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West Bengal: BJP MP Arjun Singh alleges Barrackpore Joint Commissioner of Police attempted to assassinate him on the order of Mamata Banerjee

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: BJP MP Arjun Singh alleges Barrackpore Joint Commissioner of Police attempted to assassinate him on the order of Mamata Banerjee

BJP MP from Barrackpore, Arjun Singh, had written a letter to the West Bengal Governor alleging an assassination attempt by Joint Commissioner Ajay Thakur. The Bengal Police had visited Singh’s residence to issue a notice to him and his nephew in connection to a pending case. Arjun Singh has alleged that two of the associates of Ajay Thakur had pointed guns towards him.

In the letter, Arjun Singh has written that Joint Commissioner of Police Ajay Thakur attempted to assassinate him and his family on 14th May on the pretext of cross-firing under the instructions of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

BJP MP Arjun Singh’s letter to West Bengal Governor

He wrote- “At around 7:30 p.m, He arrived with 35 of his associates and began roaming in and around my office in a suspicious manner, when intercepted by my security officer-in-charge, he stated that he had come to serve notice to Sanjeet and Nitu Singh, residents of BL no. 17 Ho no. 3/3 P.O & P.S Jagatdal, under section 160, of the Criminal Procedure, 1973, as witnesses in a criminal case.

When I demanded the said notices, he was speechless and directed Rajesh Ghosh, Sub-inspector, Detective Department, Barrackpur Police Commissionerate to issue the said notice. I was surprised and shocked that after the instruction, the aforementioned Rajesh Ghosh wrote the notices.”

BJP MP Arjun Singh’s letter to West Bengal Governor

He also noted that while the police came to serve notices to two persons, one of whom is a woman, there was no lady police officer with them even in civil dress and they visited after sunset. The woman Nitu Singh was directed to come at the office of the Detective Department, Barrackpur Police Commissionerate near Tapabon Marriage Hall on May 18, 2020 at 11.30 hrs, Singh wrote.

Arjun Singh said that the police officer came with 35 persons, and 2 of them are are renowned miscreants. He alleged that those two persons had pointed their guns aiming towards him from a distance, but they didn’t fire.

Detailing about the probable assassination attempt by the police officer, Arjun Singh wrote, “As per my reliable sources, Ajay Thakur had planned to start an argument with my security personnel in any pretext and then, assassinate me and family in the cross-fire. To execute their plan, Ajay Thakur along with his 35 associates, 2 persons out of such associates are renowned miscreants, had come in civil dress. It is uncanny for a squad of 35 people to serve an unwritten notice under section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The such two miscreants,by pointing their firm arms, were aiming me from distance, however did not have courage to fire. Some of their associates were trying to criminal trespass by entering into my house from backside in order to kill me and my family. As such miscreants were renowned criminal, local people recognized them.”

BJP MP Arjun Singh’s letter to West Bengal Governor

The BJP MP has written that as he has decided to become vocal against the wrongdoing of the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who due to her obdurate and insecure nature, she has decided to assassinate him for her political gain. “Under her instruction, the Police had lodged more than 75 false and fabricated cases in order to implicate and defame my public image,” he alleged.

Ajrun Singh has requested the West Bengal governor to instruct the state government to initiate department inquiry against the said Ajay Thakur, Rajesh Ghosh and other police officers, “who were part of a state sponsored conspiracy”.

Arjun Singh has opined that the people in his neighbourhood might have been agitated by the presence of the police. And as such, his Central security forces would then have to resort to unconventional measures in his defence. This could have resulted in an armed altercation between the Bengal Police personnel and his security forces.

Allegations by Arjun Singh

On Thursday, Arjun Singh had posted a video on Twitter wherein he alleged that his vehement opposition to the policies of the Mamata Banerjee government had irked her. He alleged that Banerjee had sent Ajay Thakur and other non-uniformed police officers at his house to assassinate him.

“He (Ajay Thakur) wanted to kill me and my family. He has committed two murders in Kankinara. Why would he and his officers chose to come to my house in the civilian dress?”, Arjun Singh asked. He further inquired as to why the Joint Commissioner wrote the notice at his house and not at the office. Singh said that Ajay Thakur wanted to provoke him and create a suitable environment for a staged encounter.

