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Biden admin floats ‘vaccine passports’ in the USA as the idea gains steam worldwide: All you need to know

OpIndia Staff
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Biden admin floats ‘vaccine passports’ in the USA as the idea gains steam worldwide: All you need to know

The United States under the Joe Biden administration is developing a system for Americans to prove they’ve been vaccinated against COVID-19, colloquially referred to as a “vaccine passports”. The “vaccine passport” will potentially serve as proof of vaccination for people as they engage in various activities due to more businesses opening up.

According to a senior Biden admin official, multiple agencies are involved in the planning of this system. The planning is coordinated by the White House, with the system is set to play a huge in multiple aspects of people’s lives, including the workforce.

Many business groups, including airlines and travel sectors, were lobbying the Biden administration in order to get the ball rolling on developing some sort of vaccine credentials. The business groups believe that vaccine credentials, more commonly known as a “vaccine passport”, straight from the U.S. Federal Government will nip any confusing regional vaccine certifications in the bud.

Some U.S. officials see the “vaccine passport” as a look into the world of the future, where international travel, public entertainment, and other social events will all be contingent upon getting vaccinated and having proper documentation. However, this raises a moral and ethical dilemma concerning the lack of inclusion of unvaccinated people, whether it be because of poverty or other reasons.

There are already some forms of private “vaccine passports” in existence. The International Air Transport Association, a trade group comprising of global airlines, is testing their own version called “Travel Pass”. The American tech giant IBM also utilizes its own version, which allows people from New York to download proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. It is a mobile app that uses a secure QR code that can either be printed out or stored in smartphones.

The initiative to develop “vaccine passports” is not a U.S.-only phenomenon, with the European Union coming out in favor of it. On 17 March 2021, the European Commission proposed the creation of a “Digital Green Certificate” which will serve as an instrument to facilitate safe and free movement within the EU in midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are some fears that this “vaccine passport” can later be used not just as an instrument of facilitating travel, but also to regulate day-to-day work like engaging in commerce, admission to various businesses, etc.

In light of the development of the U.S. “vaccine passport”, which will potentially be used by businesses and corporations to serve as a certificate to allow or disallow people to their services, the concern regarding vaccine passports is not unwarranted. There are concerns of disadvantaged people losing their ability to functionally interact with a society which stresses upon proof of vaccination. However, it remains to be seen exactly what effect will a government backed, all encompassing vaccine passport have in terms of restricting the access of people to goods and services.

TMC operative shares fake ABP West Bengal election poll, gets called out by ABP News

OpIndia Staff
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TMC operative shares fake ABP West Bengal election poll, gets called out by ABP News

In an embarrassment for the Trinamool Congress (TMC), a fake ABP News poll tweeted by a digital marketer working for the TMC was debunked today.

Pritam Seal, a TMC operative, posted an image of a fraudulent ABP News poll assigning 23-26 seats to incumbent Mamata Banerjee’s TMC in the first phase of the 2021 Bengal elections. The fake survey was debunked by ABP News’s Head of Digital Content Strategy, Mr. Tushar Banerjee.

Referring to the fake survey in his tweet, Mr. Banerjee wrote, “This is fake. Please delete and refrain from misrepresenting us. Our exit poll will only come on the 29th of April, as allowed by EC.” In spite of this damning clarification, the TMC operative did not delete his highly misleading survey immediately. He deleted it much later.

We could not verify whether Seal is a member of the TMC or merely a digital marketer working for the party.

In a press conference on Sunday, Home Minister Amit Shah said that BJP will form government in West Bengal by winning more than 200 seats in the ongoing assembly elections in the state.

“After discussions with booth level workers and party leaders, I can say out of 30 seats in West Bengal we will win more than 26 seats. We have got clear indications that BJP will win more than 37 seats out of 47 seats in Assam,” said Shah. 

