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Central government team fears that 42,000 people in Mumbai will contract coronavirus by April 30: Report

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Central government team fears that 42,000 people in Mumbai will contract coronavirus by April 30: Report

According to a report by Marathi news channel ABP Majha, the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) that visited Mumbai on Tuesday fears that by the end of April, 42,000 people in the financial capital of the country are likely to be contracted with the coronavirus infection.

The grim prediction comes a day after the team of Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) visited Mumbai to take the stock of the situation in the metropolis. The team visited Kasturba hospital and the headquarter of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to oversee the medical treatments of the patients and preparations undertaken by the authorities to combat the novel coronavirus. The central team’s biggest concern is to contain the epidemic before monsoons as it fears that the rainy season in Mumbai can exacerbate the situation in the country’s financial hub.

As per a Maharashtra government official, a team led by Manoj Joshi, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Food Processing and Industries, visited Mumbai to review the measures initiated by the local and state government to battle the coronavirus.

Another IMCT team comprising of 5 members and led by Sanjay Malhotra, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Power, reviewed the COVID-19 situation in Pune, another Maharashtrian city worst-hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

Read- Changed BMC test strategy could make the number of Coronavirus cases in Mumbai appear artificially lower

According to health minister data, with 5218 positive coronavirus cases as of 8 AM today, Maharashtra continues with the highest number of people infected with the Chinese virus. Out of if, 3,451 cases have been reported from Mumbai city and Mumbai suburban areas. The total coronavirus positives in Mumbai Metropolitan Region is 4077, which includes nearby areas like Thane, Raigad and Palghar. Pune has 716 coronavirus positive cases.

Mamata Banerjee relents after intense standoff against IMCT team

Amidst the deadlock over the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT)’s visit to West Bengal, the Mamata Banerjee government on Tuesday finally agreed to permit the central team to make an on-ground assessment of the situation in the state. The permission from the TMC supremo came almost after 30 hours since the Central team had reached Kolkata.

Earlier, Mamata Banerjee had written a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which she alleged that sending of the inter-ministerial central teams (IMCT) into several districts–Kolkata, Howrah, Medinipur East, 24 Parganas North, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri–is tantamount to a “unilateral action” by PM Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.

Rajasthan: Migrant workers paint walls of quarantine centre in return for good hospitality by villagers

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Migrant workers paint walls of quarantine centre in return for good hospitality by villagers

In a heart-warming gesture, migrant workers made use of their isolation time in innovative activities such as sprucing up a quarantine facility where they are residing amidst the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Migrants labours from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and other places of the country were so pleased with the hospitality provided by the villagers in Rajasthan’s Sikar that they started painting the walls of the school building which was turned into a quarantine centre to house them.

According to the reports, migrant workers in Palsana, Rajasthan, wanting to utilise the excess time at their disposal in productive activities, decided to take up the initiative of adorning the walls of the school and set an example for others to follow. The workers staying at the quarantine facility wanted to do something in return for the generosity bestowed by the villagers and the village sarpanch for them during their stay in quarantine.

To reciprocate the good arrangements made by the villagers, the migrant workers set out to beautify the quarantine facility they were staying in. They asserted that they wanted to add a good memory to the quarantine centre in such trying times and thus decided to airbrush the school with new colours. The sarpanch of the village and the school staff arranged colours on their request. The labourers then started painting school.

Reportedly, the school was not painted for the last nine years. The workers who decided to embellish the school with revitalising colours refused to take money for their services. They said that it was a goodwill gesture by them for the services and good care they have received by the locals and the authorities at the quarantine centre.

Indian Islamists join Pakistanis pretending to be Arabs while targeting Hindus in Gulf over criticism of role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Islamists join Pakistanis pretending to be Arabs while targeting Hindus in Gulf over criticism of role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading coronavirus

The witch hunt against Indians in the Gulf countries has now taken an ugly turn as Pakistanis, quite possibly backed by the ISI, are now pretending to be Arabs on social media while ‘complaining’ to Prime Minister Modi of ‘Islamophobia’. An article in Organiser states that after the relentless anti-India campaign launched by some Indian Muslims in response to passing of Citizenship Amendment Act, the Islamists in the west have taken this opportunity to spew venom against the Indians in Gulf countries.

As per the report, Kerala-based Islamic extremists pioneered the hate campaign urging Arabs and law authorities to take action against the Hindus working in the Gulf as they ‘kill Muslims in India’. Various fake handles on social media have been created just with the purpose of spreading falsehood against India.