“I have never been afraid to die. In the upcoming days, such officers of Mamata Banerjee will be punished under the law”, he warned. Singh also reiterated that the people of West Bengal are tired of the failures of the West Bengal Government.

Violence after Delhi govt declared MCD schools acting as ration distribution centres shut for one day, stone-pelting reported

OpIndia Staff
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Violence after Delhi govt declared MCD schools acting as ration distribution centres shut for one day, stone-pelting reported

A mob gathered outside a municipal school in Prem Nagar, West Delhi pelted stones at the authorities and tried to break open the gates after finding out that ration was not being distributed. According to reports, a crowd of more than 500 people became agitated after finding the gate of the school closed. The school was locked following a Delhi government order that said all schools turned into ration centres will remain shut on Thursday to take stock of the ration received from godown and the amount already distributed.

Bharat Lal Meena, the principal of the primary school where the stone-pelting incident took place, said that after a circular was received from the Delhi government regarding submission of details of ration distributed so far, a notice was posted outside the school on May 13 clarifying that no distribution would happen on Thursday.

Mob fought with the staff, abused them

However, the mob started gathering outside the school from early morning itself, said Meena. The principal added that the staff, civil defence volunteers and paramilitary staff explained to them the reason behind no ration distribution, but the crowd fought with the staff, abused and accused them of stealing the ration meant for them.

“They even gheraoed teachers. When things went out of control and the mob started pelting stones, we had to dial police for help,” the Principal Meena added.

The staff somehow managed to shut the entrance and later police were called after the mob refused to disperse and continued banging on the gate and pelting stones.

Similar incidents in other schools

Prior to this, similar incidents have occurred at different schools, where teachers have been gheraod by a mob waiting for ration outside schools. The teachers from south and east corporation primary schools had earlier complained about similar incidents during ration distribution.

Taking note of the incident, North MCD commissioner Varsha Joshi said, “We have been writing to Delhi government about the issues being faced by the teachers on ration distribution duty. These issues are mostly arising due to non-availability of the list of beneficiaries or ration. Our officials have also been requesting the district magistrates for more civil defence volunteers and police personnel at these centres.”

Meanwhile, teachers have demanded protection while carrying out relief task during the pandemic. “We want immediate action for the safety of school teachers who are risking their lives by doing duties in odd circumstances. We are not against doing work during the corona pandemic, but we are teachers and not trained to deal with a mob,” said RamNiwas Solanki.

More than 1,000 Delhi government and corporation schools have been providing food at the ‘Hunger Relief Centres’ and ‘Ration Centres’ since April amidst the nationwide lockdown. More than 40,000 Delhi government teachers have been engaged on ration distribution duty. The hunger centres open at 8 am and close by 6 pm, daily. Rice and wheat flour are being provided as a standard ration kit.

US President Donald Trump pulls out American pension fund investments worth billions of Dollars from China

OpIndia Staff
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US President Donald Trump pulls out American pension fund investments worth billions of Dollars from China

In the latest escalation of tensions between the United States and China, the Donald Trump administration has decided to pull out billion dollars worth of American pension fund investments in China.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump confirmed that his administration has asked for the withdrawal of billions of dollars of pension fund investments in China.

“Billions of dollars, billions… Yeah, I pulled it back,” Trump confirmed to Fox News after he was asked about reports that the US has decided to withdraw American pension funds in Chinese investment.

Responding to the issue of Chinese companies being listed in American stock markets, US President Donald Trump said the administration was looking at the issue very seriously. President Trump added, “It’s pretty amazing but here’s the problem with that. Let’s say we do that, right? So what are they going to do? They are going to move their listing to London or someplace else. You see?” Trump said.

“Let’s say you want to get tough. You know everyone wants to be a tough guy. Look I am the toughest guy but what happens is they say ‘okay, we will move to London or we will go to Hong Kong’,” he said.

There has been some controversy in the US regarding Chinese companies like Alibaba being listed at the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. Reportedly, the Chinese companies listed at the New York Stock Exchange do not report earnings just like American companies do.

China seeking action against US lawmakers

China, which has been receiving wrath across the world for unleashing the Wuhan Voronavirus is now threatening US lawmakers for introducing legislation in the Senate proposing sanctions against China for its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

“The Chinese government is lashing out at those who are appropriately trying to hold them accountable for intentionally misleading us about the nature of the novel coronavirus, where it was spreading and how quickly things were getting out of control. I consider their threats a badge of honour, Congressman Jim Banks said.