Assam: Congress lodges complaint with police and EC against BJP, local newspapers for ‘misleading’ ads predicting BJP’s win

OpIndia Staff
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Assam: Congress lodges complaint with police and EC against BJP, local newspapers for ‘misleading’ ads predicting BJP’s win

The Congress Party’s do or die battle for existence is underway in Assam and the party is trying its hardest to keep BJP at bay. In a recent development, Congress has filed a police complaint against Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, BJP chief JP Nadda, state president Ranjeet Kumar Dass and eight leading local newspapers for ‘camouflaging an advertisement as news’, predicting BJP’s win in all the seats in Upper Assam that went to polls in the first phase on March 27.

The FIR was lodged with the Dispur police on Sunday night for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), provisions of Section 126A of the Representation of People Act, 1951 and the ECI’s directives issued on March 26, APCC Legal Department Chairman Niran Borah said.

The party alleged that this was BJP’s pre-planned conspiracy to deceive voters in the second and third phases of polls. “The CM, BJP national president, state chief and other members of the party have knowingly issued advertisements camouflaged as headlines on front pages of various newspapers claiming that the BJP will win all the constituencies of Upper Assam,” Borah claimed.

Congress approaches EC with a complaint against BJP and local newspapers

Moreover, Congress has also approached the Election Commission demanding action against BJP for using local dailies to mislead and brainwash voters. It alleged that BJP carried a misleading advertisement in multiple dailies, suggesting its victory in these constituencies.

In a letter to the Assam chief electoral officer Nitin Khade, Niran Borah, who is the chairman of the Congress’ legal department alleged: “… The advertisement has been published in the form of a news report for canvassing in favour of BJP to influence and deceive the public/voters for the remaining two phases of polls across the state.”

Congress has demanded strict action against the saffron party, as well as the 8 locals newspapers in question. It demanded that the circulation of these said news items/advertisement be stopped for publication in all forms of electronic media, social media, etc. This it said was important for holding a free and fair election in the state.

The state BJP’s chief spokesperson, Rupam Goswami, said the advertisement merely reflected the party’s confidence, based on ground reports. “Why is Congress so worried? All ads are passed after approval from poll panel officials entrusted with vetting advertisements,” Goswami said.

Traditionally a Congress stronghold, BJP came to power for the first time in Assam with a thumping mandate in the year 2016. BJP’s overwhelming success in the last Assembly elections left the Congress party reeling in shock. Now, with the 2021 Assembly elections underway, the desperate Congress is leaving no stone unturned to break its anti-incumbency jinx.

The Assam Assembly elections 2021 is being held in three phases, from March 27 to April 6. The  first phase of Assam election concluded on March 27, 2021, with 72.14 per cent turnout. The counting of votes for the Assam assembly election will be done on May 2 2021 (Sunday).

Pakistan: 100-year-old Hindu temple attacked in Rawalpindi, where only recently, temple bells had been sounded after 74 long years

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: 100-year-old Hindu temple attacked in Rawalpindi, where only recently, temple bells had been sounded after 74 long years

On March 27, an over 100-year-old Hindu temple was attacked in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, by a group of unidentified people. As per the police complaint, the incident took place at the Purana Qila area of the city. Around 10 to 15 people stormed into the temple premises at around 7:30 PM. They damaged the main door and another door at the upper storey.

The temple was undergoing renovation from last month, and on March 26, the temple bells rang for the first time in 74 years in front of the potrait of Maa Durga. Rawalpindi Police has registered a case against unidentified miscreants for the incident.

According to Pakistani daily Dawn, the complaint was registered at Banni Police Station by Syed Raza Abbas Zaidi, security officer of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB), Northern Zone. In his complaint, he said that the construction and renovation work on the temple had been going for the last month. He further added that 10 to 15 people stormed the temple at around 7:30 and damaged the temple premises. Legal action against the miscreants was sought in the complaint.

Temple was infested with encroachments

Before the construction and renovation work could have begun, the administration had to remove encroachments in the premises. As per reports, the encroachment mafia had occupied the surrounding of the temple and established kiosks and shops. There were people living inside the temple premises for years. The district administration had removed the encroachments with the help of the Police.

