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Congress tries to pass off old image of Rohingyas in Bangladesh as Indian migrant workers to malign Modi govt, gets called out

OpIndia Staff
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Congress tries to pass off old image of Rohingyas in Bangladesh as Indian migrant workers to malign Modi govt, gets called out

Even at a time of the coronavirus crisis, many political leaders and parties have been spreading blatant lies and misinformation on social media to score political goals. Taking to Twitter, Congress’ SC department shared an old image of a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh to attack the central government for its alleged inefficiency of handling of the migrant workers issue.

Sharing the image through the official Twitter handle, Dalit Congress wrote that Modi govt should envisage the helplessness to the faces of these people and do something to help them.

Twitter user Ankur Singh, however, was quick to spot the lie. Sharing a screenshot of a news report from 2017, the Twitter user pointed out that this image is of some Rohingya refugees in Cox Bazaar, Bangladesh, making their way to their region in the year 2017.

The International press agency, Pressenza had in an article published on November 8, 2017, titled “Rohingya Refugees at Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh”, used this image, to depict the poor condition of the Rohingya refugees who had fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar’s Rakhine province.

The article where the image was used by Pressenza in 2017
Image in the Pressenza article in 2017

Vinod Dua uses the same image to attack Modi government

Earlier in the day, popular page ‘Political Kida’ had also taken to Facebook to show how journalist Vinod Dua, like the Congress party had used the same image to berate BJP government. Political Kida added a snippet from one of the episodes of the show hosted by Vinod Dua where he tries to point out the so-called apathy of the BJP government towards the migrant labourers. He alleges that the helpless migrant workers are carrying the aged on their shoulder and heading towards their respective homes as they are not being provided with any facility, and to do this, he too, like the Congress, had used the image of Rohingya refugees coming to Bangladesh from 2017.

Despite clarifications, Congress has been, for a while now, creating unnecessary controversy over who will ultimately foot the bill to ferry stranded migrant labourers back home. In fact, the All India Railway Federation had earlier written a letter to the Congress interim president, Sonia Gandhi requesting her not to play politics over the migrants’ rail fare.

Congress creating needless controversy

On May 4 Congress leaders took to Twitter to claim that since the government is charging money for the railway fare of the stranded migrants going back home on Shramik Special trains, the party will chip in and bear the expenses for the same. This offer to pay for the migrants’ fare came two days after the Railway Ministry had clarified that the state and central governments are facilitating the movement of migrants through Shramik Special trains.

On May 2, 2020, the Ministry of Railways had clarified that no tickets will be sold at the railway station and that the movement of migrants is being arranged by the state governments. The Railways is bearing 85% of the transport costs while the states are paying the remaining 15%.

Mumbai: Raza Academy founder among 125 booked for organising a funeral Namaz in violation of social distancing norms

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai: Raza Academy founder among 125 booked for organising a funeral Namaz in violation of social distancing norms

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to gallop in Maharashtra, especially Mumbai, a crowd of about 150 people, in gross violation of the nationwide lockdown and strict social distancing norms, gathered for the funeral of one Babu Batawala(72), a Null bazaar resident who died a natural death on May 7. Batawala was reportedly affiliated to the Raza Academy.

Acting against the offenders, the Dongri branch of Mumbai police filed an offence against 125 people, including Saeed Noori, the founding member of Raza Academy, for performing funeral namaz with brazen disregard to the social distancing guidelines despite repeated insistence from the police.

According to the police, as many as 150 people had gathered for the funeral of Batawala and had refused to heed police instructions urging them to maintain social distancing even as the pandemic rampages across Mumbai. Avinash Dharamadhikari, the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Dongri division), said, “Despite our opposition to performing funeral namaz, they ignored our protests and continued with their rites, keeping the coffin on the road and violating social distancing norms.”

It is notable to mention that as per the notification released by the Union Health Ministry, which is overlooking nation’s response to coronavirus outbreak, only 20 people are allowed to partake in the funeral procession and the concomitant last rites. With Mumbai emerging as the most potent coronavirus hotspot in the country, an offence of such magnitude has the potential of further exacerbating the coronavirus crisis in the city. It raises grave questions over Mumbai Police’s inability to stall conspicuous transgressions that may have widespread ramifications.

