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Gujarat Principal Health Secretary Dr Jayanti Ravi, sidelined now, was once handpicked by Sonia Gandhi for NAC under UPA 1

Nirwa Mehta
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Gujarat Principal Health Secretary Dr Jayanti Ravi, sidelined now, was once handpicked by Sonia Gandhi for NAC under UPA 1

Since Gujarat was grappled in the Chinese coronavirus outbreak, the bureaucrats had been seemingly running the show. While Amdavad Municipal Corporation Commissioner Vijay Nehra was leading from the front with giving regular updates via social media, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Dr Jayanti Ravi was addressing the media to give status updates.

However, on Tuesday, a major reshuffle took place where Pankaj Kumar, ACS (Revenue) was made overall in-charge of the COVID-19 related action to be taken by the Health and Family Welfare Department.

Who is Dr Jayanti S Ravi?

Dr Jayanti S Ravi is a scientist with a master’s degree in nuclear physics from University of Madras. The 1991 Gujarat cadre IAS officer was the District Collector of Godhra when the 2002 carnage took place. On 27 February 2002, 58 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya were set on fire inside a train compartment by a Muslim mob in Godhra. Following the carnage, widespread communal riots took place in Gujarat. In July 2002, Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat has transferred her out of Godhra. Back then, she had won accolades in media for the effective handling of the communal tension.

In August 2004, she was handpicked by Congress President and UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi and was deputed to the National Advisory Council which was headed by Sonia Gandhi. She was deputed at the UPA-led NAC till July 2007, i.e. for three years.

National Advisory Council

The UPA set up the National Advisory Council (NAC) to advise the then Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh and was chaired by Sonia Gandhi for much of the UPA’s tenure. 10, Janpath sneakily tried to be the authoritative figure by creating the farce called the NAC. The NAC was formed on 4th June 2004, soon after Dr Singh took oath, to advice the PM on. Sonia Gandhi served as its chairperson. Many believed that the NAC was the unofficial Prime Minister’s Office. The NAC also drafted the controversial Communal Violence Bill, officially referred to as the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2011, would have proved to be one of the most disastrous laws if it were to be enacted. It assumed that only religious or linguistic minorities and people from the Scheduled Castes and Tribes could be the victims of communal violence conveniently ignoring all ground realities.

Coronavirus controversy

In April, 2020, Gujarat Health Commissioner Jai Prakash Shivahare raised concerns over the use of an application DrTecho to access data of COVID-19 patients. As per a report by Ahmedabad Mirror, Ravi had been promoting this app in her media briefings for registration of private doctors and COVID-19 patients. In his letter to state government, Shivhare said that an MOU with the Gujarat government needs to be in place to let the company access private and confidential data of patients.

The app has been in use by the health department since two years now. It was installed on the phones of ASHA workers to collect data in villages. DrTecho was supplied by a Gandhinagar based tech firm Argusoft.

Argusoft

Gandhinagar-based Argusoft is owned by Ravi Gopalan. He is Dr Jayanti Ravi’s husband. The collection of COVID-19 patients’ data was not in scope of DrTecho and to include that, an MOU to that effect would be needed with the state government. The fact that Dr Jayanti Ravi was monitoring and strategising the control of coronavirus pandemic in the state as Principal Health Secretary, raised eyebrows. It is also unclear whether any tender was issued for the same two years back.

Seasoned bureaucrats brought in

After the coronavirus condition in Gujarat seemed to be going out of hand, seasoned senior bureaucrats were brought in to take charge of the situation. As of 7 May 2020, Gujarat has clocked in 6,625 coronavirus positive cases, of which over 4,500 are from Ahmedabad alone. The state has seen 1,500 recoveries and almost 400 deaths.

Pankaj Kumar, IAS, who is the ACS (Revenue) will now be given the charge of coronavirus strategy in Gujarat. In a way, Dr Jayanti Ravi will now be overshadowed by Kumar. Former Municipal Commissioner, Mukesh Kumar, who is currently heading Gujarat Maritime Board, has been made in-charge Commissioner of Ahmedabad after Ahmedabad Commissioner went into 14-day isolation after reportedly coming in contact with COVID-19 positive person. And ACS (Environment), Rajiv Gupta, will now be overlooking the coronavirus pandemic in Ahmedabad, the worst affected city in Gujarat.