On March 24, some encroachments were found in front of the temple that was removed. Earlier, the encroachment mafia had occupied the surroundings of the temple for a long time by constructing shops and kiosks. The district administration assisted by the Police recently removed all encroachments.

Security increased at the administrator of the temple

Om Prakash, the administrator of the temple, confirmed that attack on the temple. He said as soon as he received the information about the incident, he reached the temple with Police personnel. The Police brought the situation under control. The Police have increased security at the temple and Om Prakash’s house.

Attacks on Hindu places of worship in Pakistan

The attacks on Hindu places of worship are common in Pakistan. There are around 75 Lakh Hindus in Pakistan. In December 2020, a Hindu temple was attacked by a mob in the Karak’s Teri district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, causing severe damage to the structure.

In November 2020, an old Hindu temple was demolished in Karachi, Pakistan. Idols were thrown out of the temple. In August 2020, a pre-partition Hanuman temple was demolished in Lyari district, Pakistan. As per the reports, a builder who had earlier promised that the temple would not be touched demolished it while taking advantage of the Covid lockdown.

Maharashtra: Seven Covid-19 patients die due to shortage of oxygen in the last two days, hospitals ask relatives to take their patients back

OpIndia Staff
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Maharashtra: Seven Covid-19 patients die due to shortage of oxygen in the last two days, hospitals ask relatives to take their patients back

The shortage of critical care has again resulted in Maharashtra deaths, as seven COVID-19 patients lost their lives in the last two days due to a shortage of oxygen supply.

According to the reports, four COVID-19 patients have lost their lives in Nagpur and three more in Dhule in Maharashtra due to a shortage in Oxygen supply. A medical emergency situation has risen in Maharashtra due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the state, and the hospitals are now finding it tough to manage the crisis due to the shortage in supply of critical supplies.

The hospitals in Nagpur are in desperate need of critical supplies, especially medical oxygen, as the demand has increased five-fold due to a surge in critical patients. 

Though District collector Ravindra Thakare has started a dedicated line for Oxygen related requests from hospitals, hospitals are facing a shortage of Oxygen, resulting in doctors’ discharging patients. On March 25, the doctors discharged all the COVID-19 patients in a 30-bed hospital in North Nagpur, 11 of them in critical condition, after its oxygen stock exhausted. Reportedly, health authorities allegedly failed to replenish the supplies.

Since then, four of the critical patients have passed away – one of them at the hospital. The hospital said the 74-year-old deceased was on oxygen support till she was in admission. The remaining three people died at nearby government and private hospitals.

Following the death of three patients, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has issued a show-cause notice to the hospital and initiated an inquiry. The other twenty patients have been shifted to other hospitals.

Hospitals ask relatives to take their patients back

The scare has aggravated now after authorities at a 100-bed hospital in West Nagpur have asked relatives of all patients to get discharged and find other hospitals. However, later that night, the district health officials rushed 40 jumbo cylinders to the Nagpur hospital.

As the health crisis continues to cause deaths, District Minister Nitin Raut said the divisional commissioner has been asked to take stock of the production and the supply. “We have the local production capacity, but since cylinders are also being supplied to places outside the district, this issue is coming up. We may request the state health department to allocate extra stock for Nagpur,” he said.

The nodal officer said the demand for Oxygen has shot up five-fold from 19-20 metric tonne per day to 100 metric tonnes on Saturday. “The supply is smooth. The shortage-like situation is because more oxygen is needed. We need at least 5 to 10 tonne more to maintain a buffer. It will be increased as every day the demand is rising,” he said.

The medical officer said that they had enhanced Nagpur district’s own production in the last few weeks. “By Sunday morning, 600 empty jumbo cylinders from Gadchiroli, Bhandara, Gondia and Amravati will arrive. Our manufacturers need them to fill additional stock. Another 700 to 800 cylinders would be requisitioned from GMCH, which has two big tanks of liquid oxygen,” he said.