Nevertheless, the police have booked Saeed Noori, Salim Batawala, Hasabhai, Munnabhai and 120 others under Sections 188 of disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant, 269(negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 270 of “Malignant Act” for likely spread of disease dangerous to life.

It is pertinent to note that Saeed Noori, the founding member of Raza Academy, had weeks ago created a video on behalf of Mumbai Police wherein he requested members of his community to follow state-mandated social distancing guidelines. Noori is also one of the accused in the Azad Maidan riots.

Azad Maidan Riots and Raza Academy

In August 2011, the leaders of the Raza Academy had organised a so-called protest in Azad Maidan that had devolved into violent riots. The rioters from Raza Academy had vandalised the much-hallowed Amar Jawan memorial situated outside the CST. The riots had caused approximately Rs 2.72 crores worth of damages to various public properties.

The protest was carried out to incite communal violence in Mumbai and the IB report to Maharashtra government hinted at Pakistani involvement in the riots. Bangladeshi passports were retrieved from the areas where riots took place. About 65 people and 40 security personnel were injured in the riots.

FIR against Arnab Goswami

The same Raza Academy has also filed FIR against Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami, accusing him of spreading ‘communal hatred’ while he was reporting the Palghar mob lynching of two sadhus. Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal has represented the Raza Academy in Supreme Court when Arnab Goswami had approached the apex court seeking the quashing of FIRs against him.

Two-year long ‘freedom struggle’ to ‘liberate Goa’ from India comes to an end after police complaint, petitioner blames Goans for ‘lack of concern’

OpIndia Staff
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Two-year long ‘freedom struggle’ to ‘liberate Goa’ from India comes to an end after police complaint, petitioner blames Goans for ‘lack of concern’

Canada-based Goan ‘freedom fighter’ has shut down his online petition to ‘liberate’ Goa from ‘Indian invasion’ and ‘continued illegal occupation’. One Atanacio Lobo, who lives in Canada, had filed an online petition which will be addressed to UNGA to intervene and get India to ‘withdraw forces’ from Goa.

However, the online petition which garnered around 4,200 signatories, asking Goa to be a ‘free country’ came under the radar of Goa Police after the NGO ‘Revolutionary Indians’ (RI) lodged a complaint against the accused.

The Goa crime branch police have booked one person on sedition charges after the self-proclaimed freedom fighter ran an online petition to demanding to free Goa from “Indian invasion” and illegal occupation since 1961.

According to the reports, a complaint has been registered at the Mapusa police station in Goa against an individual named Atanasio Lobo and the other signatories to petition for attempting to break the unity and integrity of the nation by stating that Goa is not part of the country.

The complaint pointed out that the petition had attempted to provoke disloyalty towards the law established by Government of India.

Online petition to liberate Goa written to United Nations

The petition appealed to the current members of the United Nations General Assembly to review the subject matter of this petition – Goa’s Liberation – with a fresh perspective.

Online petition

“We, the indigenous people of Goa known as “Goans” from the Goa Territory of “Estado da India” displaced Goans from outside Goa, Goans living in exile in other foreign countries; Goan allies and sympathizing citizens of the world; hereby prayerfully petition the United Nation General Assembly and state that: The petitioners appeal to the current members of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to review the subject matter of this petition with a fresh perspective as the conscience keepers of world peace,” read the petition.

The petition further read, “Goa might not have attained sovereignty but that right does not lapse, a right that cannot be assumed by others, a right which is inherent to people. In this case, the right belongs to the Goans and has to be exercised consciously and freely within the framework established by the United Nations Charter.

Lobo accuses Goans for ‘not caring enough’

Following the legal proceedings initiated against him, Lobo updated his 2-year-old petition on 11th May 2020 and accused Goans of not caring enough for ‘freedom’ and said he was actively considering closing down the petition.