United States’ diplmotic war with China

China has been facing severe criticism from various other countries, more intensely from Washington over the way it handled the pandemic.

Earlier, Trump had triggered a diplomatic war with China by repeatedly referring the Novel Coronavirus as Chinese Virus. Several leaders in the United States have been highly critical of both China and WHO of their handling of the situation, accusing them of hiding vital information and underplaying the crisis at the beginning. US President Trump had also expressed doubt over the accuracy of Chinese statistics for cases and deaths. He had also said that he has ‘high degree of confidence’ that Coronavirus originated in Wuhan Institute of Virology, China.

Youth commits suicide after Dalits thrash and force him to drink urine, Brahmin community delegation demands Rs 1 crore compensation

OpIndia Staff
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Youth commits suicide after Dalits thrash and force him to drink urine, Brahmin community delegation demands Rs 1 crore compensation

In a shocking incident, a 19-year-old youth reportedly ended his life after he was brutally beaten and forced to drink urine by three persons from a Dalit community, including two women, in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh.

According to the reports, the incident occurred in Sajor village of Shivpuri district on Wednesday when the deceased person, identified as Vikas Sharma was attacked by three persons from the Dalit community, leading him to committed suicide at his residence. The police recovered a suicide note and a video clip containing the youth’s dying declaration from the spot.

Reportedly, Vikas had also shot a video making a dying declaration on his cell phone. According to his suicide note, Vikas had gone to a hand pump to get water to offer it to a nearby temple. As he was filling the water, a few drops fell on the utensils of the three Dalit persons – Manoj Koli, Tarawati Koli, and Priyanka Koli.

The three accused forced Vikas Sharma to drink urine

Enraged over the trivial incident, the three Dalit persons, which included two women, allegedly pulled Vikas by the hair and thrashed him. The three accused then picked up the utensil carried by Vikas, filled it with human urine and forced him to drink it.

Following the brutal attacks on him, Vikas Sharma suffered from acute depression and hung himself to death in his room after writing the suicide note and shooting the dying declaration video.

Meanwhile, the police have arrested all the accused and booked them for abetment to suicide and voluntarily causing hurt under IPC section 306 – abetment to suicide and IPC section 323, said Shivpuri SP Rajesh Singh Chandel.

After the shocking death of the Brahmin youth Vikas Sharma, a delegation from the Brahmin community has submitted a memorandum to Shivpuri district administration addressed to the Madhya Pradesh CM, demanding Rs 1 crore as compensation to the bereaved family.

Website claims Maharashtra Governor arranged Army helicopter to send a Mumbai model home amidst lockdown, complaint filed: All you need to know

OpIndia Staff
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Website claims Maharashtra Governor arranged Army helicopter to send a Mumbai model home amidst lockdown, complaint filed: All you need to know

A police complaint has been filed on Thursday at the behest of the Governor of Maharashtra with the Cybercrime Police Department at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai, against a news portal named ‘News Uttarakhand’ for suggesting that he facilitated the transport of a model, allegedly named Jenni aka Jayanti, from Maharashtra to Dehradun via a special Army helicopter, amidst the Coronavirus lockdown.

Maharashtra Governor denies charges

On May 14, the official Twitter handle of the Governor of Maharashtra wrote, “The contents of the news are false, fabricated and based on nefarious design with an intent to malign the unblemished image of Hon’ble Governor.”

A case was registered under Sections 500 (defamation) and 501 (publishing defamatory content) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). An officer from the concerned police department informed that no such recommendation to facilitate such a special transport of a model, Jenni aka Jayanti, was given by the Governor’s House. He added that the police will seek permission from the court to investigate the matter.

The claims by the website

In the said news report, News Uttarakhand had alleged that the Maharashtra Governor had facilitated the special transport of the above-mentioned model.

The report claimed that Bhagat Singh Koshyari had used a special pass to facilitate the travel of a “beautiful model” from Maharastra to Delhi via an Army Helicopter and then to her house in Dehradun via an army car between April 24 and April 25. Mocking the Governor, the article said, “His greatness will bring tears to your eyes.” It further alleged that the model, Jayanti, was home quarantined along with her family after she reached Dehradun.