In addition to Nagpur, three COVID-19 patients have died due to lack of oxygen at Anjana Heart Hospital in Dhule city, taking the death toll due to oxygen supply to seven.

Maharashtra remains the most-affected state in the country, with nearly 27,13,875 cases have been reported from the state with more than 3,25,901 active cases. The state has reported 54,181 Covid-19 deaths.

On Sunday, nearly 40,000 cases were reported in Maharashtra and 108 people died due to the Chinese pandemic in the last 24 hours.

Tamil Nadu CM cries during election rally after being called ‘illegitimate child’ by DMK leader A Raja: Here is what he said

OpIndia Staff
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Tamil Nadu CM cries during election rally after being called ‘illegitimate child’ by DMK leader A Raja: Here is what he said

A day after DMK leader A Raja claimed that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) was “born of an illegitimate affair as a premature baby,” Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS) was seen crying over the remarks during an election rally on Sunday.

While addressing a gathering in North Chennai, the Tamil Nadu CM asked, “What a disgusting speech it was. Is this how they speak if the chief minister is a common man? If this is the condition of the chief minister, who will protect the common people?” He said, “My mother was born in a village. She was a farmer, she worked day and night. She is no more now.”

EPS added, “How disgusting was that comment which he made. Imagine what will happen to women if such people come to power. A lesson should be taught to people who say filthy (things) about women and motherhood.” While bursting into tears, he emphasised that mothers occupy a high position in Indian society irrespective of their wealth. He pointed out that those who disrespect them would be punished by God.

On Saturday, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) lodged a complaint with the Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer offensive remarks made by A Raja. The Greater Chennai police have lodged a case based on the complaint. “The case was filed under the Indian Penal Code and Representation of People Act,” Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal emphasised.

A Raja has been booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 127 (1) (inciting others to act in a disorderly manner), Sections 153 (provocative speech to cause riot), and uttering 294 B (obscene words). A similar case has been registered by the Meensuritti police on Sunday. The development comes days ahead of the upcoming State Legislative elections in Tamil Nadu, which are scheduled to commence from April 6.

The Background of the controversy

On Saturday, DMK leader and MP A Raja triggered a massive row by making vile comments against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS), saying that he was “born of an illegitimate affair as a premature baby.” According to reports, A Raja, who was campaigning for DMK’s Thousand light constituency candidate Dr N Ezhilan on Friday, reportedly abused Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami by referring to him as an illegitimate child.

Drawing a comparison between DMK Chief MK Stalin and CM EPS leadership, A Raja claimed that DMK chief Stalin was a true leader as he was born of pure blood and by legitimate means. However, according to Raja, Edappadi Palaniswami was born premature and was born out of an illegitimate relationship.

Uttar Pradesh: Temple priest found brutally murdered with his throat slit near Bulanshahr temple, police on alert

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Temple priest found brutally murdered with his throat slit near Bulanshahr temple, police on alert

On the day of Holi, a temple priest was found dead in a field close to a temple in UP’s Bulandshahr. As per a report by Swarajya, the police have informed that the sadhu’s throat was slit using a sharp weapon. Outrage has been reported by the aggrieved devotees against the brutal murder of a sadhu, following which the police have been put on high alert.

50-year-old Ashok Kumar, a priest, had come to work at the temple a week back from Kailavan village in Salempur. The sadhu was found dead in a mustard field, near the famous Dhakwale temple in Aanchru Kala village of Shikarpur. 

CO Bijendra Rastogi and Police Officer Subhash Singh arrived at the scene after the body was discovered on Monday morning. The body has been sent for postmortem. SSP Santosh Kumar Singh assured that the police is investigating every aspect of the murder.

Attack on Sadhus

A Naga Sadhu was brutally assaulted by the police on Monday (March 22), after he reached Bilaspur in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh. The cops not just brutally thrashed him but seized his belongings which included ₹1.25 lac rupees cash, a mobile phone worth ₹12,000 and utensils. The cops then threw him outside the police station.

Last week, a sadhu was found brutally murdered by smashing his head with a heavy object and burning his private parts in Islamnagar, UP, as reported by UP Varta News.

