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Calcutta HC “appreciates” Mamata Banerjee-led govt for ‘stemming’ the post-poll violence

OpIndia Staff
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Calcutta HC “appreciates” Mamata Banerjee-led govt for ‘stemming’ the post-poll violence

Even as the supporters and members of the victorious Trinamool Congress Party are accused of unleashing post-poll violence in West Bengal following the results of assembly elections, the Calcutta High Court on Monday lauded the state government’s efforts to stop the violence. After being informed by the state govt that there had no incidents of violence reported since Sunday, the five-judge bench on Monday appreciated the TMC-led state government and told it to “keep up” its work.

The Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal observed that fault-finding can be relegated to the future, adding that both the state and the central government should come together to maintain peace now that a new state government was in place.

The five-judge bench, comprising ACJ Bindal and Justices IP Mukerji, Harish Tandon, Soumen Sen and Subrata Talukdar, also sought the Centre’s response to the state government affidavit and will hear the case again on May 18. The report submitted by the state home secretary to the HC on post-poll violence said there were 15 “violent incidents”, leading to 16 deaths, till May 3, an official said.

The West Bengal government told the Calcutta High Court that there was no post-poll violence in West Bengal after the recently conducted state elections which saw the Mamata Banerjee regime retaining power. The next hearing for all PILs regarding the WB post-poll violence in the Calcutta HC is scheduled for next Tuesday on May 18.

On May 5, the day the new government was sworn in, six political clashes took place but no death. There was no death on May 6 and May 7 and, on May 8, there was one death in Birbhum’s Khairasol. As per the state government, there was not a single incident of violence since Sunday(May 9).

So far, 400 people have been arrested, including 72 for crimes like murder and arson, and 34 FIRs had been drawn up against fake news (five of them in Kolkata). Kishore Dutta, state advocate general, assured the court that all possible measures would be taken to stem the violence. However, additional solicitor general YJ Dastoor tried to extenuate TMC’s role in the violence by submitting in the court that it was not just one party highlighting “post-poll violence”, and that all parties that fought the poll had made similar allegations.

Post-poll violence in West Bengal

Post-poll violence has become a leitmotif of news emerging out of Bengal following the declaration of results. Umpteen number of violence against political opponents have been reported from the state. In an overwhelming number of such incidents, the victims have been BJP supporters and workers while the accused were said to be the supporters of the TMC party. More than 7 BJP workers have lost their lives in the post-poll violence that ensued following the victory of the TMC party in the assembly elections.

The violence unleashed against them forced hundreds of BJP party workers and supporters to flee their villages along with their families. They crossed over to Assam where they have been provided temporary shelter under supervision by minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. It is not just the BJP but even CPI(M) which has accused the TMC of killing its workers. Reports of attacks on BSF jawans have also emerged in the media.

Actress Shweta Tiwari releases CCTV footage, accuses ex-husband Abhinav Kohli of physical abuse

OpIndia Staff
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Actress Shweta Tiwari releases CCTV footage, accuses ex-husband Abhinav Kohli of physical abuse

Disclaimer: The article contains violent images and viewer discretion is advised

Television actress Shweta Tiwari has taken to her official Instagram handle on May 10 (Monday), to share two videos accusing her ex-husband Abhinav Kohli of physical and mental abuse. Tiwari, who shot to fame through the Hindi daily show Kasautii Zindagi Kay, alleged that her 4-year-old son Reyaansh is so petrified of his father’s foul temper that he “is scared of his papa coming home or meeting him”.

The first video shared by Shweta is the CCTV footage of her society garden in which the actress can be seen holding their son Reyaansh in her arms while walking. Though the video is a little unclear, Abhinav appears to be following her. What appears from the footage is that he is pestering Shweta to give their son to him. As Shweta resists, Abhinav pushes her down and gets into a physical tussle with her and the child until he overpowers her and snatches Reyaansh from her.

Actress Shweta Tiwari’s Instagram post

In the next video posted by the actress, her little son Reyaansh can be seen hiding himself under the bedsheet while Shweta Tiwari and his sister Palak tries to comfort him. 

Shweta captioned her post: “Now let the truth Come out!!! (But this is not going to stay forever on my account, I will eventually delete it, I am posting this right now to reveal the truth,then it goes off) This is why my Child is scared of him! After this incident my child was scared for more than a month, he was so scared that he would not even sleep properly at Night! His hand hurt for more than 2 weeks. Even now he is scared of his papa coming home or meeting him (sic).”