Ten people dead, more than 5,000 fall ill due to styrene gas leak at LG Polymers plant in Vishakapatnam, gas contained and FIR filed

OpIndia Staff
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Ten people dead, more than 5,000 fall ill due to styrene gas leak at LG Polymers plant in Vishakapatnam, gas contained and FIR filed

Ten people, including a child, have died and over 5,000 have reportedly fallen ill after gas leaked overnight from a chemical plant of a multinational firm in Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

According to the reports, a chemical gas leakage was reported early morning on Thursday at LG Polymers factory in Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. More than 200 have been admitted to the hospitals following the leak of styrene gas from an LG Polymers facility located near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

After the report of gas leak poured in, police and ambulance were called on the spot. The leakage reportedly happened at around 3 AM near the Naiduthota area which is close to Gopalapatnam. The people present in the vicinity were taken to hospital after they complained of burning sensation in eyes and breathing difficulties.

More than 5,000 affected, people fell unconscious

At least three surrounding villages are being evacuated and house-to-house checks are on. Reportedly, more than a 5,000 people in five surrounding villages, in a three km radius, have been reported sick.

According to eyewitnesses, people were found unconscious in lanes, ditches and near houses. Efforts were underway to plug the leak. The incident created panic in a 3 km radius area. The maximum impact of the gas was in a 1-1.5 km radius area, but the smell of the gas was present up to 2-2.5 km.

Soon after the matter came to light, local police rushed to the area and launched evacuation of the locals. Hundreds of people were admitted to private and government hospitals with the help of police and locals. The NDRF and SDRF teams have been deployed in the area and a rescue operation is under way. Cops have asked the people to come out of the homes in the impact and move to safer areas.

Styrene gas contained, FIR filed

City Police Commissioner RK Meena confirmed that the gas was styrene. He said that the gas leak has been neutralised and NDRF team has reached the spot to control the situation. The gas leaked from a tank containing around 2000 metric ton of styrene in the plant. The police Commissioner also stated that an FIR had been registered in the case.

Styrene, also known as ethenylbenzene, vinylbenzene, and phenylethene, is an organic compound, which is a derivative of benzene. Although it is an oily liquid, it evaporates easily. Styrene is a “known carcinogen”, especially in case of eye contact, but also in case of skin contact, of ingestion and of inhalation. Styrene is largely metabolized into styrene oxide in humans, which is toxic, mutagenic, and possibly carcinogenic. Styrene has been described by US health authorities as “a suspected toxin to the gastrointestinal tract, kidney, and respiratory system, among others”. Although it being carcinogenic has not been confirmed beyond doubt, some studies have pointed toward the relationship between occupational exposure to styrene and cancer. The U.S. National Toxicology Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has determined that styrene is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen”.

Styrene is used to make latex, synthetic rubber, and polystyrene resins. The LG Polymers uses it to manufacture polystyrene and its co-polymers. It is used to make plastic packaging, disposable cups and containers, insulation, and other products.

Andhra Pradesh CM to visit Vishakapatnam

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy enquired about the gas leak incident in Visakhapatnam and directed the district officials to take every possible step to save lives and bring the situation under control.

A statement from the CMO office said, “Due to a massive gas leak from LG Polymers plant in Venkatapuram created panic in the wee hours on Thursday, where many fell ill and being treated at King George Hospital.”

The Chief Minister is expected to leave for Vishakapatnam and will visit the hospital where the affected were being treated.

Meanwhile, the LG Chemicals, which owns the Visakhapatnam plant operator LG Polymers India, said, “The gas leak situation is now under control and we are exploring all ways to provide speedy treatment for those who suffer from inhaling the leaked gas”.