Atanasio Lobo’s update from 11th May 2020

Hours after this update, Lobo closed down the petition stating that despite two years, the petition did not garner even 5,000 signatures and hence he will be shutting it down. He chose not to mention that a sedition case has been filed against him, following which he chose to give up the ‘fight for freedom’ for Goa from ‘illegal Indian occupation’.

“Surely Goa cannot be separated from India now with all the debt it has accumulated with failing/failed tourism and mining being the only two industries as it walks towards being a bankrupt state. Also, Goa will never be without trouble with India if it becomes a separate state in the womb on India with cross border problems. A separate state of GOA therefore is just not possible and feasible,” he wrote as he gave up the struggle.

‘Freedom Fighter’ Lobo lives in Canada

According to Goa Herald, the Crime Branch has registered a complaint against the accused on charges of sedition under IPC section 124A after he for floating an online petition claiming that Goa has been invaded the territory of Portugal. The Crime Branch said they will summon all the signatories for questioning even though the list of signatories is huge in number.

The freedom fighter Lobo, who was supposed to liberate Goa by inspiring fellow Goans to wage a war against the country, however, lives in Canada. Lobo has also deleted his Twitter account and gone into hiding.

Speaking to Times of India, Crime Branch Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kumar Singh said that the accused Lobo is not presently staying in the country and only a few of the many who signed the petition reside in Goa.

PoK’s puppet ‘Prime Minister’ tells Imran Khan to ‘attack India’ with forces, and start weather reports on Delhi

OpIndia Staff
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PoK’s puppet ‘Prime Minister’ tells Imran Khan to ‘attack India’ with forces, and start weather reports on Delhi

On Tuesday, the Pakistan sponsored puppet ‘Prime Minister’ of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK), Raja Farooq Haider, has reportedly asked Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to launch an attack against India with its forces. Besides, he has also requested the State of Pakistan to start ‘weather reports on Delhi’ as a retaliatory measure against India’s decision to publish weather forecast of PoK.

Haider warned that verbal statements are fruitless and that Imran Khan must take strong measures against India. He suggested that Pakistan must move forward and attack India with its forces. Haider made this statement while talking to the media, following his visit to villages near the Line of Control (LOC). “It is your duty to protect your brothers and sisters”, he reiterated.

It is important to mention that the Pakistan army has created bunkers in these villagers to engage in ceasefire violations across the LOC. The POK Prime Minister had endorsed terror activities in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the past. He had also rebuked Imran Khan’s policies towards India and said that Kashmir would not gain Independence or join Pakistan even in the following 700 years due to such policies.

India tells Pakistan to hand over PoK

Recently, Ministry of External Affairs had earlier conveyed, in clear terms, that the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, including the areas of Gilgit and Baltistan, are an integral part of India by virtue of its fully legal and irrevocable accession. The MEA further stated that Pakistan should immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation. The statement by the MEA was made after the Supreme Court of Pakistan had ‘permitted’ conducting elections in the Gilgit-Baltistan area.

India updates weather reports on PoK

Claiming the rights of the Indian state over the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), the official website of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has started including the Gilgit-Baltistan region in its weather forecasts. The IMD has announced weather forecasts for Gilgit-Baltistan in the North-west subdivision. DD News, too, had followed the suit and incorporated Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, and other regions of PoK in its daily weather forecast reports.

Welcome to the Aarogya Setu App: A quick look at the app that is helping India fight Coronavirus and how it works

OpIndia Staff
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Welcome to the Aarogya Setu App: A quick look at the app that is helping India fight Coronavirus and how it works

The Government of India has launched the Aarogya Setu App to assist the fight against the Wuhan Coronavirus. The app has since then received global praise for the manner in which it empowers the administration to combat the pandemic. The app allows its users to provide information regarding their personal health which is then used to inform users about the risk they face of being infected with the virus. We at OpIndia decided to provide our users with a view into how it works, in case they had not installed the app already. The app has already been downloaded close to 10 crore times.

