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After Coronavirus and the Bubonic plague alert, thousands infected by bacterial outbreak after factory leak in China: Details

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After Coronavirus and the Bubonic plague alert, thousands infected by bacterial outbreak after factory leak in China: Details

According to reports, thousands of people have been found positive for a disease caused by bacteria in Gansu province in northwest China. The disease is said to be caused by a leak that happened at a pharmaceutical company last year.

The disease which is also known as Malta fever or Mediterranean fever is often caused by coming in contact with the livestock carrying the bacteria named brucella. No fatalities have occurred due to the disease as yet. The authorities have tested 21,847 people out of a total population of 2.9 million in Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu province. Around 3,245 people have been infected with the disease as told by the Lanzhou Health Commission. The symptoms of the disease include headache, muscle pain, fever and fatigue. According to reports, some of the symptoms of the disease can turn chronic which may include arthritis or swelling in organs.

The human to human transmission of the disease is reportedly rare. The contamination mostly happens by consuming contaminated food and breathing in the bacteria.

How the Outbreak Happened

According to reports, there was a leak at the Zhongmu Lanzhou biological pharmaceutical factory between July and August last year. The factory used expired disinfectants and sanitizers while producing Brucella vaccines for animal use. Due to the use of expired disinfectants, the bacteria in the waste gas might not have been eliminated completely.

The contaminated waste gas formed aerosols containing the bacteria and leaked into the air. The outbreak was first reported at the Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute in November. Students and faculty members were among the people infected at the Institute. The infection then spread to the northwestern parts of China.

The vaccine production license of the factory was revoked in January. The factory had issued a public apology in February this year and said that it had punished the eight people responsible for the incident. It assured to cooperate with the local authorities in the compensation programme for affected people.

In July this year, China had issued a warning regarding the spread of the deadly bubonic plague in Bayan Nur in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Journalist Rohini Singh claims woman protester was harassed by UP police, both the ‘victim’ and police deny the claim

OpIndia Staff
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Journalist Rohini Singh claims woman protester was harassed by UP police, both the ‘victim’ and police deny the claim

On Friday, ‘journalist’ Rohini Singh took to Twitter to claim sexual harassment of female demonstrators at the hands of police personnel during protests over unemployment in Uttar Pradesh.

While sharing a picture of a female protestor being manhandled, she wrote, “If you are a mother, then, this picture should fill you with anger. If you are a father, then, this picture should worry you. If you are a brother, then, this picture should boil your blood.”

She further continued, “When girls step out of their house in UP, they are faced with eve-teasing and rape. But, they are being subjected to the same treatment by the police.” Invoking political connotations, Rohini Singh asked, “Is this ‘Ram Rajya’?”

But the ‘victim’ in the photo herself has denied the claims of Rohini Singh. The woman has has said that she was not harassed by police, and it was a case of mistaken identity.

Screengrab of the tweet by Rohini Singh

Female protestor refutes claims of ‘deliberate’ harassment

In a video shared by popular social media user Ankur Singh, the female protestor said, “My name is Kanchi Singh. We were protesting near Gate no. 1 of Lucknow university. I was made to sit in the police van just like other protestors.” Citing mistaken identity, Singh clarified, “They mistook me for a boy due to my dress and made me sit in the van.” Refuting claims of sexual harassment at the hands of the police personnel as alleged by Rohini Singh, she emphasised, “They did not do anything to me. Nothing was deliberate. The theory of ‘harassment’ is just misunderstanding.”

UP Police denies allegations of sexual harassment

In a statement, the Police Commissionerate Lucknow clarified, “We want to clarify that it was important to disperse the protestors in light of the law and order situation. Since the crowd was huge, it was difficult to distinguish between the genders on the basis of their outfit. By mistake, the female protestor was taken away by the police personnel, after mistaking her for a man. Even the female protestor has acknowledged the misunderstanding caused over the attire. The Police Commissionerate Lucknow respects women and expresses regret over the incident.”