Last week, Mahanta Jayashree Baba was attacked with knives in Firozabad. The attacker also looted one lakh rupees, reported Amar Ujala. The money stolen was kept for the construction work of the Ashram’s Goshala.

11 incidents of brutal attacks on Hindu sadhus had come to light in 2020 which went largely unnoticed by the mainstream media and the political class.

Violent protests erupt after death of a Nigerian national, while protestors blame Delhi Police, police cites CCTV footage that tells a different tale

OpIndia Staff
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Violent protests erupt after death of a Nigerian national, while protestors blame Delhi Police, police cites CCTV footage that tells a different tale

Violent protests erupted in Delhi’s Tilak Nagar after a 43-year-old Nigerian national died at Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) on Sunday. The death of the Nigerian national sparked protest by fellow compatriots, who took the streets.

According to the reports, Nigerian national Leohand Lyeanyi died at a hospital in Delhi on Sunday. The sudden death of the Nigerian national sparked violent protests by agitated African nationals who created ruckus and broke glasses at DDU hospital. Initially, they were around 20 to 30, but their numbers increased to 100. As per the protestors, Delhi Police had assaulted Lyeanyi, which resulted in his death.

During the protests, the mob also attacked the local people and police personnel. The Nigerian nationals also attacked officials of the High Commission of Nigeria who had come to meet them, resulting in a tense situation in the locality.

Delhi police denies charges, says he collapsed on his own

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have rejected the allegations that they had assaulted the Nigerian national. Denying the charges, the police said that the victim was not hit by them and his medico-legal case (MLC) report showed no external injury on the body.

A senior police officer said they received information about Lyeanyi’s death at around 3.30 am on Sunday from the DDU hospital. The officer said they are waiting for a post-mortem report of the deceased Nigerian national.

The Delhi Police said that they have accessed the CCTV footage in the area, which showed that Nigerian national stepping out of an auto-rickshaw and sitting near a shop. He then collapsed, hitting his head on the ground and there was nobody around him, the police said.

The Delhi police have registered two cases against the violent mob. The Delhi police have also begun probe into the matter.

Stranded ship ‘Ever Given’ that blocked Suez Canal refloated: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Stranded ship ‘Ever Given’ that blocked Suez Canal refloated: Reports

The stranded container ship blocking the Suez Canal for almost a week was re-floated on Monday and is currently being rescued, as per reports.

According to maritime services provider – Inchcape, the giant vessel ‘Ever Given’ that was stuck in the Suez Canal for over a week was freed by the salvage teams. The cargo ship had run aground in one of the world’s most important trade routes, causing a huge maritime crisis in recent history.

The 400-metre (430-yard) long ‘Ever Given’ was successfully re-floated at 4.30 am local time (0230 GMT) and was being secured, Inchcape, a global provider of marine services, said on Twitter.

Even if the ship has been freed from the bank where its bulbous bow has been stuck, it is not yet clear how soon the waterway would be open to regular shipping traffic. More than 450 ships are believed to be stuck near Suez due to the blockage.

The Suez canal accounts for over 12% of global maritime trade, and the blockage had created shocks in supply chain management across the world. Some ships waited for the crisis to over, while some opted for the long and expensive trip around Africa’s southern tip instead of Suez.

Suez Canal blocked by ‘Ever Given’

A huge container ship named ‘Ever Given’ had run aground in the Suez Canal after being blown off course by a “gust of wind”, resulting in a huge traffic jam of vessels at either end of the crucial international trade route. The cargo ship, which is three-years-old and is registered in Panama, was on its way to Rotterdam in the Netherlands from China when it got stuck in the Suez Canal.

Weighing 220,000 tonnes and running 400 metres long, the “mega-ship” Ever Given had jammed itself diagonally across a southern section of the canal in high winds early on Tuesday, blocking shipping traffic on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

Suez Canal is a crucial lane that links the Mediterranean to the Red Sea and is the fastest maritime link between Asia and Europe. The watercourse, which is around 193 km long, was built by the Suez Canal Company in the mid-1860s and was officially opened in 1869.

