writes that now attempts are being made to established that two persons carried out the assault on their individual capacity. “There appears to be a well thought-out attempt to hide the conspiracy of the Congress Party to stifle my organisation and my voice with the use of physical and criminal force and intimidation and threats to kill”, he says.

In the letter, Arnab Goswami furnishes proof that the two persons are Congress members. Arun Borade is the “President, Sion Koliwada Assembly Youth Congress, Mumbai” and, Prateej Mishra claims to be “General Secretary (Sion Koliwada Youth Congress),” which is evident from their social media accounts.

The journalist also asserts that the attack was pre-planned. He has cited how the two goons waited for him, the fact that it happened hours after more than a hundred FIRs were filed against him in various states, and their social media posts before the attack, to stress that it was already planned.

Goswami adds that Shivaji Hosmani, the police officer deputed for his protection, has said that “the attackers had identified themselves as members of the Youth Congress who had been sent by higher ups to teach me a lesson”.

“It is therefore disconcerting that an attempt is now being made by the police to hide the deep Congress hand in the attack against my wife and me,” Arnab Goswami says. He urged the police to “take into account the calibrated, malicious Congress conspiracy behind the attack” and hoped that the unabashed attempt to conceal the Congress connection will be put to and end.

It may be noted that Mumbai police has issued notices to Arnab Goswami to appear before it on cases lodged by the Congress party over his comments questioning Sonia Gandhi’s silence over Palghar lynching. The Supreme Court has granted him the protection of 3 weeks from arrest, and clubbed more than  150 FIRs across the country to be heard in Mumbai, and stayed all of them until further orders.

The letter sent by Arnab Goswami to Mumbai police
The letter sent by Arnab Goswami to Mumbai police

91% Indians agree that Modi govt is handling coronavirus crisis well, 97% say lockdown is the right step to combat the pandemic: Gallup International survey

OpIndia Staff
-
0
91% Indians agree that Modi govt is handling coronavirus crisis well, 97% say lockdown is the right step to combat the pandemic: Gallup International survey

As the Narendra Modi-led central government is putting all its effort to fight against the Chinese pandemic coronavirus, 91 per cent citizens of the country have expressed that Modi government is doing well to combat the coronavirus crisis. This was revealed in a snap poll conducted by Gallup International Association, a Switzerland based polling organisation. The snap poll was conducted in 28 countries around the world

This was the second round of polls conducted by the agency to gauge people’s reaction to the efforts of their governments in combating Coronavirus. In the earlier poll conducted in Mid March, 83% India had said that the think Government is handling the Coronavirus crisis well, which means the number of people has gone up by 8% in a month.

People showing trust in Indian government

According to the poll, more than 90% people in India overwhelmingly expressed trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government of handling the coronavirus outbreak much more effectively compared to the most developed countries, including the USA.

In the March study, only 42% people in USA said that their govt is handling the crisis well, while the number for the UK is 49%

97% say Lockdown is needed, 66% say one religious community spreading the virus

On the question of lockdown, nearly 97 per cent of people of the country also agree that the lockdown is needed to combat the spread of Coronavirus, and agreed with govt decision to impose the nationwide lockdown. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 24 announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of Chinese pandemic coronavirus. Later, the lockdown was later extended till May 3. Indians are also showing optimism about the situation in the country, as 75% people in the country feels that worst is over for the country and things will begin to improve.

How many in India agree that lockdown was needed to curb spread of coronavirus infection

In the snap poll, 66% people in India also said that they believe that one particular religious community is deliberately spreading the virus in India.

Willing to sacrifice my Human Rights if it helps to contain spread of the virus.

A whoping 91 per cent of the Indians have answered that they would be willing to sacrifice their human rights if it helped to fight the coronavirus in their countries. In the March poll, 86% Indians had said that they are ready to sacrifice their rights. This means the number of people willing to curtail their rights in a larger interest has gone up in one month.

People willing to sacrifice human rights for the greater good

The poll attains a huge significance in the country as members of the Muslim countries have been forefront at spreading the virus, but are not being held accountable under the garb of enforcing human rights. Of all the responders, only 10% of the people voted ‘negative’ when this question was asked to them.

Read- Amidst Coronavirus outbreak, PM Modi’s approval rating soars to 68%, higher than any other world leader: Here are the details

Affects of Lockdown

It is known that the Lockdown has serious implications for common people, and survey reiterates that. The survey shows that 45% Indians have stopped working temporarily, which is much more than the international number of 28%. 29% people in India also said that they have lost serious part of there income due to the Coronavirus lockdown.

Trust in democracy

Despite the temporary setback, most people have faith in democracy, as only 10% in India said that Democracy is not effective in crisis, while globally 17% people thing democracy is not effective.

Gallup International survey

The Gallup International Association is an association of polling organizations registered in Zurich, Switzerland.

The coronavirus survey was carried out in 28 countries around the world including Germany, India, Italy, Russia, USA. It was the second of the three surveys being carried by them to study the reactions and opinion of the general public about coronavirus and their trust in Government action to fight off the pandemic. The first poll was in March. Impetus Research is the exclusive Indian partner of Gallup for the survey.

It is important to note that Gallup International Association and its members are not related to Gallup Inc. headquartered in Washington DC, which is no longer a member of Gallup International Association.

Mumbai Police sends Arnab Goswami 2 notices in 12 hour period for immediate interrogation for questioning Sonia Gandhi’s silence on Palghar lynching

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Mumbai Police sends Arnab Goswami 2 notices in 12 hour period for immediate interrogation for questioning Sonia Gandhi’s silence on Palghar lynching

Mumbai Police has sent Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami two notices in a 12 hour period for immediate interrogation for questioning Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s silence on Palghar sadhu lynching.

According to a statement issued by Arnab Goswami, as a law abiding citizen, he will cooperate with the investigation and will appear for interrogation on Monday morning. He further urged Mumbai Police to show similar alacrity and a sense of immediacy in investigating the attack on him and his wife which was carried out on the intervening night of 23rd and 24th April allegedly by Youth Congress workers over his remarks on Sonia Gandhi alias Antonia Maino.

In his statement he says that despite his repeated requests to the Mumbai Police to mention the role of Vadra Congress and its leadership in the attack and celebrating it, the police has refused to do so. He has also shared further facts with Mumbai Police so that the role of Vadra Congress is not erased. “I am sure the Mumbai Police will not sidestep the detailed evidence available on the role of the Vadra Congress and delete the element of conspiracy and assault in the attack,” his statement said.

Arnab Goswami attacked

Arnab Goswami and his wife Samyabrata Ray were followed by two Congress goons little past midnight on Thursday when they were returning home from the Republic studio. The goons threw bottles at Arnab’s car and were eventually apprehended by his security personnel. Arnab has mentioned in his complaint that the Mumbai police had refused to name Youth Congress in their FIR. The two goons, identified as Arun Dilip Borade and Prateek Kumar Shyam Sunder Mishra of Mumbai of Youth Congress, had allegedly confessed that they were sent by their ‘higher-ups’.

Arnab questioned Sonia Gandhi’s silence over Palghar incident

Launching an attack against Sonia Gandhi, Arnab Goswami had questioned if she would have maintained the silence she is exhibiting today had Christian padres been killed instead of Hindu sadhus in the horrifying lynching incident in Palghar. However, soon after, Congress leaders and many journalists started abusing Arnab and by extension Prime Minister Modi implying he was responsible for Arnab questioning Sonia Gandhi’s silence.

1...5,4865,4875,488...7,671Page 5,487 of 7,671