After the installation of the app, when one proceeds to open it, the app asks for certain permissions during the registration process. It asks for Bluetooth, location and data permissions. The Bluetooth and location permissions are necessary for the app to provide updates regarding any possible positive cases of the Coronavirus when they go out. Some concerns have been raised regarding data privacy issues, it was assured that the data is stored safely in a secure, encrypted manner. It was also pointed out that the ‘ethical hacker’ who had raised the privacy issues had not been able to provide any evidence that data had indeed been compromised. After the initial registration process has been completed, the app prompts its user to answer a few questions.

The Questions asked by the app

The app seeks information such as the name, gender, age, profession and whether the person has travelled to any foreign countries in the past month. After the information has been submitted, the app requests its users to confirm submission. After submission has been confirmed, the app prompts its user to take a self assessment test and provide answers to a set of questions that is asked. The self assessment test can be retaken by the user at any point of time they wish.

The self assessment test asks the user if they are suffering from symptoms such as cough, fever or difficulty in breathing. It also asks its users if they are a patient of Diabetes, Hypertension, Lung disease or Heart disease. Then it asks individuals if they have travelled internationally within the past 28-45 days. It also seeks to know if the individuals has come in close contact with a person who has tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus. Based on the answers provided, the test assesses the risk of the individual and informs the user of the same.

Once the test has been taken, the user arrives at the main interface of the app. Here, on the middle of the screen, the app provides its users with latest updates regarding any recent developments nearby. The user can set the radius at 500 m, 1 km, 2 km, 5 km and 10 km and based on the radius set by the user, the app will show the number of individuals who have installed the app within the radius, number of people who have taken the self assessment test, the number of people that had felt unwell, the number of Coronavirus positive cases within the radius and the number of people who were at risk. The radius is measured from the location of the user’s phone.

The Green colour indicates that the risk of infection is low for the user. Yellow colour on the screen indicates moderate risk on infection, orange indicates high risk of infection and red appears once the individual has tested positive for the virus.

Users of the Aarogya Setu App can also get updates about the Coronavirus situation all the states. They can get the cumulative and the daily graphs, the number of confirmed cases, recoveries and deaths across the country. A state-wise breakup of the data is also available and users can get the graphs for the respective states as well.

The Coronavirus graph of the state of West Bengal is a bit unusual. On an unrelated note, healthcare professionals and others have accused the Mamata Banerjee-led government of fudging data and the Inter-Ministerial Central Team went so far as to provide evidence of the same.

The daily version of the Coronavirus graph shows that the data for a day or two is missing or was not updated immediately, or it is also possible that the cases for that day was added to the next day.

Users of the Aarogya Setu App can also get information regarding e-passes and if an e-pass has been issued to the said user, then it will show up on the e-pass section of the app. In that section, FAQs regarding e-passes are also answered.

There is also a media section on the app where users can watch informative videos on how to boost one’s immunity, advice from doctors, learn to make masks for oneself and some motivational videos.

Users can spot a red hazard symbol right at the top of the app beside the share symbol. On clicking that symbol, the user is told that data on the app is always stored on the individual’s phone. However, in case the individual’s sample has been collected for testing or the individual has tested positive for the virus, then the individual ought to share the data with secure government servers for contact tracing and related purposes. If one wishes to change the language on the app, he or she can do so by clicking on the alphabet symbol on the top right of the page and choosing from a list of 11 languages apart from English.

Towards the bottom of the ‘Your Status’ section, users can also find answers on questions regarding privacy, and ‘what’ and ‘why’ of the app. It provides detailed answers on every question related to privacy and answers as to why the app requires Bluetooth to be on at all times, location sharing to always and other questions related to privacy and other matters. Other than these, the FAQ section regarding the app also informs its readers on why they should use the app.

The Aarogya Setu app has earned great praise from numerous quarters for the help it provides in combating the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. It has been lauded by the World Bank. Aarogya Setu app also contains a list of helpline numbers for every State in India. After a certain ‘ethical hacker’ had claimed to find privacy issues with the app, the government had made it clear that the ‘hacker’ was not able to provide evidence of any. Later, a Singaporean hacker had also given the app a thumbs up for its data security features.