Rohini Singh targets Gujarat government with fake news

This is not the first that the journalist has tried to target BJP State governments with misleading news stories. Earlier in May, Rohini Singh authored an article for ‘The Wire’, titled- “Behind Ahmedabad’s Ventilator Controversy, a Backstory of Connections to Top BJP Leaders” which alleged that the Narendra Modi government is procuring 5000 ventilators from a Rajkot based firm which has already been accused of supplying substandard breathing machines to the Ahmedabad’s largest COVID-19 hospital.

However, the Press Information Bureau of India took cognisance of the lies and deceit peddled by Ms Singh in The Wire. The official Twitter handle of PIB issued a tweet denouncing the article published on the leftist rag as fake. PIB claimed that the ventilators which Ms Singh is talking about in her article were not procured but were received as a donation. It further added that the quality of the ventilators, which is continuously being ridiculed in the article published on The Wire was in accordance with the required medical standards.

Disha Salian had both pre-fall and post-fall injuries: Forensics expert Dr Dinesh Rao

OpIndia Staff
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Disha Salian had both pre-fall and post-fall injuries: Forensics expert Dr Dinesh Rao

The mystery surrounding the deaths of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and his former manager Disha Salian, is growing murkier with each passing day as more and more revealing and incongruous details of the alleged suicide cases are coming to the fore, in sharp contrast to the Mumbai Police’s assertions. Disha Salian had died after falling from 14th floor of a building on 8th June, just a week before Sushant’s death. Although police have claimed that she killed herself, now a forensic expert has claimed that Disha had two set of injuries—one before the fall and another one upon her fall—implying that Disha’s death might be a homicide.

Disha Salian’s pre-fall injuries could lead to a possible case of homicide

Speaking at a debate on Republic TV, forensic expert Prof Dr Dinesh Rao revealed information about Disha’s case saying, “An important nugget of information I would like to add here is related to the pattern of injuries detected on Disha’s body. There were definitely two sets of injuries that I noticed. One of them being pre-fall injuries, and another set of injuries were obviously due to the fall from height. This needs to be investigated and it definitely leads to a possible case of homicide.”

The expert also added that either Disha was assaulted or tortured, or that might have been the reason she had tried to escape the assault. They can be resistance injuries from the attack, he added.

Dr. Dinesh Rao has been a Professor and Head of the Department of forensic medicine at The Oxford Medical College, Hospital & Research Centre, Bengaluru. He is a former Director and chief forensic pathologist in Kingston, Jamaica.

Disha fell to her death from the 14th floor of a Malad high-rise on the intervening night of June 8 and 9, with the Mumbai Police ruling it as suicide. Sushant was found dead at his Bandra residence on June 14 under mysterious circumstances. Three agencies–CBI, ED and NCB are currently probing different angles related to the death case of the late actor.

Nitesh Rane wrote a letter to Amit Shah seeking protection for Disha Salian’s

A few days back, BJP leader Nitesh Rane had raised suspicion over the death of Disha Salian, citing that Rohan Rai’s arrival at the spot 20-25 minutes after the incident was indicative of suspicious behaviour. Rane had written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking security for Disha Salian’s fiance, Rohan Rai, claiming that his testimony might be vital in establishing the link between the deaths of Sushant Singh Rajput and Disha Salian. Rane had alleged that Rai had fled Mumbai and was wary of coming back, fearing pressure from “influential people”.

Viral video: How the family of a Hindu woman thrashed a Muslim man harassing her, and why the police arrested them all

OpIndia Staff
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Viral video: How the family of a Hindu woman thrashed a Muslim man harassing her, and why the police arrested them all

In a video which has now gone viral on social media, a woman is seen waiting for someone on her scooty parked on the roadside. Soon a youth approaches her. Suddenly, that youth is accosted by a few other men, who along with the woman, start thrashing him up. The woman is also seen using her slippers to beat up the youth. The incident had reportedly taken place in Madikeri, Kodagu district, Karnataka, on Thursday, where a Hindu woman allegedly beat up a Muslim youth for sending vulgar messages to her on social media.