Abhinav Kohli accuses Shweta Tiwari of abandoning their 4-year-old son

Shweta Tiwari reportedly shared the videos after her estranged husband accused her of abandoning their son alone in a hotel to go to Cape Town for the 11th season of the adventure reality TV show, Khatron Ke Khiladi. 

In an Instagram video, Abhinav Kohli said that he went from hotel to hotel looking for Reyansh. He accused Shweta of not informing him about Reyansh’s whereabouts before leaving for Cape Town. Kohli also claimed that the police did not help him out. He urged his fans to give him the information on Reyaansh in case they find any. He shared his video with a caption reading: “Please HELP Me.

Instagram post of Abhinav Kohli where he accuses Shweta of abandoning their son

In the following interview, Shweta responded to the allegations saying that Reyaansh is safe with her mother and daughter Palak.

Shweta Tiwari and Abhinav Kohli got married in the year 2013. They welcomed their son Reyaansh in 2016. The couple separated in the year 2019 after Shweta accused Abhinav of domestic violence.

Sonia Gandhi retains her position as party president, blames the local leadership for Congress’ poor performance in polls

OpIndia Staff
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Sonia Gandhi retains her position as party president, blames the local leadership for Congress’ poor performance in polls

The Congress Working Committee regrouped on Monday to find a successor of party President Sonia Gandhi, only to deflect it citing the Covid-19 emergency and taking to task the local leadership responsible for poor performance in recently concluded state assembly elections.

As per a Hindustan Times report, the meeting attended by the CWC leaders concluded that the internal voting should be adjourned in view of the ongoing health emergency in the nation. Requesting Sonia Gandhi to retain her post, the leaders claimed that their focus currently should be on working towards the Covid-19 relief cause. 

Rahul Gandhi who is recovering from Covid-19 gave the internal party meeting a miss.

It is said that Sonia Gandhi expressed her displeasure over party performance, blaming factionalism and poor local leadership for a tragic performance in four states and one union territory that went to assembly polls last month.

In her opening remarks, Gandhi ordered the CWC to “take note of our serious setbacks” and exclaimed that “to say that we are deeply disappointed is to make an understatement”. 

She also proposed creating a committee to analyse the poll results in Kerala, Assam, Puducherry and West Bengal and remarked, “if we do not face up to the reality, if we do not look the facts in the face, we will not draw the right lessons.”

According to the report, leaders present in the meeting said Sonia Gandhi was visibly unhappy with the fact that the party lost four state elections under her leadership but was convinced by senior leader Salman Khurshid to continue guiding the party at least through the pandemic as the party has supposedly achieved much under her leadership. It must be noted that Congress won a total of zero seats in West Bengal assembly elections.

Assam assessment 

Jitendra Singh, in charge of Assam, in his report cited insufficient time to prepare and to optimise its alliances with AIUDF and the Bodoland people’s Front as the reason for Congress’s poor performance in the state.

While Singh was happy with the fact that the vote margin between the BJP and the Congress was narrow, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh pointed out that the Congress could have done better if it had not partnered with Badruddin Ajmal’s Islamic party AIUDF.

West Bengal assessment

West Bengal in charge Jitin Prasada blamed the Covid situation for its failure. Prasada claimed that the party could not campaign in Congress strongholds because of Covid. He also gave due credit to Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress for building up the momentum in the first six phases that affected the Congress’ performance in the last two phases of polling.

Tamil Nadu and Puducherry assessment

In charge of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Dinesh Gundu Rao shifted the blame to former Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy for refusing to fight elections leading to a mass exodus of his loyalists to the BJP or the rival NR Congress.

Kerala assessment

Throwing light on the sorry situation within the party, General secretary Tariq Anwar blamed infighting for the Kerala debacle. Dismissing the shortcomings, almost all members cut short the discussion of poll performance and urged the party people on being united in such challenging times.

Later while briefing the media, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and party’s chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala informed that a group will be formed in 48 hours to deep dive into the election results and fix accountability. Surjewala remarked that “the Congress has lost the polls, but it has not lost its hope.” However, rebel Congress leaders who have been quite vocal about their disappointment with party leadership said that this is just a tactic to buy time. A leader reportedly said that after every defeat, panels are set up but no one has seen the reports and nor have they seen any action being taken.