Centre formulates protocols for Aarogya Setu App’s data management, uses will be able to request deletion of their data

OpIndia Staff
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Centre formulates protocols for Aarogya Setu App’s data management, uses will be able to request deletion of their data

The users of the Aarogya Setu app will now be able to delete the data stored by the app. The Central govt has informed that it has issued a set of protocols to regulate the definition, collection, processing, and storage of data by the contact trapping app. Data includes the user’s name, mobile number, age, gender, profession, and travel history.

As per reports, Centre issued ‘Aarogya Setu Emergency Data Access and Knowledge Sharing Protocol, 2020’ which will be applicable from the next month. It will also increase the period of retention of such data from earlier six days as specified in the app’s privacy policy to 180 days.

The Central government’s protocol said, “There is a need to ensure efficient data and information sharing among the different Departments and Ministries of the Government of India as well as those in the State/Union Territory Governments.”

Centre ensures that data will not be shared with any third party

As per the reports, the centre specifically said that the data belonging to those who are infected or at high risk of being infected or those who allegedly came in contact with someone infected is collected and managed by the National Informatics Centre. This includes demographic data, contact, self-assessment, and location data. The government ensures that it will not share the data with any third party until it is extremely necessary to formulate or implement health responses.

Demographic data will remain until the protocol is in force

Centre informed that the contact, location, and self-assessment data of individuals will be permanently deleted in 180 days but demographic data will remain until protocol remains in force. If individual requests for deletion of its data then it will be deleted within 30 days of the request.

The protocol allowed data to be shared with different agencies of the Central government and state government in the “De-identified” form in order to assist in the formulation of crucial health response. Those responsible for processing the data in a fair manner will not store it for more than 180 days.

However, the protocol said that the NIC will maintain a list of such agencies with details of when such sharing will start people who have access as well as the categories of the data.

French hacker alleged data compromise

This came after a French hacker named Elliot Alderson claim that the privacy of 90 million Indians is at stake, owing to a “security issue” in the Aarogya Setu app. He informed that he was contacted by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) and the IT Ministry regarding the issue. But when the Aarogya setu replied to his allegations, they had turned out to be normal features of the app and not any security threat.

He had alleged that data from multiple locations can be fetched by changing the latitude or longitude, but as the app administrators clarified, that it is not a security threat, as it is the same as someone calling to people at different locations and asking the data in those locations. All this data is already in the public domain, and it does not compromise any personal data. The ‘hacker’ had said that someone being able to collect data on coronavirus spread in various places is a security issue, but the fact is that only the number of positive cases can be obtained from the app, it does not disclose any personal data of any user. Moreover, such data is already available in the public domain, there is no privacy issue in disclosing the number of Coronavirus cases in a given place. Aarogya Setu app had also informed that API calls for data go through a Web Application Firewall, and bulk API calls are not possible to harvest data automatically.

The twitter handle of Aarogy App clarified that the app fetches the location of a user, as mentioned in its privacy policy, only during registration, self-assessment, and voluntary contact tracing. The app further reiterated that the data of a user’s location is stored in a secure, encrypted manner.

Madhya Pradesh: Cop fined ₹5000 after he pulls off an ‘Ajay Devgn’ stunt on two moving cars in a viral video

OpIndia Staff
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Madhya Pradesh: Cop fined ₹5000 after he pulls off an ‘Ajay Devgn’ stunt on two moving cars in a viral video

On Monday, a police sub-inspector, Manoj Yadav, a sub-inspector in Narsinghgarh post in Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh, was reportedly fined ₹5,000 after he pulled off a ‘Ajay Devgn’ stunt in a viral video.

The cop can be seen standing on over two moving cars, similar to the stunt popularised by Ajay Devgan in his movies. The sub-inspector can be spotted in his shades and police uniform and has voluntarily recorded the stunt video. On looking closely, one can see that the Honda Amaze cars are devoid of any registration number. Besides, he can be seen cheering and gleefully waving at the camera. He had placed newspapers on the roof of the cars to put his feet, probably not to scratch the cars, which indicates that they are brand new cars. The signature tune of the Devgn starter movie Singham has been used as the background music of the video.