According to a local newspaper, Kannada Prabha, police has arrested the Muslim youth on charges of harassment, levelled on him by the Hindu woman. Moreover, based on a counter-complaint, the woman along with 4 of her relatives have also been arrested for assaulting the youth.

In what transpired, a Muslim youth named Mohammad Munassir had been harassing a Hindu woman in Madikeri, Karnataka, by sending vulgar text messages to her. Tired of the constant badgering, the woman thought of teaching the youth a lesson.

She sweet-talked him into meeting her near the RTO office on Thursday, to which he willingly agreed. When the youth went to meet her, the woman, who was waiting at the designated spot along with her relatives, bashed up the youth. In the video, the enraged woman is also seen thrashing the youth with her slippers.

The Madikeri police arrested Mohammad Munnasir after the victim registered a complaint. Meanwhile, a counter-complaint had also been filed by the accused alleging that the family members of the lady thrashed him. Based on his complaint, the Madikeri police also arrested the woman and four others in the case.

NCRB data reveals that farmer suicides have been the lowest in India since 1995

OpIndia Staff
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NCRB data reveals that farmer suicides have been the lowest in India since 1995

On September 1, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) published the data on accidental deaths and suicides in India for the year 2019. As per the latest data [pdf], the farmer suicides in the country has been the lowest since 1995.

The NCRB report stated, “A total of 10,281 persons involved in farming sector (consisting of 5,957 farmers/cultivators and 4,324 agricultural labourers) have committed suicides during 2019…” In the same year, farmer suicides constituted 7.5% of the total suicides in the country.

Decline in farmer suicides since 2015: lowest since 1995

It is noteworthy to mention that the number of farmer suicides has been the lowest in the past 25 years. In 1995, a total of 10, 720 farmers had committed suicide. The number skyrocketed in 2004 with a total of 18,241 cases of suicide. Since 2015, there has been a downward trend in the number of farmers committing suicide. While the number was 12,602 in 2015, it fell to 11, 379 in 2016. The numbers continued to decline with 10,655 (2017), 10,349 (2018) and 10,281 (2019) deaths.

Year-on-year numbers of farmer suicides in NCRB data, image via Hindustan Times

Performance of States in preventing farmer suicides

The NCRB report noted, “Certain States/UTs namely, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Delhi, UT, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry reported zero suicides of Farmers/Cultivators as well as Agricultural Labourers.” Having said that, the majority of farmer suicides took place in Maharashtra (38.2%), Karnataka (19.4%), Madhya Pradesh (7.8%), Andhra Pradesh (10%), Telangana (4.9%), and Chhattisgarh (4.9%).

Casualties higher among males than females

The report stated that out of 5,957 cultivators who committed suicide in 2019, only 394 were females. The remaining 5,563 people who killed themselves were males. “Out of 4,324 suicides committed by agricultural labourers during 2019, 3,749 were
male and 575 were female,” the report emphasised.

Meanwhile, the data stated that the total number of suicides in the country increased to 139,123 in 2019 from 1,34,516.

Rahul Gandhi opposes Agriculture reform by Modi govt, even though Congress had promised the same in election manifesto: Details

OpIndia Staff
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Rahul Gandhi opposes Agriculture reform by Modi govt, even though Congress had promised the same in election manifesto: Details

On Thursday, the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack against the Modi Government for introducing three bills in the Parliament that are related to the farm sectors reforms in the country.

Taking to Twitter, the former Congress President, who is currently on his vacations, said that these ‘black laws’ of the Modi government are being introduced to economically exploit peasants and the agricultural labourers.