Washington Post and DW News resort to vulture journalism, criticised by netizens for ‘promoting’ India’s Covid crisis on Twitter

Dibakar Dutta
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Washington Post and DW News resort to vulture journalism, criticised by netizens for ‘promoting’ India’s Covid crisis on Twitter

Amidst the 2nd wave of the pandemic in India, western media publications have resorted to monetizing and promoting the human catastrophe caused due to the Wuhan Coronavirus infection. With an intention to draw more eyeballs and glamorise Covid deaths in the country, publications such as the Washington Post and Deutsche Welle (DW) News have largely relied on traumatising pictures of corpses, and burning funeral pyres.

To further their agenda, they are now paying social media platforms to promote the reach of such news items. With a clickbait headline such as “Coronavirus has crushed India’s health system. Patients are on their own”, the Washington Post paid for Twitter ads to increase their reach.

Screengrab of the ‘promoted’ tweet by

A similar strategy was employed by the German public broadcaster DW News. With a featured image that shows a drone shot of burning pyres, DW News’ sponsored post bore a catchy caption. “How did the Covid crisis in India get this bad?” read the headline of the article.

Screengrab of the promoted tweet by DW News

Netizens slam Washington Post for cashing on India’s Coronavirus tragedy

Netizens were miffed at how the two international news publications have been exploiting the human tragedy in India as a ‘cash cow.’ A Twitter user (@venkybengaluru) wrote, “When was the last time you saw Washington Post doing a paid promotion on Twitter!? Check out how shamelessly it promotes a story on Twitter to defame India!”

Berges, the Director of ShareChat, pointed out, “It’s one thing to report about the terrible situation in India and the deaths and mayhem. Curious though, why is DW news paying for the promotion of a video showcasing the carnage caused by the virus?”

Journalist Abhijit Majumder tweeted, “So is Washington Post. When serious money goes into promoting India’s tragedy, the projected returns must be very lucrative.”

Another user wrote, “Why is @washingtonpost promoting their tweet about CHINESE VIRUS’s impact in India?”

US media selling ‘tragedy porn’, cashing the Covid crisis

Amidst a surging Coronavirus wave, India has become the centre of attention for media all around the world. This has led to wider coverage of India in the worldwide press, focusing on the imagery of the customary Hindu funeral pyre as a way to “shock” their non-Indian audience. After controversial journalist Barkha Dutt was seen reporting from crematoriums, now photographs of tragic funeral pyres, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, have now become valuable commodities, bought and sold in the Western press.

The British-American media company Getty Images now hosts multiple images depicting multiple Indian funeral pyres lit ablaze on their website. From here, any potential media group around the world can buy these images, in three different sizes, with the largest size priced at about Rs. 23,000. While the liberal media have been publishing such images to peddle its anti-India agenda, it has yet not dared to show pictures of 750 dead bodies of Covid-19 patients lying unattended in a morgue in New York.

Activist who raised questions about Hemkunt Foundation’s funding and donations faces abuses, death threats

OpIndia Staff
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Activist who raised questions about Hemkunt Foundation’s funding and donations faces abuses, death threats

On May 9, OpIndia published a report on how a few organizations and individuals might be breaking FCRA laws under the pretext of collecting funds for Covid-19 relief. Under the report, we had included a video of Yuvraj Pokharna, who is an activist and media consultant. In his video, he raised some serious questions about Hemkunt Foundation. This organization claims to be working extensively to provide oxygen and other relief material to the Covid-19 patients in and around Delhi.

The organization recently announced that they are expanding their ventures to other states, and for that, they have asked for donations from people. As they are not FCRA registered, collecting foreign funds by routing them via another organization is not legal as per FCRA law. However, platforms like Ketto and DonateKart are allowing such fundraisers, which raises the question of their authenticity as well.

Anyway, the question here is not if Hemkunt Foundation is collecting funds legally or not. The question here is the amount of hate, trolling and threats Yuvraj is facing because of some valid questions. Yuvraj and everyone who has donated to any organization has the right to question about the usage of funds. Also, these organizations must follow the regulations set by the government of India to ensure there is no case of money laundering or misuse of funds in any way. However, what Yuvraj has been facing since he uploaded the video is horrifying.