Manoj Yadav has been warned by the Superintendent of Police (Damoh), Anil Sharma, from repeating such stunts in the future as it can send a wrong message to the youngsters. Besides, a fine of ₹5000 was levied against the cop, following the directions of the Inspector General (Sagar Range) Anil Sharma.

Standing on two moving vehicles is one of the most well-known stunts performed by Bollywood star Ajay Devgn. He had first done the stunt in his debut film Phool Aur Kante released in 1991, where he had not only stood on two moving motorcycles but also had done leg split on the parallelly moving bikes. In the movies of the Golmal series, he had stood on two moving cars, and in the movie Son of Sardar, he had repeated the stunt on two running horses.

In 2013, Hollywood star Jean-Claude Van Damme had performed the stunt on two moving Volvo trucks, as a promotional film known as the “Epic Split” for the automobile giant.

Something big at 8 PM? Netizens curious for PM Modi’s 8 PM address to nation after HM Amit Shah endorsed

OpIndia Staff
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Something big at 8 PM? Netizens curious for PM Modi’s 8 PM address to nation after HM Amit Shah endorsed

A day after Prime Minister Modi chaired a high-level meeting with various chief ministers of states and union territories, over the lockdown induced by the coronavirus spread, he is set to address the nation at 8 PM on Tuesday. The announcement holds significance as India has entered into its last week of Lockdown 3 and uncertainty looms high about the fate of lockdown amidst the raging coronavirus pandemic.

The above development was shared by the official Twitter handle of Prime Minister’s office which said that PM Modi will be addressing the nation this evening at 8 PM.

Shortly thereafter, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also took to Twitter to announce that PM Modi will be addressing the nation at 8 PM and urged people to watch PM’s briefing. Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s exhortation to watch PM Modi’s briefing fueled speculations and rumours on the Internet about the possibilities of what might in store for the citizens sheltered in homes for approximately 2 months now.

Shah’s appeal to people for watching PM’s Modi’s broadcast this evening may have piqued the curiosity among the masses, especially after the Home Minister was in the spotlight for the unfounded rumours of his supposedly deteriorating health.

One of the Twitter users was intrigued that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has endorsed and appealed people to watch PM Modi’s address to the nation later in the evening. “This is interesting,” he said while quoting Shah’s tweet.

Others speculated if something big is in the offing to warrant Home Minister’s insistence to the public to watch PM Modi’s forthcoming briefing to the nation. Some conjectured if a massive stimulus package to shore up the businesses and alleviate the financial woes of vulnerable people that have been paralysed by the crippling lockdown will be announced by PM Modi.

Still others are hoping that PM Modi will announce easing of restrictions and relieving people of the miseries caused by the coronavirus induced lockdown.

Earlier too Amit Shah has urged people to tune in to PM Modi’s address

Perhaps people were curious about Home Minister’s tweet after rumours about his health but this was not the first time Amit Shah had taken to Twitter to urge citizens to tune in to PM Modi’s address to nation.

Just before the first phase of lockdown was announced, Amit Shah had urged people to listen to PM Modi. Even before coronavirus pandemic hit India, HM Amit Shah had regularly urged everyone to tune in to listen to PM Modi.

PM Modi’s consultation with Chief Ministers

Earlier yesterday, PM Modi called for adopting a balanced strategy of mitigating the risk of reviving the coronavirus spread while at the same time starting the phased resumption of the economy. In a fresh round of consultation with the chief ministers of states and union territories, PM Modi discussed ways of strengthening the country’s containment strategy for COVID-19 and revving up the economy in a calibrated manner as the 54-day lockdown draws to an end. According to the sources, PM Modi also agreed to partially decentralise the nation’s approach to handling the coronavirus crisis, with state chief ministers being given wide latitude to crank up their economies while ensuring that there ain’t a second wave of coronavirus infection.