After relentlessly repeating the lie that lynched Sadhus were not Hindus, The Wire silently updates its report to admit they were Hindus

OpIndia Staff
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After relentlessly repeating the lie that lynched Sadhus were not Hindus, The Wire silently updates its report to admit they were Hindus

The ‘secular-liberal’ media, which often resorts to push false propaganda to target Hindus across the country, has been relentlessly attempting to create a narrative that no Hindus can be a victim of communal violence in the country.

Continuing similar propaganda, the left-leaning website ‘The Wire‘, known for its anti-India propaganda, had tried to dilute the incident of lynching of two Hindu Sadhus and their driver on 16th April 2020 in Palghar, Maharashtra by claiming that both the deceased and the perpetrators belonged to denotified tribes and had declared that it was not communal violence.

In its report, The Wire had peddled fake news by stating the two deceased persons – 70-year old Kalpvrush Giri and 35-year old Sushil Giri belonged to Gosavi Nomadic Tribe community and their brutal lynching had no religious angle as they belonged to the tribal community just as Christian-converted tribes of the Palghar. The report by The Wire insinuated that they were not Hindus and not sadhus.

The Wire report on Palghar lynching

“Kalpavruksh Giri, the 70-year-old victim, had worn a saffron gamcha around his shoulders and Twitter was quick to identify him as a “Hindu” and “sadhu”. However, social activists and Gosavi community leaders say that two of the deceased belonged to the nomadic tribal community…,” the report said.

The report had attributed the claim of the tribal identity of the sadhus to no one other than “social activists and Gosavi community leaders”. The report carried no comments by either the victims’ families or the Juna Akhara.

Siddharth Vardharajan calls victims as people from ‘nomadic tribe

According to journalist Swati Goel Sharma, The Wire’s founding editor Siddharth Varadarajan, speaking to Newslaundry, had also claimed that sadhus as ‘people belonging to nomadic tribes’.

Sharma has been pursuing the issue since she first pointed it out that how these portals were trying to peddle the narrative that the sadhus were not Hindus. She was even blocked by The Wire’s journalist Sukanya Shantha when she had raised the issue.

In a recent interview to Manisha Pande of Newslaundry, Vardarajan repeated the misinformation that sadhus lynched in Palghar were Adivasi tribals.

The Newslaundry anchor, who often lectures others on media ethics, did not even dare to correct the founding editor of The Wire.

The Print peddles misinformation on Palghar lynching

The Print, which has a history of absolving crimes of non-Hindus, also resorted to spreading false propaganda on Palghar lynching by reporting that the two Hindu sadhus belonged to Gosavi tribe while attributing this information to no source.

An excerpt from a report by Theprint.in

“The sadhus – 70 year old Kaklpvrush Giri and 5-year-old Sushil Giri – belonged to the Gosavi nomadic tribe,” reported The Print.

The two deceased Sadhus belonged to Brahmin community

As ‘liberal-secular media resorted to spread misinformation regarding the identity of the Sadhus, several independent media organisations published ground report refuting reports that the two Sadhus belonged to tribal community.

The ground reports by Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar and news channel Aaj Tak show that the two sadhus were born in Hindu families of Brahmin castes in Uttar Pradesh. Both left their families before their teenage to become Hindu ascetics.

The Bhaskar and Aaj Tak reports are based on interviews with the victims’ families and carry their video statements and photographs.

The Wire corrects its report after peddling misinformation

Nearly a month after carrying fake news on the identity of the victims to absolve the crimes of the brutal mob violence in Palghar, The Wire has silently edited its report claiming that the two Sadhus belonged to Brahmin families contrary to their earlier report claiming they were Gosavi tribal community.

The clarification issued by the Wire.

The clarification reads, “In the light of news reports from Uttar Pradesh that identified the two Sadhus as Brahmins from Uttar Pradesh, the headline and text of this story has been revised to correct the earlier claim made by Gosavi comminity activists that the two deceased sadhus belonged to their community of denotified tribals.” They also claimed that the Palghar police had not provided them any details of the lunching victims.

The Print, however, yet to issue a clarification on the misinformation they had peddled pertaining to Palghar incident.