The abuses and death threats

OpIndia had a detailed conversation with Yuvraj about the hate he has been getting since the video was published. “I wonder if asking valid questions was a mistake?” said Yuvraj. He revealed how a whole army of trolls and abusers are after him since the video was published. He shared some screenshots with us, so we decided to pay a visit to the video again and scroll through the comments on the Instagram video.

Yuvraj’s video on Hemkunt Foundation has received over six lakh views so far, and there are over 700 comments. While some praised him for his courage, here are some of the comments that are open abuses and threats directed to him.

Screenshots of abused hurdled against Yuvraj on Instagram

Yuvraj also shared some screenshots in which there were endless abuses and threats.

Abusive messages in DM. Source: Yuvraj

The trolls crossed the limit when they leaked his number online. Yuvraj said that being a professional, it was not hard to find his number online, and the abusers took advantage of it. As soon as his number was shared on social media, he started to get threatening messages and calls, said Yuvraj. One Instagram user, batman_msm_005 was seen commenting on different IDs, telling them Yuvraj’s number and urging them to call him.

Yuvraj’s number was leaked online Source: Yuvraj
Yuvraj’s number was leaked online. Source: Yuvraj

“I will come and meet you at your place” – the threatening video message

Yuvraj said it was not limited to just abuses. Several comments were a direct threat against him. One person who stood out with his threatening videos and messages is named Viky Thomas. Yuvraj told us that there was a video of him in which he was allegedly openly threatening him, but the video was later deleted.

Thomas then made other videos and posts in which he kept on abusing Yuvraj without taking his name directly. Thomas has been posing as a Sikh and claims he has faith in the Sikh religion. He was also present at the farmer protest sites and at Red Fort on January 26 when the tractor rally organized by alleged farmers turned violent. We found a few photographs of him at these sites on his Facebook account.

Thomas at farmer protest sites and at Red Fort

In the recent video targeting Yuvraj, Thomas repeatedly called him a ‘neech aadmi’. Thomas, on several occasions, threatened him without taking his name that he will come and meet at his house very soon. He also showed Yuvraj’s video on his Facebook live.

He said, “Not all people are bad in a particular religion, but some people, some despicable (neech) and bad (gande) people ruin it, just like him,” and then he played the video. He further called him “gande jaat ke keede”, which means insects of ‘disgusting’ caste, and threatened that he would beat him. He then tried to intimate him with his huge size.

Thomas then boasted that he receives calls from foreign countries. It is unclear how it makes someone special, but he seems to think it does. He further showed his passport and again tried to show it as if travelling to other countries makes him important. He then raised question over the Statue of Unity and asked why Rs.3000 crore were spent on it. Interestingly, when the statue was built, there was no sign of pandemic, and since the statue was built, the tourism in the region had increased exponentially before the lockdown last year.

Thomas claimed that the number of rapes is increasing in the country because of “gande neech log” like Yuvraj. How questioning a fundraiser made him an alleged ‘rapist’ is unclear, though. He asked Yuvraj to keep his phone shut and sit at his home or do “Sewa” at Masjid, Gurudwara or Mandir.

He further said, “I do Guru’s Sewa. If insects like you come in between me and sewa, I know how to clean them,” which was an open threat to Yuvraj’s life. He further added that he deleted the previous video at someone’s request. He then showed his photograph with Morari Bapu to assert his claims.

Thomas’s possible links with Congress

Yuvraj shared photographs of Thomas with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi. The images were visibly old, but they have relevance as it shows there is a possibility that he has strong connections in Congress Party. In another video, Thomas had though claimed he has met many other leaders and actors and again tried to mint his meeting with Morari Bapu in that video.

Thomas’s photographs with Congress leaders

There are countless threat messages in Yuvraj’s DMs and many comments on his posts on social media abusing him relentlessly. A question that should make everyone wonder why it is hard to raise valid questions against NGOs in India? Why followers answer, abuse and threaten on behalf of them, and they do not utter a word explaining their side of the story?

What was the need of seeking foreign funding without FCRA approval? Why did they not seek approval from the government to accept foreign funding in the first place? Hemkunt Foundation must come forward and explain its stand on this issue.

Twitter chief Jack Dorsey donates to RSS-affiliate NGO Sewa to help in COVID relief in India, ‘liberals’ fume

OpIndia Staff
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Twitter chief Jack Dorsey donates to RSS-affiliate NGO Sewa to help in COVID relief in India, ‘liberals’ fume

On May 10, Twitter Chief Jack Dorsey announced that he had donated $15 million to three organization for Covid-19 relief work in India. In his tweet, he wrote, “$15 million split between CARE, AIDINDIA and Sewa International to help address the COVID-19 crisis in India.”