Screengrab of the contentious article
The Disclaimer at the end

Towards the end of the article, the news portal had put up a disclaimer claiming that the article was automatically generated via a ‘computer program’ and “has not been created or generated by News Uttarakhand.” The source, Parvatjan, cited by the portal has deleted the story.

Rajbhavan officials have stated that no such incident has taken place and the story has been planted to defame, and blackmail the governor. Police officials have reportedly stated that the claims had no basis and appropriate action will be taken against the website and writers.

Forced conversion of tribals, orphan children, FCRA and visa rules violations: LRPF files complaint against Christian evangelical organisation

OpIndia Staff
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Forced conversion of tribals, orphan children, FCRA and visa rules violations: LRPF files complaint against Christian evangelical organisation

A complaint has been filed against Christian organisation ‘Gospel for Tribals Social Service Society’ headed by Bishop Jacob Marineni for violating the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and also for indulging in religious conversions through allurement among tribals in Telangana.

The complaint has been filed by Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF) with the Ministry of Home Affairs against the organisation for actively involved in religious conversions of innocent Janjatis (tribals) in agency areas of Khammam District in Telangana, reports Organiser.
 
According to the reports, an investigation carried out by the LRPF has found that the Christian organisation has violated the FCRA by establishing a poultry farm using foreign funds. The accused Evangelical organisation’s preachers have also been allegedly involved in communal speeches against Hindus and Hindu customs at several international platforms, the complaint said.

The findings by the stated that the Christian NGO has broadly violated FCRA by indulging in hate speech against Hindus, violation of Indian visa rules and illegal conversions which are punishable under Indian laws.

Violation under FCRA

According to LRPF, the organisation has been running a commercial poultry layer farm of huge capacity and funds for the same has been obtained through FCRA. The NGO has been utilising profits from these commercial activities for evangelical and conversion activities, which is a serious violation under section 8(1)(a) of FCRA Act, 2010.
 
The complaint stated the NGO had received funds only for “Educational and Social” purposes until 2013-14. However, the funds have not been utilised either for the stated objectives of the NGO or the purpose for which the donation was received under FCRA.

Instead, the complainant alleged that the NGO has used the funds for constructing commercial poultry farms, planting churches, training Christian religious preachers, unethical conversions and acquiring huge fixed assets.
 
Strangely, every year, the NGO in question has been spending huge sums to acquire physical assets like land/buildings etc., while very little is being spent on the stated objectives of the association and for the purpose for which funds are being obtained from other countries. The NGO has been buying/selling land on a regular basis.

A close look at their account has revealed diversion of huge fund flows and the complain has demanded an investigation to look into transactions and accounts of the NGO for the last 15 years.

Funds utilised for conversion activities

Even though the NGO claims to be serving thousands of people, their expenditure portrayed a different story as most of the funds are allegedly being spent on construction of buildings, payment of salaries to Christian religious preachers apart from the commercial activity of layer poultry farm. In 2018-19 alone, Rs 4.12 crore was incurred expenditure on the salary of Christian religious preachers, while in the past, expenditure on widows/ leprosy patients/old age home was just Rs 10 lakhs per annum.

In addition to that, the NGO claims to be running 29 orphanages with more than 6000 orphans in various states. However, as per the complain, there is no proof for the same or it could not be independently verified. The NGO has received over Rs 1 crore in FCRA funds each year but has not displayed data regarding receipts/utilisation of the same in the public domain, which is a clear violation of FCRA Rule -13.

Anti-Hindu communal speeches by Bishop

Reportedly, Bishop Jacob, the chief of the NGO has made highly derogatory statements about the country, about Hindus, tribals and their customs in order to raise funds for his activities. The constant fear-mongering by the Bishop by making false claims of Hindus burning churches, killing Christians has also been recorded. Bishop Jacob has toured extensively in most European countries and USA and allegedly made hate speeches and derogatory remarks in several languages.

According to the complaint by LRPF, the NGO indulges in communal speeches in its fund-raising speeches, where a lot of anti-India, anti- Hindu statements are made. 
 
In its complaint, LRPF also alleged that the NGO has indulged in large scale conversions by inducement and allurement of orphans, poorer sections of the society, preaching of Gospel, planting churches. The NGO has also created a huge team of foot-soldiers to induce people into converting into Christianity.
 