Palghar Mob Lynching incident

On 16th April 2020, two Sadhus associated with the Juna Akhara, 70-year-old Kalpavrishka Giri Maharaj, and 35-year-old Sushil Giri Maharaj along with their driver 30-year-old Nilesh Telgadewere were on their way from Mumbai to Gujarat to give Samadhi to another Sadhu. At Gadakchinchale village, a wild and frenzied crowd of over more than 100 people attacked them. The villagers deemed them as thieves and started attacking them. The police claim that their team which had rushed to the spot to rescue the 70-year-old man also came under the attack of the violent mob.

But later videos emerged which completely debunked the claim of police, as it was seen that the sadhus were in the custody of the police, but the police personnel handed them over to the mob. The mob then proceeded them to beat them to death in front of the policemen.

Later, it was also revealed that the killing of the Sadhus was intentional and it was done due to political reasons and it was also suspected that Christian missionaries backed by NCP, left parties were behind the lynching of two Hindu Sadhus.

Hyderabad: AIMIM worker Shakeel Khan arrested for raping a minor Dalit girl

OpIndia Staff
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Hyderabad: AIMIM worker Shakeel Khan arrested for raping a minor Dalit girl

Shakeel Khan, an AIMIM party worker has been arrested in Hyderabad’s Chaderghat area for raping a minor Dalit girl. As per reports, the crime was reported on May 6.

As per reports, Shakeel Khan is a member of Asaduddin Owaisi’s party All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) in the Malakpet constituency area. He is allegedly a resident of the Kamal Nagar area. Khan had allegedly lured the minor Dalit girl, who lives in the same locality, and had raped her. Khan had then threatened the girl not to report the incident to anyone.

The 16-year-old girl had narrated the ordeal to her guardians who had approached the police. As per reports, they have also presented the birth certificate and other documents to prove that she is a minor.

The police had acted promptly and had arrested Shakeel Khan. He has been charged under the relevant sections of the POCSO, and SC/ST (PoA) Acts. He was presented in court by the police.

M Ramesh, the DCP of East Zone, Hyderabad, had shared the information regarding the arrest, without naming Shakeel Khan.

Shakeel Khan has been sent to judicial remand. Reports say that he is a party worker in the Malakpet constituency area and actively participates in AIMIM activities.

Assam: Muslim neighbours abuse, threaten to kill a Hindu woman in Nazira district for watching TV during Ramzan

OpIndia Staff
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Assam: Muslim neighbours abuse, threaten to kill a Hindu woman in Nazira district for watching TV during Ramzan

In a shocking incident, two locals, Samiruddin Ali and Mobidul Rahman attacked a poor Hindu woman in Assam’s Nazira district, for ‘watching TV in her house during the month of Ramzan’. The Muslim neighbours prohibited the woman from watching TV, citing Ramzan. After this, they allegedly gathered in large numbers with sharp weapons and started assaulting the woman. They attempted to murder her by strangulating her.

The incident has been reported from Nazira, a small town in Sivsagar district, about 310 kilometres from the state capital, Dispur. 

Hindu tea stall owner assaulted by Muslim neighbours in Assam’s Nazira district

In what transpired on May 1, Jahnobi Gogoi, a tea shop owner, was watching TV in her house after she returned from work. Suddenly, Samiruddin Ali and Mobidul Rahman began to bang her door. When she opened the door, the duo barged and started abusing her for turning on her television which they claimed was ‘disturbing’ them as they proceeded to offer Namaz during the month of Ramzan.

Defaming her by calling her a “whore” and “prostitute”, the duo also insulted her for being a Hindu. The two men warned the victim of dire consequences if she did not abide by the Islamic diktats rolled out by the local Muslims during the month of Ramzan. The situation became worse when the verbal fight took the shape of an assault with one of the accused trying to strangulate her. Other Muslims of the area soon gathered with sharp weapons and started threatening the victim’s family that they would burn Jahnobi alive and dispose of her dead body on the railway tracks if she did not follow the diktat. 