According to Start Small tracker, he has donated $2,500,000 to the Association of India’s Development (AID India), $10,000,000 to CARE, and $2,500,000 to Sewa International, an RSS-affiliated NGO.

What is Start Small fund?

In April 2020, Jack announced that he was moving $1 billion of his Square equity to Start Small LLC to fund Covid-19 relief projects across the globe. To ensure transparency, he made a Google Sheet of the funds he has to disperse, how much he has dispersed so far and which organizations were benefitted from the funds.

According to the data, he has created fund worth over 3 billion 710 million and dispersed 397 million to different organizations since April last year. So far, over 200 organizations have received funds from his initiative. In the description, Jack wrote, “Sewa International is a Hindu faith-based, humanitarian, nonprofit service organization.  This grant will support the procurement of lifesaving equipment such as oxygen concentrators, ventilators, BiPap, and CPAP machines as part of Sewa International’s “Help India Defeat COVID-19″ campaign. Equipment will be distributed to government hospitals and COVID-19 care centres and hospital.”

Screengrab of donations made for relief work in India

‘Liberals’ fume over a donation to Sewa

Soon after Jack announced the donations, the liberals were seen fuming over the inclusion of Sewa International in the list. A donation of $2,500,000 brought a lot of criticism towards Jack.

Hardcore Islamist Sharjeel Usmani was not happy with the donation to Sewa
Md Asif Khan is known for spewing venom towards Hindus
People were asking Jack not to donate to RSS
Saleema thinks Hindutva is harmful
Ravi Nair has been consistently spreading fake and misleading news
Some shared hitjob reports on Sewa
The facist and Muslim hater jibes were common
Conspiracy theories were floated
Khalsa Aid, the organization that was accused of supporting Khalistan movement was preferred by some
Some confused how much money was donated to Sewa in the moment of anger
Twitter was accused of “sidelining Indian Muslim voices?!?!
Some claimed the funds will be used to hurt minorities
Some claimed the funds go to ‘hurt minorities’

Hitjob reports against Sewa International

There are several reports floating on different websites and news portals aimed at hurting the reputation of Sewa Bharti and its international wing Sewa USA. On May 4, journalist Neha Dixit urged NRIs not to donate to Sewa International as it is affiliated with Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Rashtriya Sewa Bharti and Sewa International both are part of the same non-profit organisation affiliated with RSS. While Rashtriya Sewa Bharti operates nationally, Sewa International has volunteers working both in the US and India, coordinating the work of raising funds, procuring medical equipment supplies, and getting these to hospitals and institutions. Though Sewa Bharti chose not to respond, riled social media users were in no mood to spare the leftist writer. They schooled Dixit for spreading blatant lies about an organisation that has been genuinely working endlessly in Delhi and across the country helping people in distress amid the coronavirus pandemic.

China to set up a line of separation on Mount Everest after several mountaineers test positive on the Nepalese side. Details

OpIndia Staff
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China to set up a line of separation on Mount Everest after several mountaineers test positive on the Nepalese side. Details

The Chinese government is mulling over a decision to set up a ‘line of separation’ on the peak of Mount Everest (also called Mount Qomolangma), reported China.org. The development comes days after Nepal confirmed that 17 mountaineers tested positive for the Coronavirus infection.

Mount Everest can be scaled from the northern side (via Tibet which is now occupied by China) or the Southern side (via Nepal). Reportedly, no case of Covid-19 has been reported from the northern side since the beginning of the climbing season in April this year. As per reports, the line of separation is a preventive measure to check the spread of Coronavirus infection from Nepal to China.

According to Nyima Tsering, Tibetan Sports Bureau head, China is set to take the step to prevent mountaineers from the Nepalese and the Chinese side from mixing once they reach the summit of Mount Everest. Such a ‘line of separation’ will be laid by guides, who scale the world’s highest mountain alongside the rope fixing teams.

17 mountaineers contract Coronavirus infection on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest

It will be placed at one of the camps at 8300 metres, which is the final camp before the climbers leave for the summit. Although China has stopped foreigners from scaling Everest from their side since 2020 due to the Covid pandemic, it has issued 21 expedition permits to Chinese nationals for the 2021 expedition. Earlier, reports emerged that several mountaineers, who were stationed at the Everest Base Camp in Nepal, had tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus.