The Organiser report further states that the videos and speeches of Bishop Jacob Marineni revealed that all the orphans shown in the videos have been converted to Christianity and are forced to sing gospel, bible verses before being served food.

Illegal conversions of tribal population and violation of Visa rules

The NGO has also claimed to be training minor children as ‘Bible Graduates’, conducting thousands of conversions to Christianity, planting thousands of churches in several states. Nearly 1500 churches, 1100 missionaries and 2,00,000 people are being converted to Christianity, but none of these activities has been registered by the NGO in Govt. of India, Darpan NGO website.

Violating visa rules, the Christian organisation is allegedly bringing foreign nationals on a tourist visa to preach the gospel in India and also allowing them to convert, indulge baptism activities. According to the complaint, this is a clear violation of visa rules.
 
Under the garb of helping orphans, widows, leprosy patients, this NGO has set up an elaborate network of foot soldiers, prayer houses for indulging in the massive conversion of non-Christians into Christianity. The speeches made by the Bishops and his foot soldiers have clearly exposed their hatred and disdain for Hindu religion and its followers.
 
As per the complaint by LRPF, the CEO of the NGO has been involved in the forceful religious conversion of minors and adults into Christianity by alluring and threatening poor tribals of incurring divine wrath if they do not convert. The NGO is also accused of giving wrong annual declaration that they did not participate in such activities, which was a clear violation of Clause 4(a)(ii) of Section 12 of FCRA Act, 2010 points out LRPF.

In view of the violations and illegal actions of the NGO, LRPF has requested the Union government to take strict action against the organisation and inspection of its facilities and activities. The LRPF has requested to investigate the NGO and freeze all their bank accounts.

In its complaint, the LRPF has demanded a thorough investigation to look into the activities of the NGO in the country and also asked the government to prosecute the key members of the NGO for indulging in activities aimed at forced conversion.
 

Gopalganj Rohit Jaiswal murder case and the curious ‘u-turn’: The recording of two conversations with the victim’s father

OpIndia Staff
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Gopalganj Rohit Jaiswal murder case and the curious ‘u-turn’: The recording of two conversations with the victim’s father

Update: An investigation by Bihar DGP says that there is no communal angle in Rohit Jaiswal’s death. The victim’s father has changed his statements quite a few times. The father had alleged that his son was sacrificed to make the mosque powerful by Muslims, which police investigation has found untrue. Eventually, father has also disowned the allegations.

OpIndia had recently published the story of the murder of a Hindu minor boy named Rohit Jaiswal in the Bela Dih village of Kateya in Gopalganj, Bihar. Rohit was allegedly taken to a mosque and killed as a sacrifice to make the mosque ‘powerful’. His body was then thrown into a nearby river. The family of the boy had alleged that when they reached the police station with a complaint, they were brutally beaten up by the police. According to the family member’s claims, the conditions became so hostile that the family was compelled to leave the village and relocate to somewhere in Uttar Pradesh.

Rohit’s father, Rajesh Jaiswal had lodged an FIR at the Gopalganj police station, in which three locals of the village namely, Meraj Ansari, Nizam Ansari and Bashir Ansari were charged for Rohit’s murder. Three minors were also named in the FIR for their alleged involvement in Rohit Jaiswal’s brutal murder.

Rajesh Jaiswal had lodged an FIR at the Gopalganj police station, in which three locals of the village namely, Meraj Ansari, Nizam Ansari and Bashir Ansari were charged for Rohit’s murder.

It is notable here that Rajesh Jaiswal had alleged that his son Rohit was ‘sacrificed’ to make a local Mosque ‘powerful’. The police had denied these suspicions.

Recently, there were several reports on social media stating that Rajesh Jaiswal has changed his statements. Due to this, OpIndia decided to reach out to Rajesh Jaiswal again. OpIndia had contacted Jaiswal at around 10 pm on 14 May, 2020. We asked him whether he has changed his statement where he had earlier stated that his son Rohit was ‘sacrificed’ in a Mosque.

What did Rajesh Jaiswal say

Rajesh stated that he only wants to know why the Mosque people used to spray some water on him. He added that when he has alleged that the Muslims have killed his son, he has all the right to ask questions.