Bajrang Dal assists the victim’s family

OpIndia got in touch with the district secretary of the Bajrang Dal, Bijoy Das, who along with other activists reached Jahnobi’s house after getting the news fo the incident and offered assistance to the family. He had also helped the victim to lodge an FIR against the perpetrators, for which the police were earlier reluctant. He alleged that the police have attempted to lighten the case by imposing lenient IPC sections on the accused.

It is pertinent to note here that after the radicals left, Jahnobi had approached the police to lodge an FIR, but the police had discouraged her from lodging a complaint, instead asked her to agree for an out-of-court settlement.

Police reluctant

The police claimed that there were discrepancies in the details mentioned in the victim’s application and what she communicated to the police verbally. Here the Bajrang Dal District Secretary Bijoy Das intervened and submitted video footage and other evidence to the police. The police at first advised Das to delete the videos as they said that in case the videos go viral on social media it would lead to the fear of spreading communal tension in the area.

However, after much persuasion, the police did lodge an FIR against the culprits, albeit under diluted provisions of Indian Penal Code section 448, 354(A), 325 and 294.

Copy of the application submitted by Rashtriya Bajrang Dal (L), victim’s wound marks (R)

Local organisations seek justice for the victim

After the news gained traction, a local human rights body appealed to Assam DGP and National Commission for Women to look into the matter and apply the proper IPC sections related to attempt to murder, hate speech, molestation in the FIR.

Letter to the Assam Police

When OpIndia got in touch with the Nazira police, they confirmed that a case has been registered and appropriate action is being taken against the accused.

This is however, not the first time Jahnobi’s family has been targetted. It is being said that Jahnobi’s family has continuously been in the radar of the local Muslims in the area. Actually Jahnobi is a Hindu who married a Muslim. After marriage, the husband voluntarily converted to a Hindu. Since then, they have been facing the ire of the local Muslims.

Local Muslims in Nazira getting support from Congress leaders

For the uninitiated, the Nazira district is a Congress bastion in the state, with its local MLA being Debabrata Saikia, son of the late Congress leader Hiteswar Saikia, ex-CM of Assam. Though this area currently comes under Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency, from where BJP’s Topon Kumar Gogoi is an MP, before him, from 1991 to 2014, Congress Bijoy Krishna Handique was the MP for 23 consecutive years from here. Here, the local Muslims share a deep rapport with the Congress leaders and enjoy their protection.

Local media reports stated that Sameeruddin is originally a Bangladeshi and his name was not mentioned in the NRC. Since then, he has become more agitated and bitter towards the Hindus.

OpIndia tried to contact the local MP for his comments on this incident but could not speak to him.

Raghav Bahl’s promoted company, which has now bought Raghav Bahl’s website TheQuint, was bought by Raghav Bahl 2 years ago

OpIndia Staff
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Raghav Bahl’s promoted company, which has now bought Raghav Bahl’s website TheQuint, was bought by Raghav Bahl 2 years ago

Past few hours, the Internet was abuzz with claims that Raghav Bhal had sold off his website to Haldiram’s. There were reports that the company was going through tough time after it sent 45 of its 200+ employees on ‘leave without pay’ for indefinite time citing tough financial times along with added pressure of coronavirus crisis. However, this is what has actually happened.

In late 2018, TheQuint founder Raghav Bahl and his wife Ritu Kapur acquired controlling stake (66.42%) in a listed firm called Gaurav Mercantiles for Rs 5.64 crore. As per the Economic Times report, they spend another Rs 2 crore on the open offer. The acquisition price was Rs 42.5 per share. Bahl’s acquisition of the ship-breaking company raised curiosity and the July 2019 disclosure that the ship-breaking company may get into media business by acquiring the firm of own promoter group led a surge to the share price. In July 2019, the share prices of Gaurav Mercantile hit the 52-week high of Rs 151 per share. On 6th May 2020, Gaurav Mercantile’s share price closed at Rs 250/share.

Gaurav Mercantiles was earlier engaged in ship breaking, trading and investment but had been concentrating on ship breaking for years now. The ET report further stated that on 17 July 2019, the new board members of Gaurav Mercantiles would decide whether the firm would buy stake in Quintillion Media which runs the online portal The Quint. The new board members of Gaurav Mercantiles who were to decide fate of The Quint were the original promoters of The Quint, Raghav Bahl and Ritu Kapur. So essentially, Raghav Bahl and wife had bought a company, which will now decide to buy another company, which was already owned by Raghav Bahl and wife.