They were taken to Kathmandu for testing and treatment of Coronavirus infection. While the Nepalese authorities have confirmed 17 cases of Coronavirus, other reports put the number of infected individuals to 30. Besides the line of separation, China Tibet Mountaineering Association will also put up a checkpoint at about 300 metres from the base camp. At the same time, daily disinfection is necessary at the canteens, washrooms, sleeping camps of climbers and protective gear such as gloves, masks and medical equipment.

Rising cases of Coronavirus in Nepal

A mountaineer, who develops coronavirus symptoms, will be taken to local media facilities for treatment. As of May 11, Nepal had reported 93,141 active cases and a total of 3859 fatalities. While speaking about the rising Coronavirus cases in the country, Meenakshi Ganguly cautioned, “Large volumes of oxygen equipment and other medical supplies are urgently needed to avert a Covid-19 catastrophe in the country.” She is the Director of Human Rights Watch in South Asia.

Covid-19: India records more recoveries than new case for first time in second wave, curves show early signs of improvement

Anurag
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Covid-19: India records more recoveries than new case for first time in second wave, curves show early signs of improvement

On May 10, 2021, India showed early signs of recovery from the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. For the first time in two months, there were more recoveries compared to the new cases reported. As per the data provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there were 3,29,491 new cases reported. On the other hand, 3,55,851 patients were reported recovered from the coronavirus infection.

India reported more recoveries on May 10 for the first time in two months. Source: Covid19India.org

The two-month summary of Covid-19 in India

On March 10, India was already falling in the strong grip of the second wave of the pandemic. There were over 22,000 cases reported in the country, with over 18,000 recoveries in a single day.

In beginning of March, India was showing signs of second wave. Source: Covid19India.org

The number of new cases went out of control suddenly after April 4, when India reported over one lakh cases for the first time in the second wave. Within ten days, India touched two lakh cases per day on April 14, putting a stress on health infrastructure. Soon, India was facing a severe shortage of ICU beds, healthcare workers, medical oxygen and medicines.

India crossed one lakh cases per day on April 4. Source: Covid19India.org

In another ten days, by April 21, India started reporting over three lakh cases per day. However, things had started to get streamlined slowly in the backend. The supply of medical oxygen was ramped up. Life-saving drugs and machines were being manufactured and imported at war footing. Soon India roped in armed forces as well to control the disease.

Over three lakh cases were being reported from April 21. Source: Covid19India.org

On April 30, India reported over four lakh cases, and after a slight downfall in the new cases, the country kept reporting over four lakh cases for four days straight from May 4 to May 8. On May 9 and May 10, there were some signs of relief as cases were less than 4 lakh mark, and finally, on Sunday, India reported more recoveries than new cases in a single day.

For few days from April 30, India reported over 4 lakh cases. Source: Covid19India.org

Sunday numbers which come out on Monday usually show a decline because of possible lower testing, and hence, a seven-day average is a more proper reflection of the pandemic numbers. However, if these numbers are anything to go by, this appears like a silver lining in the dark clouds of the pandemic.

It is too soon to heave a sigh of relief, but if the trends continue over next few days, the worst would hopefully be behind us.

Current situation in most affected states

Maharashtra:

The state of Maharashtra has been on the top of the list for a very long time. Currently, the state has been showing a sharp decline in the number of new cases per day. On May 10, it was for the first time in 40 days that the state reported less than 40,000 cases in a single day. There were 37,236 new cases with 61,607 recoveries. 549 people died on May 10 due to complications associated with Covid-19.

Karnataka:

The second most affected state in terms of active cases, Karnataka has reported over 39,000 cases in a single day, making it the state with a maximum number of new cases on May 10. There were 32,188 recoveries on Sunday, and currently, there are 5,71,006 active cases. 596 people lost their lives on Sunday due to Covid.

Kerala:

Prematurely lauded for the Kerala model of Covid-19 management, the state of Kerala has been among the top affected states by the infection. The state reported 27,487 cases on Sunday with 31,209 recoveries. However, the death rate in the state is among the lowest, with only 65 deaths reported on Sunday.