It is estimated that about 12 per cent of the world trade volume happens through it, making it one of the world’s busiest trade routes. According to the Suez Canal Authority, about 19,000 carriers, or an average of 51.5 ships per day, with a net tonnage of 1.17 billion tonnes passed through the waterway in 2020.

Antilia Bomb Scare: Sachin Vaze had tried to destroy the laptop and printer, recovered from Mithi river, with a hammer

OpIndia Staff
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Antilia Bomb Scare: Sachin Vaze had tried to destroy the laptop and printer, recovered from Mithi river, with a hammer

On March 28, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) went to spot neat the Mithi river with former assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze in a bid to recover crucial evidence from the river bed. Professional divers were used in the process. The recovery operation was part of the investigation of the gelatin sticks-laden car outside the south Mumbai residence of Mukesh Ambani and the subsequent murder of Mansukh Hira, a businessman from Mumbai.

As per the reports, the NIA officials recovered two CPUs, a laptop, two digital video recorders (DVRs), and two vehicle registration plates. Investigators said that the former police officer had tried to destroy the evidence. Hindustan Times quoted an unnamed NIA official who said that during the interrogation, Vaze agreed to show the place where he threw the material used in the crime.

NIA team reached the spot at around 3:15 PM. Reports suggest that a group of 10 divers conducted the search for three hours and recovered crucial evidence. An NIA official said around seven NIA officials took Sachin Vaze to the spot from where he had discarded the evidence after damaging it with a hammer. Investigators believe that the recovered evidence is by far one of the most important recoveries made in the investigation. The search continued till 6 PM.

Sachin Vaze tried to destroy the evidence with a hammer

NIA has reportedly said, “During the interrogation of accused Sachin Vaze, he disclosed willingly to show the place where he threw the material used in the crime and destroyed the evidence. Accordingly, two independent witnesses were called, and his voluntary statement was recorded. Further, the accused showed the place as Mithi River, BKC, Bandra (East), Mumbai.”

According to the reports, assistant police inspector Riyazuddin Kazi had revealed that the evidence was thrown in the Mithi River during the interrogation. According to ANI, DVR’s recovered from the river allegedly recorded Vaze’s society where the car was parked between February 17 and 24 before it was planted outside Ambani’s house.

The officer further said that when the spot was searched with the divers’ help, NIA recovered a laptop, a printer, two hard drives, two number plates, 2 DVRs, 2 CPUs and other possible evidence. The said articles’ rightful owners recognized the articles from whom Vaze had collected them without due process.

“The said articles were identified by rightful owners/custodians from whom accused Sachin Vaze had collected them illegally without proper documentation. Also, the laptop and printer recovered were used by Sachin Vaze in his office. A visible effort was made by the accused to destroy the same as hammer marks are present on them,” he added. Reports suggest that the DVRs recovered from the Mithi River were the ones that were allegedly removed from the housing society in Thane, where Vaze resides.

“A group of 10 divers conducted a search around three hours and recovered crucial evidence,” another NIA official said on condition of anonymity. The NIA team, comprising six to seven officials, took Vaze to a Mithi river bridge from where he allegedly discarded the evidence after damaging it with the hammer, the official added.

The arrest of Sachin Vaze

Sachin Vaze was arrested by the NIA on March 13 for his alleged role in planting the explosives-laden car outside Ambani’s house. He has been accused of planning Hiren Mansukh’s murder as well. Hiren was the owner of the car that was parked outside Ambani’s residence. He was found dead in a creek on March 5.

Vaze was the investigation officer in the case before it was handed over to NIA. An officer told HT that he had all the evidence in his custody, but when he realized that the investigation might go to some other agency, he allegedly tried to destroy the evidence. NIA also noticed that a lot of evidence collected by Vaze during the investigation were not recorded in the case diary. It is believed that the aim was to destroy the evidence himself and derail the investigation.

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