Haldiram’s buys The Quint?

Not quite. At least not literally. As per the VC Circle report, Elara Capital Plc, a UK-based investment bank and Delhi-based Agarwal family of Haldiram snacks own convertible warrants in Gaurav Mercantiles. Raghav Bahl, through direct investments or related entities will retain majority stake in Gaurav Mercantiles after the convertible warrants are converted into equity. Haldiram’s owners may get upto 17-18% stake in Quintillion Media while Elara Capital Plc may get upto 10% equity stake. The equity deal for Gaurav Mercantiles buying Quintillion Media is reportedly valued at Rs 12 crore. The paid-up capital of Quintillion Media is Rs 85 crore and the company was known to be burning cash.

Raghav Bahl and web of investments

In May 2019, Bahl was under the Enforcement Directorate scanner for alleged non-disclosure of foreign assets, a property bought in London, UK for 31 million pounds. The Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), a police FIR equivalent, was lodged by the federal agency in the month of June after taking cognisance of an Income Tax Department complaint against him and others. The I-T Department had filed a charge sheet against Bahl before a court in Meerut under the provisions of the anti-black money law or the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act of 2015.

On October 11, 2018, the IT officials had searched The Quint owner’s premises. Sleuths from the department had raided his residence in Noida to search for documents and other pieces of evidence related to the case. Raj Kumar Modi, in an admission to the tax officials under oath, had alleged Bahl of using his shell company to launder money and evade tax. Modi is the Managing Director of PMC Fincorp, a shell company, which Bahl had allegedly invested money in. Modi has reportedly made a statement to IT officials where he claimed that Bahl’s chartered accountant had given him ₹100 crores in cash “to convert into white”.

According to reports, Raghav Bahl and his wife have invested ₹3.03 crore in the penny stock company PMC Fincorp LTD. In spite of the company not indulging in any trade activity, the price of the shares shot up to ₹848/share in the next two years from the initial price of ₹5.50/share when Bahl had bought them. Bahl had then sold his shares following which the share prices appear to have crashed again. However, in a press release, Bahl had denied the allegations levelled against him. He has asserted that every transaction had been fully disclosed and assessed to tax.

Raghav Bahl and Network18

In fact, even earlier media venture of Bahl, Network 18, was a mesh of investments, cross investments and borrowing instruments. In 1993, Bahl founded Network18 which soon grew into one of the largest media houses in India. A June 2014 report by LiveMint states that in May 2014, Reliance Industries Limited, took over Network18 by paying Rs 4,000 crore to take complete control.

In 2012, Mukesh Ambani’s RIL had bought debentures, debt investment in Network18 which were convertible to equity shares at any time within 10 years. The debt investment by Reliance infused the cash into the company by at that time. Next two years, Bahl spent in laying off employees and closing loss-making ventures. Two-and-a-half-years after the debt investment, RIL converted the debentures into equity to take full control.

An NGO writes to govt asking for study into the use of Ganga water in treating Coronavirus, Shekhar Gupta’s The Print makes it Modi Govt’s proposal

OpIndia Staff
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An NGO writes to govt asking for study into the use of Ganga water in treating Coronavirus, Shekhar Gupta’s The Print makes it Modi Govt’s proposal

Continuing its usual antics of spreading misinformation against the Modi government, the controversial news website ‘The Print’ on Wednesday resorted to peddling false information regarding Modi government’s alleged request to ICMR to conduct research on a theory that Gangajal, or water from Ganga river, could possibly cure coronavirus.

The Print, which has a notorious history of publishing fake news, reported that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has turned down the “Narendra Modi government’s request” to carry out a research on a theory that Gangajal could be a possible cure for the Chinese pandemic.

The left-wing website claimed that a ‘source’ in the ICMR informed them that the research institute has refused to get involved as it is focussing on the coronavirus battle and does not want to waste time on other research.