“Did I tell u about the Mosque issue with certainty? I had expressed my suspicions. Rohit had told his mother on several occasions that whenever he used to pass near the Mosque, the Maulvi and other Muslims used to spray some kind of water on him. What was the reason? Why they were spraying some water on my son? only those people can answer”, said Rajesh Jaiswal.

OpIndia is being accused of misrepresentation by several social media handles over the issue. Though we respect privacy, we are attaching the recording of our conversation with Rajesh Jaiswal here for readers to listen and judge for themselves.

The recorded conversation with Rajesh Jaiswal on May 9 and May 14, irrelevant portions have been edited

Rajesh also said during the conversation that he does not recall properly what exactly he had spoken. He also claimed that it is possible that some statements were given by his associate who sometimes speaks on his behalf.

When OpIndia reminded him that the statement regarding his son being sacrificed in a Mosque was given by him and nobody else earlier and we have a recording of his conversation with us, he stated that he cannot speak with certainty and he had expressed only his suspicions.

Muslims killed my son: Rajesh Jaiswal

It is notable here that not just Rajesh, but several villagers have also told that Rohit was killed by Muslims. However Rajesh now says that he cannot be certain because he had not witnessed it. However he has stated that he had expressed his suspicions that Rohit was sacrificed in a Mosque.

He has also told that it may be possible that Rohit was killed because of a dispute regarding his shop. He added that his shop in the village is adjacent to the shop of a Muslim. He has also added a new angle that there may be a pssiblity that Rohit was killed over an ongoing enemity.

H then stated that he had no fight with the accused persons but he cannot say if his deceased son Rohit had any fight with them. When we played the recording of the previous conversation with him, he then stated that he gets so many phone calls and tends to get nervous. He then again stated that he is certain that Muslims have killed his son. But since he is not a witness, he cannot tell wit certainty that the murder has taken place inside the Mosque.

It is also possible that Rajesh Jaiswal is stressed over the death of his son. The possibility of pressurisation to change his statement also cannot be ruled out as the issue has grabbed extensive media attention now.

The police have also denied the Mosque angle in the murder of Rohit Jaiswal. The family was provided with rations and security on the orders of UP CM Yogi Adityanath. Members of BJP Yuva Morcha have met Jaiswal and spoken to him. Jaiswal had stated earlier that he does not have any personal enmity with anyone and he just wants justice for his son.

Rajesh and his family had also alleged earlier that Kateya SI Ashwini Tiwari had supressed Rohit’s post-mortem report for over 22 days. In a video, they had also alleged that Tiwari had misbehaved with Rohit’s mother.

Update: An investigation by Bihar DGP says that there is no communal angle in Rohit Jaiswal’s death. The victim’s father has changed his statements quite a few times. The father had alleged that his son was sacrificed to make the mosque powerful by Muslims, which police investigation has found untrue. Eventually, father has also disowned the allegations.

Two more cases of police officers getting attacked in Maharashtra, 218 cases of cops being assaulted registered so far

OpIndia Staff
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Two more cases of police officers getting attacked in Maharashtra, 218 cases of cops being assaulted registered so far

On Thursday night, three police officers were reportedly attacked by 10 people at Antop Hill in Mumbai, Maharashtra while trying to enforce the lockdown that was imposed in the wake of the Coronavirus outbreak. In another incident of assault, cops were attacked in Mumbra, following an argument with the locals over lockdown restrictions.

The Maharashtra police had earlier revealed that 218 cases of attack on Maharashtra police personnel had been registered in the State and a total of 770 accused have been apprehended so far. The attacks on police have increased at a time when they are working tirelessly to ensure public safety, amidst the pandemic.

1000+ Cops in Maharashtra test Covid-19 positive

On Thursday, the Maharashtra police had informed that 1001 police personnel had tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus. While there are 851 active cases of the deadly disease, around 142 cops have recovered from the Chinese virus. 8 deaths of police personnel have been reported so far in the State.

Coronavirus outbreak in Maharashtra

As of April 14, the Chinese virus has infected 27,524 people and has claimed 1000 lives. Earlier, the Maharashtra chief minister today asked the district heads to follow the Goa model of surveying house-to-house and treating all the suspected COVID-19 patients.

Making it amply clear that there are no plans in the offing to relax the lockdown restrictions and opening up of district borders, Thackeray asked the district authorities over video conferencing on Tuesday to submit their plans to the Centre on how they intend to ease restrictions during Lockdown 4.0 by Friday.