It is a fact that the Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin Markaz in New Delhi has contributed to as many as 30% of total coronavirus patients in India. The anger of general public is also due to the fact that many of these have hidden their travel history and also misbehaved with healthcare workers including molesting nurses and pelting stones at doctors and healthcare workers.

Indians turning on Indians

As per the report, various Islamic organisations based in Kerala used leading businessmen and religious leaders to influence the Arabs and fed them with fake narrative against India. Media platforms based out of gulf countries like GulfNews, Al Jazeera, Khaleej Times were used to spread misinformation about India and treatment of Muslims in India.

Pakistan joining hands with disgruntled Indian Muslims

A 2016 policy of Pakistan titled “Policy guidelines in view of the latest situation developing between India and Pakistan” had recommended having a ‘media coordination committee’ with select Journalists as members to “counter Indian propaganda” and specifically promote a media strategy. The policy also stressed on the need to hire International lobbyists and strategic communication firms to “change global narrative”. The policy document called for highlighting the “fault-lines” in the Indian society. They specifically mention Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Dalits as “alienated” sections about whom narrative should be built. The Policy also called to target Modi and RSS ideology, and suggests reaching out to those in India who are “opposed to Modi’s extremism”. Policy specifically talked about reaching out to people in political parties, media, and civil society.

Hence, it does not come as much of a surprise that the “India is against Muslims” propaganda and narrative finds its support in Pakistan.

Alert netizens pointed out that in past few days, various Twitter users changed their handles to sound more Arabic and tweet against India ‘condemning’ the ‘hate’ against Muslims.

As can be seen above, Twitter account by th ename “H. H. Mona bint Fahad al Said” with a flag of Oman next to her name was earlier ‘pak__fauj’.

Many such Twitter handles have sprung up in past few days.

Like one Kahlown Yasin pretending to be an Arab on Twitter is quite possibly from Pakistan. As Twitter detective @PokerShash discovered, Yasin is not a Sheikh but some random person from Pakistan working in the Gulf.

Many also changed their profile handles and pictures to that of a woman and pretended to be a Muslim woman condemning ‘atrocities against Muslims’ in India.

Targeted attack on Indians, especially Hindus

Organiser report states that few NRIs had said that the attack against Indians, especially Hindus, in West Asia started much sooner but intensified during anti-CAA protests. Citing a migrant worker from Kerala, Organiser says that the cadres of Islamic outfits like PFI and Jamaat-e-Islami regularly target Indians in UAE, Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar, etc. In December 2019, an Indian doctor was reportedly expelled from Qatar hospital after a bunch of Islamists convinced the authorities that his support to CAA was anti-Muslim and communal.

Now, many are facing trouble because of expressing anger against Tablighi Jamaat members’ negligence and misbehaviour. That’s not it, Indians, especially Indian Muslims have been at the forefront of ‘hunting down’ so to say Hindus who are working in the gulf countries and having even slightly critical view about the Muslims.

Some Islamists also cheered the attack on Indians.

Many Indians, especially journalists, seem to have taken it upon themselves to make lives of fellow Indians difficult just because they could.

Tablighi is a subsect of one school of thought in Islam. Defending them or indulging in whataboutery over their behaviour does more harm than good to Indian Muslims, most of whom do not even belong to this subsect.

Jharkhand: Teacher kills self after declaring himself coronavirus positive on social media

OpIndia Staff
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Jharkhand: Teacher kills self after declaring himself coronavirus positive on social media

A 28-year old man from Jharkhand’s Giridh committed suicide after declaring himself coronavirus positive early on Monday morning. Suresh Pandit, an English teacher in a private school reportedly hanged himself from the ceiling of his house at Baidapahri village under Birni police station.

His suicide note went viral on social media that alerted the police. The police have claimed that it is a clear case of depression because the person was suffering from cough and breathing problems. He allegedly committed suicide thinking that he had been infected by the coronavirus.

Giridh SP Surendra Kumar Jha said, “It appears to be a clear case of depression under which he committed suicide suspecting him to be infected with coronavirus.”

According to the police, he had informed in the note that he is infected with the coronavirus. In the three-page suicide note, he had mentioned that he had quarantined himself at home and abandoned everyone from making a contact. He further added that when he got to know about the disease it was too late. Hence there was no other option was left but to commit suicide.