Misleading information from the Print

The Print, in its headline, claimed that it was Modi government which wants a study on Gangajal. However, it contradicted it’s own report as it wrote that the “request” from the Ministry of Jal Shakti to conduct “further research” was sent after it received a proposal by an NGO, Atulya Ganga.

The Print again quotes an imaginary source from the ICMR, without even naming his identity, raising suspicion on the authenticity of the claims made by the website.

According to the report, in its letter last month, NGO Atulya Ganga had cited the presence of a ‘ninja virus’’ called a bacteriophage, in Ganga’s water that could cure coronavirus. A bacteriophage is a special type of virus that eats harmful bacteria, the letter said. Atulya Ganga founder, Major Manoj Keshwar (retd) said that there are scientific references to suggest that these phages have anti-microbial properties and could potentially destroy bacteria.

The NGO had asked the government on 3 April to conduct a study on the possibility of this virus acting as a cure. It had also sent a copy each to the ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), according to The Print’s own admission.

ICMR rejects NGO’s proposal

The National Mission for Clean Gangaa, an arm of the Jal Shakti Ministry and the department in charge of the Modi government’s ambitious Namami Gange programme, had received a number of proposals, including from general public and NGOs working on Ganga, to undertake clinical studies for the treatment of coronavirus patients with the river water. After receiving the letter from the NGO Atulya Ganga, the NMCG following the routine protocol wrote a letter to ICMR on 30 April requesting a clinical trial.

The ICMR then held a meeting to discuss the idea, but refused to proceed, offering only its “help” to the NGO.

“We had indeed received a letter from the Ministry of Jal Shakti for such research. The experts at ICMR also held a meeting on this matter. Then we asked those proposing this research that you should tell us about hospitals and doctors that are ready and willing to conduct some research on it. We will certainly help them in this regard,” said the ICMR official.

The Print’s false claims

According to the Print’s own claims, it is the NGO – Atulya Ganga which had initiated the proposal to use the water of Ganga for possible research on developing a cure to coronavirus and not the Modi government. The same was mentioned by other media houses which reported on the matter.

In fact, following the necessary protocol, the Modi government’s Jal Shakti ministry had merely forwarded the proposal to the ICMR rather than itself taking a call on the matter.

However, the Print, through a clickbait headline resorted to mislead the public by claiming that it was the Modi government who on its own sent the proposal to the ICMR and deliberately hid the details pertaining to the NGO so that it could discredit the efforts of the Modi government.

Bacteriophage in Ganga water

A study by the scientists of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) had indeed found that the Ganga water contains a higher proportion of bacteriophage, the virus that kills bacteria. In the study titled ”Assessment of Water Quality and Sediment to understand the special properties of River Ganga”, it was found that the water in Ganga contains three times more bacteriophage compared to other rivers, particularly in the upper Himalayan stretches of the Ganga. Although the bacteriophage virus kills bacteria, the Coronavirus is a virus, not a bacteria, so it is unlikely that the water containing a higher amount of bacteriophage will be beneficial in treating Coronavirus infection. But it may be beneficial in eliminating some harmful bacteria, therefore studies in this regard may be conducted in future when situation returns to normalcy.

Journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai posts Pakistani image, claims it is ‘mother India’s feet’

OpIndia Staff
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Journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai posts Pakistani image, claims it is ‘mother India’s feet’

It is not just the Pakistanis who try to peddle images of Palestinian women as that from Jammu and Kashmir. Indian journalists and politicians have also been found imitating the stunts.

Yesterday, former Aaj Tak and ABP News journalist Punya Prasun Bajpai had posted an image which showed the chapped, rough feet of some children. He added the text, “Mother India ke panv dekhe hain kabhi”? which means, ‘have you ever seen the feet of mother India?

The post was shared on May 6, 2020. However, in his attempt to score browny points over poverty porn, Bajpai forgot to verify when and where the image was from.

As pointed out by Twitter user @theFirstHandle, Bajpai had used an image that was published in a 2018 report by The London Post, in an article titled “Real Face of Pakistani Democracy- Children need a sponsor for medical treatment”.