Punjab:

Though Punjab is not among the top five states, the situation is going north at an alarming rate. The state reported 8,549 new cases making it one of the few states that reported more cases compared to one day earlier. There were 198 deaths in the state that has been attributed to mismanagement and self-medication in the rural regions. Farmer protests is also an important factor to consider when it comes to rising cases in the state.

UP:

The largest state in the country in terms of the population was on the verge of becoming the top contributors of new cases, but the administration under CM Yogi seems to have worked extensively in controlling the second wave in the state. On May 10, the state reported 21,277 new cases with 29,709 recoveries. There were 278 deaths reported due to Covid in the state on Sunday.

Many cities showed signs of touching peak on May 2

Last week on May 2, Prof Maninder Agrawal of IIT Kanpur shared data based on SUTRA. According to the model he has been working on, Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Lucknow (UP) were among the cities that had touched peak and showed signs of recovery. It is evident that the trend has been continuing for the last eight days as India is collectively showing signs of recovery. He also mentioned that Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Kolkata (West Bengal) were moving towards the peak, and now it is noticeable that these states are, in fact, reporting more cases compared to the previous day.

‘Islamism will lead to civil war’: Soldiers warn French President Emmanuel Macron

OpIndia Staff
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‘Islamism will lead to civil war’: Soldiers warn French President Emmanuel Macron

In a second warning to the French government, a group of presently serving French soldiers have published an open letter in a conservative magazine warning the French President Macron of a brewing ‘civil war.’ 

The letter raised concerns over the ‘survival’ of France, warning the President against the ‘concessions’ he made to Islamism despite being aware of the potential threat. 

The letter published in the conservative Valeurs Actuelles magazine on Sunday opened for signatories after a similar letter was published last month echoing the threat looming over France.

It stated that France for some religions means “nothing but an object of sarcasm, contempt or even hatred.” The writers also accused the anti-racism groups of creating “hatred between communities” and cautioned that “lax” government policies could spark chaos forcing the military to get into action to “protect our civilizational values”.

As per reports, the previous letter signed by some officials and 20 odd semi-retired generals had sparked an uproar in France with the prime minister terming it as an unacceptable interference and France’s general vowing that those responsible behind it will be punished. 

Responding to the threat of legal action, the second letter was an all-out attack on the French government accusing it of “trampling” on veterans’ honor and “sullying” their reputation “when their only fault is to love their country and mourn its visible decline”.

Claiming that if a civil war breaks out, the military will go all out to maintain the law and order on “its own soil” the letter revealed that the government is well aware of the conspiracy yet inactive.

Reacting to the letter, the armed forces minister, Florence Parly, said: “The armies are not there to campaign but to defend France.” Interior minister Gerald Darmanin called it a ‘crude manoeuvre’ and said the anonymous signatories are ‘lacking courage’.

The letter received 76,461 anonymous signatures till Monday morning.

These letters come just ahead of the 2022 polls where Macron’s main opposition is said to be a far right leader Marine Le Pen. 

The first letter signed by 18 soldiers also warned of the risk of “civil war” in France and the need to fight the “perils” of “Islamism” and “anti-racism” creating a bitter row between the government and the far-right.

An interactive poll conducted last week observed that 58% of French people agreed with the sentiments in the letter.

Yogendra Yadav admits he knew the rape victim was being taken away to Haryana against her wish by the accused. Watch

OpIndia Staff
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Yogendra Yadav admits he knew the rape victim was being taken away to Haryana against her wish by the accused. Watch

Professional protestor Yogendra Yadav who is currently protesting on behalf of ‘farmers’, on Monday admitted how he knew about the sexual harassment faced by the woman as well as her possible kidnapping by the culprits. He made these revelations in a press conference.

Explaining the chronology of events, Yadav said that Sanyukt Kisan Morcha gave a call to defeat the BJP in Bengal elections and under that call, many teams reached West Bengal to hold ‘farmer protest’ and try to change the mood against the BJP. He claimed that one team, ‘Kisan Social Army’ consisting of 6 members also reached West Bengal on 1st April. Yadav then put up a disclaimer that he was not aware of such a team.

He claimed that the woman ‘activist’ decided to go to Delhi to participate in the protests. She left with the members of ‘Kisan Social Army’ from West Bengal to Delhi. Yadav claimed that only 5 out of the 6 people were returning to Delhi.