The Gandhi-scion claimed that the three bills, which aim to reform agricultural marketing in the country, is nothing but a new form of ‘Zamindari’ and some friends of Prime Minister Modi will be the ‘Zamindars’ of New India.

“Agriculture market has been reduced, food security of the country has been erased,” said Rahul Gandhi.

Interestingly, earlier this week, Rahul Gandhi had launched a similar attack against the Modi government claiming that three bills rolled out by the centre was ‘a fatal attack’ on peasant and agricultural labourers.

Farm sector and APMC reforms were part of Congress’ election manifesto

However, the Congress party’s protests against the Modi government over the issue of three agricultural reforms introduced in the Parliament has yet again exposed their hypocrisy.

In the ongoing Parliament session, the Modi government has introduced three bills – Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill and Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to bring notable reforms in the farm sector.

The Congress party, which is currently opposing the bill, were once the proponents of the same reforms that are currently being introduced by the Modi government. Interestingly, in 2019, the Congress party under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi had themselves announced these reforms in their election manifesto.

In the run-up to 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party had released an election manifesto, in which it was clearly stated that the Congress party if ever comes to power, would be repealing the Agricultural Produce Market Committees Act and make the trading in agricultural produce including exports and inter-state trade free from all restrictions.

Image Source: Congress Manifesto 2019/ DAAM – AGRICULTURE, FARMERS, AND FARM LABOUR

Interestingly, the first two bills introduced by the Modi government – Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill seeks to introduce such reform in the APMCs making it easier for the farmers to sell their farm produce just as promised by the Congress party.

According to PRS India, the first bill seeks to provide for barrier-free trade of farmers’ produce outside the markets notified under the various state agricultural produce market laws. The second bill allows intra-state and inter-state trade of farmers’ produce beyond the physical premises of APMC markets.

Rahul Gandhi and Congress had promised to repeal Essential Commodities Act

Similarly, in its election manifesto, the Congress party had also promised to replace the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and had claimed to bring a law that can be invoked only in the case of emergencies.

Image Source: Congress Manifesto 2019/ DAAM – AGRICULTURE, FARMERS, AND FARM LABOUR

However, the Congress party seems to have a problem with the Modi government bringing such a law that would replace the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. The Modi government has tabled the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill to amend the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. The new bill empowers the central government to control the production, supply, distribution, trade, and commerce in certain commodities. 

It is rather intriguing why the former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has been vehemently opposing the same reforms that were promised by his own party not long ago.

Congress leader responds to a parody account, hurls insults at journalist Anjana Om Kashyap

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader responds to a parody account, hurls insults at journalist Anjana Om Kashyap

In his hurry to distribute certificates to media of his choice, Congress leader and former Haryana Minister Captain Ajay Singh Yadav was seen using derogatory words against journalist Anjana Om Kashyap, mistaking a parody account as her’s.

Congress leader responds to a parody account

In what transpired, a parody account with the display image and name of Journalist Anjana Om Kashyap had posted a tweet saying that today is “National Bar Dancer Day”. The Congress leader, for some unfathomable reasons, seems to have got upset with the term ‘Bar Dancer’.

Ajay Singh Yadav did not even pause to see that the parody account declares in its bio that it is parody, and has 60 followers. He shot out an angry response declaring that journalist Anjana Om Kashyap of Aaj Tak has ‘crossed all the limits of shamelessness’

It is not clear why the Congress leader got upset with the term ‘bar dancer’ or why he seemed to think that usage of the term ‘bar dancer’ means shamelessness.

Congress leader hurls insults at journalist Anjana Om Kashyap

Responding to the parody account’s tweet asking to trend ‘National Bar Dancer Diwas’, the Congress leader and former minister stated, “Anjana Om has crossed all the limits of shamelessness. She is the leader of Modi’s ‘Godi’ media. Godi media is a term widely used by pro-Congress media persons and opposition leaders against journalists and media houses who don’t toe the Congress line.