He also mentioned that he had been to a wedding ceremony and might have infected from there.

As per reports, he had also visited Birni Community Health Centre on April 18 for health check-up but no symptoms were detected in him so he was sent back.

Jammu and Kashmir: Police books journalist Gowhar Geelani for indulging in unlawful activities, glorifying terrorism

OpIndia Staff
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Jammu and Kashmir: Police books journalist Gowhar Geelani for indulging in unlawful activities, glorifying terrorism

The Cyber Police Station Kashmir Zone on Tuesday booked a journalist Gowhar Geelani for indulging in unlawful activities through his posts and writings on social media.

According to the reports, Jammu and Kashmir Police said they had received information that an individual named Gowher Geelani was indulging in unlawful activities by glorifying terrorism through his posts on social media.

The J&K police said that the said individual had written posts on social media platforms that were prejudicial to the national integrity, sovereignty and security of India.

The police statement also mentioned that Geelani’s unlawful activities include glorifying terrorism in the Kashmir Valley, spreading disaffection against the country, and causing fear in the minds of people that may lead to offences against the public.

Complaints against Geelani

The Jammu and Kashmir police said that there were several complaints against Gowhar Geelani accusing him of intimidation.

“The unlawful activities include glorifying terrorism in Kashmir Valley, causing disaffection against the country and causing fear or alarm in the minds of the public that may lead to the commission of offences against public tranquillity and the security of State,” the police statement said.

The police statement said that an FIR No. 11/2020 under the relevant sections of law has been registered at Cyber Police Station Kashmir and investigation has been initiated.

Two more Kashmiri journalists booked

Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir police had booked two other Kashmiri journalists Masrat Zahra and Peerzada Ashiq for spreading misinformation on social media and sharing anti-national posts with criminal intent. The police had invoked the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against Zahra for posting anti-national posts on her social media accounts. Zahra was called to the Cyber Police Station for questioning.

Peerzada Ashiq had allegedly published a fake news item regarding the Shopian encounter. As per the police, the article by Ashiq in The Hindu was factually incorrect and was published without trying to get the correct information from the district authorities. 

A month after Shivraj Chouhan took oath as CM, Madhya Pradesh gets 5 ministers

OpIndia Staff
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A month after Shivraj Chouhan took oath as CM, Madhya Pradesh gets 5 ministers

5 ministers in the Madhya Pradesh government were administered the oath at the Raj Bhawan in the presence of Governor on Tuesday, 21 April. This happened 29 days after Shivraj Singh Chouhan was sworn in as Chief Minister for the fourth time on March 23.

As per reports, a full scale of the cabinet will be appointed after the lockdown is lifted.

The five ministers sworn in on Tuesday include Narottam Mishra who has been a six-time BJP MLA and also an ex-minister from the Gwalior-Chambal region. Kamal Patel, a five-time BJP MLA, ex-minister from Central MP, also considered close to former Union Minister Uma Bharti. Meena Singh, BJP’s five-time tribal MLA. Tulsi Silawat, who had been a health minister in the Kamal Nath government and Govind Singh Rajput, ex transport and revenue minister in the Kamal Nath Government.

The five ministers represent five different regions of Madhya Pradesh including Bundelkhand, Central Mp, Malwa-Nimar, Mahakoshal, and Gwalior-Chambal region.

As per reports, the first expansion of the cabinet is likely to happen after May 3. Since Shivraj Singh Chouhan took the oath of CM of MP, the opposition has been continuously accusing him of running a single man government during the coronavirus pandemic crisis in the state. Madhya Pradesh has reported 1485 cases of coronavirus so far.

The Kamal Nath government had fallen in March after 22 of the Congress MLAs, along with bigwig Jyotiraditya Scindia tendered their resignation from their respective positions in the Congress party and later joined the BJP.

Covidiot: Surat broker forges HM Amit Shah’s signature to return home from Mumbai, booked for forgery

OpIndia Staff
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Covidiot: Surat broker forges HM Amit Shah’s signature to return home from Mumbai, booked for forgery

Surat broker, in his desperation to come back home from Mumbai, forged Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s signature on a ‘special permission’ to take a road trip. As reported by Ahmedabad Mirror, 33-year-old Rajesh Patel, a real estate broker from Surat was in Malad, Mumbai, when the lockdown was announced. Subsequently, the state borders were also sealed in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus. However, after being stuck for such a long time, he decided to pay heed to his friend’s suggestion of using a forged signature of Home Minister Amit Shah to drive his way back.