Yadav adds that the woman had said that she was harassed on the train journey to Delhi. On 12th April she reached Delhi where she was again sexually assaulted. He claimed the ‘leadership’ was unaware of the same. Around 18th-19th April, she fell unwell and was given medicines. Since her symptoms were like COVID, she was taken to hospital. Her health deteriorated till 22nd-23rd April. Yadav claims that he got to know of her on 24th April when the woman’s father approached him for her COVID treatment.

Yadav admits that he made his wife, who speaks Bangla, to talk to the girl to assure her of help. The woman had at that time hinted about harassment, ‘but she did not specify,’ Yadav claims. He then adds that on 25th April when he tried to contact the woman, she was not at the hospital. The father of the girl informed him that she was being taken elsewhere. At that time, he finally called her and spoke to her.

On 25th April, Yadav admits that he felt their conversation was being overheard. “Since I speak some Bangla, I asked her if the people taking her away are they nice people, she said no. I got suspicious. I asked her to make me talk to them. When I spoke with them, Anil and Anup were in the car. I asked them where are they taking her. They informed me they are taking her to Bengal to her father,” Yadav said.

Yadav further added that the duo claimed they had crossed Agra and were on their way to Kolkata. Yadav got further suspicious and asked the girl to send him her location on WhatsApp. But the location she sent was from Haryana and not Agra as claimed by the duo. He called the woman again and told the men who had taken her away that ‘if you do not take us seriously, we will have to take strict action. Bring the car back to Delhi,’ he instructed.

On 25th April night they returned to the Tikri border and arranged for her treatment. On 29th April her father came to Delhi but on 30th April, she succumbed to COVID.

“On 1st May, after doing her last rites, her father came to us along with a witness Yogita. I was told this was not just COVID but also more,” he said. Yadav admits that on 1st May, the victim’s father told him in detail about the sexual abuse faced by his daughter. “That is when we realised this was more than harassment,” Yadav said.

Yadav claims on 3rd May the committee met at Tikri border and discussed the case and decided to stand by the victim. He claimed that they took the steps they could from their side, like ‘boycotting them, removing their tent and appeal for social boycott from the stage’ within 24 hours. He claimed that they waited for the father to take legal action as ‘family has first right’ and father was in a dilemma as the victim had asked for justice but also asked to not ‘defame Sanyukt Kisan Morcha’.

Eventually, the girl’s father decided to file a police complaint.

We reported earlier in the day that a woman from West Bengal was reportedly raped by two men, both members of the Aam Aadmi Party, when she was going to join the farmer protest site at the Tikri border, Delhi. The father of the woman had filed a complaint based on which an FIR was registered by the Police under Sections 120B, 342, 354, 365, 376D and 506. He said in his complaint that his daughter was forced on the train and in the tent at the protest site by accused Anil and Anup Singh.

Accused claims conspiracy to defame farmers’ protest

While the former AAP leader tries his best to distance himself from the incident, a report by Times Now has revealed that one of the accused has also refuted the allegations against him. Accused Anup Singh has claimed that a ploy has been hatched to defame the ongoing farmers’ protest. In a video message, the AAP leader said that there was an incident of “assault” on-board the train, but the accusations of “rape at the Tikri border” are “false”.

“Culprits should be punished. But rape accusations are wrong… I am still at the Tikri border site,” Singh claimed. 

Victim’s father contends that Yogendra Yadav was aware of the brutalities meted out on his daughter

It is pertinent to note here, that the Hindi daily, Dainik Bhaskar in its report had cited the woman’s father to contend that Yadav was aware of the brutalities meted out on his daughter, and yet he turned a blind eye to it. The report says that Yadav was in touch with the woman since April 24, before her death, and was aware of her predicament. However, he did not inform the police about the incident, which raises the question of whether he wanted to hide the misdeeds of the accused.

Woman who died of COVID at Tikri border protest site was raped and blackmailed

The matter came to light after the father of the woman filed a complaint based on which an FIR was registered by the Police under Sections 120B, 342, 354, 365, 376D and 506. As per the police, they have formed a team to track down two of the accused in the case.

As per the complaint, on April 10, the woman, aged around 25 years, came to Tikri border protest site from West Bengal with a group to join the farmers’ protest against the recently enacted agriculture laws. On April 26, she was admitted to a hospital in the Jhajjar district after showing Covid symptoms. Vijay Kumar, Police Officer at Bahadurgarh Police Station, said, “She died on April 30. Her father has filed a case of rape against two men.”

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