Interestingly, the Congress leader, in his previous tweet, was seen using expletives and derogatory words against Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami. He had shared an NDTV campaign image calling (ironically) not to sponsor ads on other news channels and pay to NDTV only.

Ajay Singh Yadav’s tweet using derogatory words against Arnab and promoting NDTV

At the time of the report’s publication, Ajay Singh Yadav had not taken down his tweet in response to the parody account which he had thought as journalist Anjana Om Kashyap’s. A number of Twitter users had even pointed it out to him but the tweet was still there.

‘Only homes of Hindus are bulldozed’: After Bhawalpur, Hindu homes being razed to the ground in Umarkot

OpIndia Staff
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‘Only homes of Hindus are bulldozed’: After Bhawalpur, Hindu homes being razed to the ground in Umarkot

The plight of religious minorities in Pakistan, especially of minority Hindus have been deteriorating as the Islamic extremism in Pakistan has been on the rise. There are several reports of Hindu girls being abducted and being forced to convert to Islam. Further, there are several instances of Hindu Temples being attacked and Hindu homes being bulldozed to the ground with the tacit support of the government. In one such news that has surfaced, it is being alleged that the Pakistani government is now bulldozing homes, mainly of Hindus, in the Umarkot district of Sindh-Pakistan.

Pakistani author and journalist Rahat Austin took to Twitter to release two videos of the incident.

Rahat posted a video of several houses being bulldozed and said that while the non-Muslim population of Pakistan has been gravely affected by the recent floods, but now, homes of Hindus are being bulldozed in Chor, Umarkot, Sindh-Pakistan.

“Recent floods have brought more misery to Non-Muslims in Pakistan.They are not only denied food & relief by Gov & NGOs but in this video homes of Hindus are bulldozed in Chor, Umarkot, Sindh-Pakistan. Same tactics were used during Corona lockdown to convert Non-Muslims to Islam”, he said.

He posted another video subsequently, where a man was heard saying, “Only Homes of Hindus are bulldozed”.

Rahat has also said that such tools of razing the houses of Hindus are tactics used for converting them to Islam.

“They are already affected by recent floods, not only rations & relief is denied to Non-muslims but their homes are demolished to make their lives more miserable. Such tools are used for conversions”, he said.

Hindu Basti razed to the ground in Punjab province of Pakistan

In May 2020, a slum which housed impoverished Hindu families he city of Bahawalpur in Punjab, Pakistan, was destroyed by the government. In a disturbing video that had gone viral on social media, a bulldozer was seen razing the homes of Hindus to the ground while the women and children begged for their shelter to be spared.

The demolition exercise was carried out under the watch of the Housing Minister Tariq Bashir Cheema. He is a member of the cabinet in Imran Khan’s government. Bashir was also accompanied by Shahid Khokhar who serves as the Principal Information Officer.

India at that time, had issued a strong demarche and demanded that justice be served to the Hindu minority that is being targeted based on their faith.

Religious persecution of minorities continues to be rampant in Pakistan. In the month of January this year, a Muslim had abducted a Hindu girl while her wedding was in progress and then proceeded to convert her to Islam and marry her.

In the wake of such incidents, the United States Of America officially launched a 27-nation International Religious Freedom Alliance in February 2020, which will try to protect and preserve religious freedom across the world. During the launch, USA especially highlighted the plight of Hindus in Pakistan.

Hamas linked Islamist organisation wants Netflix ‘Cuties’ banned because ‘to make matters worse’, it portrays Islam ‘negatively’

OpIndia Staff
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Hamas linked Islamist organisation wants Netflix ‘Cuties’ banned because ‘to make matters worse’, it portrays Islam ‘negatively’

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which is linked with the Islamic terrorist organisation Hamas, has raised objections against the controversial Netflix movie ‘Cuties’ claiming that the movie demeans Islam.