Friend in need, friend indeed

As per the report, Rajesh Patel was stuck in Malad when he reached out to one Hasitbhai Rajpurohit, also a real estate broker, in Vadodara. The latter, allegedly put Patel in touch with one of his friends, Manish, also a resident of Vadodara, who pitched in to help. Manish reportedly got Patel’s ID proofs and forged Union Home Minister’s signature on a ‘special permission’ letter and sent it across to Rajpurohit. Rajpurohit allegedly forwarded the same to Patel on WhatsApp.

Forged letter of ‘special permission’

The letter dated 27th March, 2020, is addressed to “Director General of Police, All State, India” and identified Patel as a ‘pharmaceutical businessman’. The letter stated that he is allowed to travel all over India for ‘medicine and pharmaceutical work’ and that they are taking all precautions for coronavirus. The letter also stated that Patel is authorised by Government of India to travel across India and continue the work in medicine and pharmaceutical.

Forged signature of Amit Shah (image: Ahmedabad Mirror)

Fooled Maharashtra Police, alert Gujarat cop caught him

Armed with the letter with forged signature, Patel, along with two other people, including a woman, left for Surat from Mumbai. They were travelling in an Innova with Maharashtra registration number. The forged letter got them through three check posts in Maharashtra, Bhilad, Damanganga and Bhagwada. Once they were through to Gujarat, they thought they’d make it, after all, Gujarat was Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.

Except, an alert cop, head constable Hiteshkumar Darji at Vaghaldhara checkpost in Gujarat asked for the original ‘special permission’ after Patel fumbled a little. The three people were then taken to Dungari police station in Valsad for interrogation. The two who were travelling with Patel have been booked as witnesses in the case. His friends, Rajpurohit as well as Manish have reportedly gone missing. Rajesh Patel is booked for forgery, criminal conspiracy and violation of government notification under section 465, 468, 471, 120 (B) and 188 (A) of the IPC and section 135 of the GP Act.

Covidiots

A covidiot is someone who ignores public health and safety warnings and puts not only his own health and life at risk but also others around him. Recently, an Uruguayan diplomat was found flouting lockdown rules in Delhi. She was found cycling on the roads of Delhi without a mask, despite government orders of complete lockdown. New Zealand health minister also flouted lockdown guidelines and went to a beach with his family for a walk. Earlier in March, a man who had licked toilet as part of ‘coronavirus challenge’ tested positive for COVID-19.

Bizarre: A 60-year-old man in Pakistan tests positive for ‘pregnancy’, lab owner arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Bizarre: A 60-year-old man in Pakistan tests positive for ‘pregnancy’, lab owner arrested

A 60-year-old man, identified as Allah Bitta from Pakistan, was declared ‘pregnant’ on Monday by a laboratory in Khanewal district, Pakistan’s Punjab province.

According to the reports, the lab in Khanewal had issued reports stating that the man’s urine test had confirmed his pregnancy.

Following the news, Khanewal’s district commissioner has now sealed the lab and arrested its owner, Amin.

No license to run the lab

The blood transfusion lab was being operated for the past two years. It was located across from DHQ Hospital, Khanewal. According to the police, Amin had previously worked as a technician at the hospital’s blood laboratory.

After an investigation, the health authorities confirmed that the lab was being run illegally and had not been issued a license. A case has been registered and Amin has been handed over to the police. The police are investigating the matter further.

Karnataka: Sanitation workers threatened, attacked near a Mosque in Chikmagalur, one injured

OpIndia Staff
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Karnataka: Sanitation workers threatened, attacked near a Mosque in Chikmagalur, one injured

In yet another attack on frontline workers, a mob has attacked sanitation workers near a Mosque in Chikmagalur district, Karnataka.

According to reports, on Tuesday, 21 April, sanitation workers were on their duty near Uppalli Masjid in Chikmagalur city, when a mob attacked them. The sanitation workers were playing coronavirus awareness information on a loudspeaker, which is allegedly the reason behind the attack on the sanitation workers.

One injured during the attack

One sanitation worked identified as Manjunath has been severely attacked causing injuries to him. A lady sanitation worker Geeta was also threatened by the mob for collecting waste near the mosque premises. The injured sanitation worker has been admitted into a hospital.