Image shared by Congress leader too

Not just PP Bajpai, the image seems to have captivated Congress leaders too. Americai V Narayanan, the Congress leader and spokesperson had used the same image last month to insinuate that the poor in India are struggling during the lockdown and the rich are being helped by the government.

After being pointed out by many on Twitter, Bajpai deleted his tweet. However, Congress spokesperson Americai Narayanan is yet to delete his tweet that had used a 2018 image from Pakistan.

Not the first time peddling fake news

Bajpai is famous for his ‘Bahut krantikari’ remark for Arvind Kejriwal. Last year, he had predicted more seats for Congress ally DMK that the Tamil Nadu party was even contesting, and the claim was happily shared by Congress. From peddling fake narratives of EVM hacking to twisting statements to attack the Modi government, Bajpai has been very ‘Kraantikari’ in the world of fake news.

Posting such misleading images is something that political leaders are often caught doing. In 2018, the Aam Aadmi Party had tried to pass off the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam as the Signature Bridge in Delhi. Last year, AAP’s Atishi Marlena has posted an image of a foreign sewer treatment plant as that from Okhla, in a failed attempt to mock the Statue of Unity.

Andhra Pradesh: Three including one child die after gas leak at chemical plant in Visakhapatnam

OpIndia Staff
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Andhra Pradesh: Three including one child die after gas leak at chemical plant in Visakhapatnam

At least three people, including one child, have died and several fell ill after a gas leak in a chemical factory in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. A chemical gas leakage was reported early morning on Thursday at LG Polymers factory. People in the vicinity were taken to hospital after they complained of burning sensation in eyes and breathing difficulties.

After the report of gas leak poured in, police and ambulance was called on the spot. The leakage reportedly happened at around 3 AM near the Naiduthota area which is close to Gopalapatnam. People started to panic as several people fell ill and many fell unconscious on the road with breathing difficulties. Many also complained of rashes and sore eyes. As per reports, the exact cause of the gas leak is not yet known.

From Hinduphobic ‘gaumutra’ to Homophobic ‘gays of srk’: Meet the journalist who operates the Times of India Twitter handle

OpIndia Staff
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From Hinduphobic ‘gaumutra’ to Homophobic ‘gays of srk’: Meet the journalist who operates the Times of India Twitter handle

On Thursday, a Twitter user identified as X Æ A-12 Duggu @R0adside_M0nk, in a series of tweets exposed the sheer Hindhuphobia of a Times of India editor, who not only pushed hatred against Hindus but also used the official Twitter account of Times of India to make Hinduphobic comments.

Samina Shaikh, who has access to the social media account of Times of India was exposed by netizens for her Hinduphobic and Homophobic comments. According to Twitter user Duggu, Shaikh has been handling the ToI Twitter account, the handle which has put out various controversial posts lately on social media.

Shaikh, who is the editor of Bombay Times, deputy editor of ETimes, and also associated with Femina magazine, was caught handling the Times of India’s twitter account after she tweeted the same content from the Times of India’s Twitter account which was earlier shared from her own account. Perhaps, Shaikh had forgotten to switch her social media accounts.

Not only that, Samina Shaikh’s old tweets of taking a dig at Hindus by making ‘gaumutra’ jibes has also resurfaced on the social media platforms. Such jibes have often been used by far-left and Islamists, including the Pulwama bomber.

In addition to her tweets with Hinduphobic slurs, Samina Shaikh’s old tweets were also put out by social media users where she had made shocking Homophobic comments against Bollywood actors.

Following the expose, Samina Shaikh, initially, urged the social media user Duggu to delete the tweets put out by him and claimed that she was not anti-Hindu. Shaikh claimed that she has only Hindu friends and also said she was an Indian.

Image Source: Duggu

As Shaikh was exposed by social media users, she soon displayed her victim card by claiming that she has been targetted on Twitter. She said she has been receiving rape threats and abuses after her Hindu hatred was exposed. However, she did not put out screenshots of such threats.

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