The controversial radical Islamic organisation has demanded the streaming-giant Netflix to remove the French film ‘Cuties’ asserting that the movie depicted disturbing sexualization of children. However, the sexualisation of children did not seem the main concern for CAIR. The CAIR also said that the movie was offensive and stereotyped Islam and Muslims. 

Demanding the removal of the movie, the Islamic organisation group said that the film depicts the Muslim girl’s father as a polygamist, her mother as oppressed, and features a scene in which her family conducts an exorcism, that leads the young girl to gyrate and ‘twerk’ while wearing revealing clothing, all as an Arabic recitation plays in the background.

In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said, “We join other Americans in calling on Netflix to remove this disturbing film from its platform. Although the filmmakers behind ‘Cuties’ have argued that the film is meant to criticize the hyper-sexualization of children, a film cannot criticize the abuse of children while abusing children.”

He added, “To make matters worse, ‘Cuties’ features depictions of Islam and Muslims that range from the stereotypical to the offensive, including a scene in which a barely-clothed Muslim preteen gyrates during a forced exorcism while an Arabic recitation plays in the background.”

Meanwhile, the CAIR has also launched an online petition asking fellow Muslims to join the demand for a ban on Netflix film ‘Cuties’.

Opposition to ‘Cuties’ grows

Earlier this week, US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard had called out Netflix for streaming controversial movie ‘Cuties’ and had referred to the newly released film as child porn.

The Democratic Hawaii Representative Gabbard also said she has cancelled her Netflix account and called others to ‘cancel’ Netflix over its new film ‘Cuties’ which sexualizes depictions of young girls.

The former Democratic presidential candidate attacked streaming giant Netflix arguing that the controversial film will only increase the appetite for paedophiles and help fuel the child sex trafficking trade.

Slamming the Netflix for being “complicit” in promoting such dangerous content that encouraged paedophilia, Tulsi Gabbard called people to cancel their Netflix subscription.

Cuties – a Netflix film that sexualises children

The Netflix movie – ‘Cuties’ has been at the centre of controversy ever since its posters were first released by Netflix. Various social media users had slammed the platform for hyper-sexualisation of children and promoting paedophilia under the guise of creative art. 

The trailer of the movie and the manner in which it depicted the children had shocked the viewers across the world, who slammed the streaming giant for promoting child porn and enabling sexualisation of young girls. The promo had shown an 11-year old little girl experiencing oppression and finding joy in twerking.

Several critics had pointed out that gross depiction of the sexualisation of children and had called it as not just a perverse act but a leftist mind-trap.

Assam: 58-year-old Samer Ali arrested for raping a 9-year-old relative

OpIndia Staff
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Assam: 58-year-old Samer Ali arrested for raping a 9-year-old relative

The Assam police have apprehended a 58-year-old man named Samer Ali for raping a 9-year-old girl in Jogighopa town of Bongaigaon district in Assam.

The incident took place on Wednesday. Reportedly, Ali lured the minor girl into his house and then raped her. He had been on the run from the law enforcement authorities since the heinous crime. Ali was eventually nabbed by the Jogighopa police from Bharalkundi village.

Accused is a relative of the victim

A First Information Report (No. 306/20) had been lodged in connection to the case. Preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused is the paternal grandfather of the victim, as per the reports. The incident has created an atmosphere of fear and tension in the area.

Rising cases of rape of minor girls in Assam

This is not the first time that such an incident has come to light. Earlier, the Assam police have arrested a named Riki Ahmed alias Bicky of Kawri Patty area of Naliapool for allegedly raping a 15-year-old minor girl several times in Dibrugarh. The accused Riki Ahmed is the maternal uncle of the victim. According to Additional Superintendent of police, Padmanav Baruah, a case (no 1513/20) under sections 448/376 D(A)/ 506 of the IPC, Section 4 of Protection of Child from Sexual Offence Act has been registered against the offender at Dibrugarh police station.

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