‘Journalist’ Swati Chaturvedi tweets about ‘plot to assassinate PM Modi’, deletes it after netizens demand investigation

OpIndia Staff
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‘Journalist’ Swati Chaturvedi tweets about ‘plot to assassinate PM Modi’, deletes it after netizens demand investigation

Swati Chaturvedi, an abusive troll masquerading as a journalist, on Monday took to Twitter to claim that people of the country will soon be hearing about the unmasking of a plot to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The self-proclaimed journalist, often known for her abusive rants on Twitter, hinted at some sort of a plan to assassinate Prime Minister Modi amidst the coronavirus pandemic across the country.

Swati Chaturvedi’s now deleted tweet

Soon after this tweet, which talks about a serious thing like assassination of a prime minister of a country, netizens wondered if she knows more and has obtained any information from her ‘sources’. Twitterati tried to alert the authorities and demand that Chaturvedi be also be investigated in case she knows more about the said assassination plot she has predicted.

Another social media user urged the Home Ministry for a detailed investigation while stating that India cannot have another assassination similar to Rajiv Gandhi.

A demand was also made to arrest Swati Chaturvedi to inquire about the plot to assassinate Prime Minister Modi.

Delhi-based lawyer Advocate Chandni Shah has also filed a police complaint against her and demanded her arrest under the UAPA.

Abusive troll Swati Chaturvedi, a known member of the Congress ecosystem, has been caught several times peddling fake news and conspiracy theories on social media to target Prime Minister Modi.

Glenmark starts phase-3 clinical trial for potential coronavirus drug ‘Favipiravir’ in India

OpIndia Staff
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Glenmark starts phase-3 clinical trial for potential coronavirus drug ‘Favipiravir’ in India

On Tuesday, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said that it has initiated Phase-3 clinical trials of antiviral tablet Favipiravir, a potential drug for the Coronavirus after it received approval from the country’s drug regulator last month.

According to the reports, Glenmark is the first company in India to initiate Phase-3 clinical trials on Favipiravir for coronavirus patients in the country. Favipiravir is manufactured under the brand name Avigan by Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corporation. It was approved for use as an anti-flu drug in the country in 2014.

The drug company said that they have already started the clinical trials and more than 10 leading government and private hospitals in India are being enrolled for the study. It estimates the study completion by July or August this year.

Favipiravir is an anti-viral agent that selectively and potently inhibits the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of RNA viruses, like the Novel Coronavirus. Favipiravir undergoes an intracellular phosphoribosylation to be an active form, favipiravir-RTP (favipiravir ribofuranosyl-5′-triphosphate), which is recognized as a substrate by RdRp, and inhibits the RNA polymerase activity. Favipiravir is effective against a wide range of types and subtypes of influenza viruses, including strains resistant to existing anti-influenza drugs.

It may be noted that favipiravir shows anti-viral activities against other RNA viruses such as arenaviruses, bunyaviruses and filoviruses, all of which are known to cause fatal hemorrhagic fever. These unique anti-viral profiles will make favipiravir a potentially promising drug for specifically untreatable RNA viral infections.

To be commercialised under the name ‘FabiFlu’

The company said it has successfully developed API and the formulations for the product through its in house research and development team. The molecule will be marketed under the brand name ‘FabiFlu’ if commercialised in India.

Dr Monika Tandon, vice president and head of clinical development said, “Several health and medical experts, both in and outside of Glenmark, are eager to see the effect that Favipiravir has on COVID-19 cases. We believe the study results will be significant as there is currently no effective treatment for the virus”.

She added that the data they get from these trials will point us in a clearer direction with regard to coronavirus treatment and management.

“We believe the study results will be significant as there is currently no effective treatment for the virus. The data we get from these trials will point us in a clearer direction with regard to COVID-19 treatment and management,” Tandon said.

As per the approved clinical trial protocol, 150 subjects with mild to moderate coronavirus will be randomised in the study in a 1:1 ratio to Favipiravir with standard supportive care or standalone standard supportive care. The duration of the treatment is a maximum of 14 days and the total study duration will be a maximum of 28 days from randomisation.

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