A case has been registered against the mob at Basavanahalli police station in the city.

ASHA worker attacked in Mysuru, Bengaluru

In a similar incident on Tuesday, an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) worker in Mysuru, Sumayya Firdose, was attacked by three men named Mehboob, Khaleel and Zeeshan after she advised them to wear face masks and follow social distancing guidelines.

Sumayya Firdose, who is attached to the Bannimantap government hospital, was on rounds when the three youth abused and threatened her. She said that she had asked the men who were loitering around to wear masks and maintain social distancing. Enraged, the youth abused and threatened to kill her if she did not ‘mind her own business. 

Multiple cases of attack on frontline workers

On the evening of Sunday, 19 April, a team of health workers and BBMP officials in Bengaluru was brutally attacked by a violent mob in the Padarayanapura locality, a coronavirus hotspot. A group of BBMP doctors, nurses and ASHA workers had gone to the Padarayanapura locality to take into quarantine 58 primary contacts of coronavirus positive patients to a government-run quarantine centre.

The visuals of the incident doing rounds on social media show an unruly mob chasing, beating the government staffers, breaking the arrangements made by them and creating mayhem. More than 59 people have been arrested in connection with the attacks, including a local marijuana peddler named Firoza, who had allegedly instigated the mob.

Prior to that, a team of ASHA workers and nurses was also attacked in Bengaluru’s Sadiq Layout.

Kerala: 284 Tablighi Jamaat attendees from Nizamuddin Markaz still missing, authorities fear they may be carrying coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: 284 Tablighi Jamaat attendees from Nizamuddin Markaz still missing, authorities fear they may be carrying coronavirus

 At least 284 persons from Kerala who had participated in the Tablighi Jamaat convention in Nizamuddin in Delhi are still missing, giving a scare to the authorities.

According to a report in India Today, nearly 284 persons from Kerala who had attended the Markaz have switched off their mobile phones, which has made it extremely tough for the authorities to trace them.

Out of the thousands who had visited Delhi for Tablighi Jamaat congregation, 518 people had returned to Kerala. They had been soon identified and all of them was put under home quarantine. Incidentally, only six of them have tested positive.

Over 500 Tablighis suspects are out of Kerala

However, another 509 suspected Tablighi Jamaat attendees who had attended the Markaz in the period March 12-28 are out of Kerala and are currently based in other states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka. Their details have been passed on to the home authorities of those states.

Though the state had reported 408 cases as of April 20 and has been statistically able to plateau the curve, the state authorities are now concerned that the missing Tablighi Jamaat members can topple the efforts.

Tablighi could be carriers: Kerala police

Kerala was the first affected state in the country to be affected by the Chinese pandemic. In total, the state has reported 408 cases, with 288 recoveries and three deaths. However, the state police now fear that some of these missing 284 Tablighi members of the total 1,311 from Kerala could be carriers and infect much more people in the state.

The Kerala police have been trying to hunt the Tablighi Jamaat attendees ever since the outbreak continued to spread in late March. The authorities were worried after call records suggested 1,311 people from the state were in the Nizamuddin area, nearly a third of the participants.

On March 29, IB director Arvind Kumar had informed state DGPs to trace the movement of the Tablighi workers in their area, ascertain their contacts and medically screen all of them. The chief minister approved on the police plan to identify and quarantine all the participants of the convention but warned the police to keep it away from the media glare.

The Kerala police are still worried about the 284 people who are still missing. “Every contact they make could spread the infection further and it could lead to an explosive community spread across the state,” said a senior police official as per teh India Today report.

Tablighi Jamaat – the epicentre of coronavirus transmission

The Tablighi Jamaat congregation, which took place in Nizamuddin Markaz in the first half of March, has become the mega-spreader of coronavirus in India, as many as more than one-third cases in India are linked to that event now. The persons who had attended the event, and their family members and those who came into contact with them are testing positive regularly, contributing the increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the country.

The Tablighi Jamaat event was not only attended by Indian Islamic clerics but also foreign nationals. The alarm bells should have started ringing when seven Indonesian nationals associated with the organization tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus in Telangana after travelling from Delhi to Karimnagar for an Ijtema. However, it was only later that the full scope of the Tablighi Jamaat’s contribution to the spreading of the virus became prominent when nearly 300 Jamaatis in the Delhi’s Banglewali Masjid had to be taken to hospital for suspected coronavirus symptoms, many testing positive eventually.

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