Javed Akhtar fear-mongers about migrant labourers being stranded as Railways cancels train tickets up to June 30th: Here is the truth

OpIndia Staff
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Javed Akhtar fear-mongers about migrant labourers being stranded as Railways cancels train tickets up to June 30th: Here is the truth

Indian Railways has cancelled all train tickets booked during or before the lockdown for travel up to June 30th in view of the Coronavirus pandemic. According to a report published by India Today, the tickets of regular trains, which are being cancelled, were booked during the lockdown period when the railways were allowing bookings for journeys in June. As soon as the news surfaced, the usual suspect rushed to fear-monger and spread panic. One of the first people to do that was veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar who often confuses reality with fiction.

Javed Akhtar took to Twitter to claim that “no trains till June 30th” would adversely affect the migrant labours.

Akhtar tweeted,  “The migrant workers want to go back n they have all the right to do so But the privileged class doesn’t want to let go their cheap labour. By unfairly trying to block their way aren’t we trying to turn them into bonded labour”.

The clear assertion here by Javed Akhtar was that due to the trains being cancelled, migrant labours would also be stranded and would be unable to go home.

However, the truth is far from it.

Shramik trains to continue – Javed Akhtar fear-mongering needless

The Railways notification as reported by Moneycontrol.com clearly says that Shramik Trains and Special Trains that had started from May 15th would continue to operate and not be affected by this decision to cancel all tickets up until 30th June.

Order by Railways Ministry as reported by Moneycontrol.com

The order clearly states that tickets for regular passengers service including Mail/Express, Passenger and Suburban services have been cancelled till June 30th until further notice. It also says that all passengers are liable to get a full refund for their ticket.

However, it also says that Shramik Special trains are to remain unaffected by this decision.

The central government on May 1, had started ‘Shramik’ special trains which are facilitating the return of migrant labourers back to their home states from the various states where they might be stranded due to the Coronavirus lockdown.

Shramik trains – political mudslinging and tons of lies by Congress

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.

Coronavirus: India gets first automated COVID-19 testing machine ‘COBAS 6800’ that can test 1200 samples in 24-hours

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: India gets first automated COVID-19 testing machine ‘COBAS 6800’ that can test 1200 samples in 24-hours

Amidst the grave health crisis created by the Wuhan COronavirus across the world, when the population is drastically being infected with the novel coronavirus, there is a need to test a larger number of samples per day. With a significant development in this regard from the Indian Health authorities, an innovative way to test 1200 persons per day was inaugurated by the Union Health Minister today. Union Health Minister Dr. Harshvardhan inaugurated the first automated coronavirus testing device named ‘COBAS 6800’ that can test over 1200 samples in 24-hours. Dr. Harshavardhan announced the arrival of the automated testing machine on twitter.

The machine can perform real-time PCR testing, the most reliable test to detect the presence of Novel Coronavirus. Dr. Harshavardhan described the features of the COBAS 6800 stating that it will provide quality, high-volume testing with a high throughput of testing approx 1200 samples per 24 hours. He mentioned that COBAS 6800 is a sophisticated machine enabled with robotics that minimizes the chance of contamination and the risk of infection to the health care workers. Reportedly the COBAS 6800 can also detect other ailments like Hepatitis B&C, HIV, MTb, Papilloma, CMV, Chlamydia, Neisseria, etc.

In an address to the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), the Union Minister affirmed that we have now developed a capacity to conduct 1 lakh tests per day. The COBAS 6800 is the first such testing machine procured by the Government for testing COVID-19 cases and it has been installed at the NCDC. 

Dr. Harshavardhan in an address said, “Today, there are 14 States/UTs that have not reported any cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours — Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Puducherry, Telangana. Also, Daman & Diu, Sikkim, Nagaland and Lakshadweep.”

The COBAS 6800 has been developed by Roche Diagnostics, which has been designed for high throughput applications such as viral load IVD monitoring, blood screening, microbiology testing and women’s health. The machine can run up to 384 tests in an 8-hour shift, with with only 3 user interactions per run.

As per Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data the country has reported 78003 coronavirus cases till 14 May with a surge of 3722 cases in the last 24-hours. 26235 people have been recovered from the disease while 2549 have been reported dead due to epidemic.

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