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West Bengal: Kolkata lab sealed, owner arrested for conducting coronavirus test without mandatory ICMR approval

Jhankar Mohta
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West Bengal: Kolkata lab sealed, owner arrested for conducting coronavirus test without mandatory ICMR approval

A private diagnostic laboratory in Kakurgachi area in north Kolkata, West Bengal has been sealed and the owner has been arrested for conducting coronavirus tests without the required authorisation from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Ratan Lal Gupta, the owner of Tribeni Clinic, at P-323 CIT Road, was booked for cheating, dishonestly inducing delivery of property and criminal conspiracy. He has also been booked under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Act, 2017, the officer said. The state government has also slapped a fine of Rs 10 lakhs on the ground that it was conducting Covid-19 tests without approval.

Tribeni lab test result

It is pertinent to note that no diagnostic laboratory in India can conduct the test for detecting coronavirus infection without ICMR’s approval.

“We have arrested the owner of Tribeni Clinic,” said Ajoy Prasad, the deputy commissioner of the eastern suburban division of Calcutta police.

According to Zee 24 Ghanta, the lab was not only conducting coronavirus tests without required approvals but was also giving incorrect coronavirus report. The patient which the lab-confirmed coronavirus negative, after conducting the test on him, appeared to be positive when his results were sent to the authorised lab of Kolkata Medical College.

West Bengal health department issues statement

On Tuesday evening the health department stated, “Following a complaint from a member of the public that M/s. Tribeni Clinics, a Diagnostic Laboratory was conducting swab sample tests for Covid-19 unauthorisedly, an enquiry was conducted by this department. The enquiry has revealed that the said diagnostic laboratory did not have ICMR’s approval and was, hence, found to be conducting tests for Covid-19 illegally.”

Taking a serious view of the matter, the State Government has ordered the immediate closure/sealing of M/s. Tribeni Clinics, P-323, C.I.T. Road, Scheme VI M, Kankurgachi, Kolkata, 700054, along with a fine of Rs 10 lakh under the relevant section of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment (Registration, Regulation & Transparency) Act, 2017. An FIR has also been registered in the Phoolbagan Police Station for taking action under the Criminal Law.”

IMCT observes High Mortality Rate

The Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) had expressed concerns over the “extremely high mortality rate” of coronavirus in the State of West Bengal, besides highlighting the lack of transparent and consistent reporting of the pandemic.

Slamming the State Government, the IMCT chief Apurva Chandra had stated that 105 people have lost their lives to the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic out of 816 reported cases in West Bengal. As such, the Mamata Banerjee-led-State accounts for the highest mortality rate (12.8%) in the country. 

West Bengal sitting on a “time-bomb”: Health experts

The allegations of suppression of facts and fudging of data has become a major worry for authorities and health experts in West Bengal, which has now snowballed into a huge controversy between the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government and health-care experts.

The health-care experts believe that the situation in Bengal is very grave as the Mamata Banerjee-led government has not been giving real data to assess the actual seriousness of the pandemic. From threats to doctors for whistleblowing against the state government against lack of facilities to allegations of state government illegally disposing of dead bodies, there have been serious allegations against the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal.

Anatomy of the communal riots in Delhi: Anti-CAA protestors who provoked violence must be held accountable

Monika Arora
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Anatomy of the communal riots in Delhi: Anti-CAA protestors who provoked violence must be held accountable

Communal riots engulfed North-East Delhi between the 23rd and the 26th of February 2020. Fifty-four people from both communities, Hindu and Muslim, lost their lives in a dance of death engineered by ‘outsiders’ who infiltrated and took over anti-CAA protests in Delhi (and other states in India). The areas where these riots broke out are Muslim majority pockets in a district that has the highest population density in Delhi. Schools that were burnt down by the crazy rioting mobs were largely owned by Hindus and served both communities in the district. Shops and enterprises that were consigned to flames provided livelihood to both the communities. This is an area where both communities lived in close cooperation and mutual respect. What led to the breakdown of this traditional co-existence?

Delhi riots 2020: The First Phase

This is the period immediately after the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Act on 11th December 2019 in the Parliament. In this phase, we observed Jihadi, Peoples Front of India (PFI) style protests in Universities. The violence emerging from these protests was radical Islamic in nature. Crowds of students mixed with outsiders clashed with the Police in Aligarh Muslim University and  Jamia Milia Islamia in Delhi. Sharjeel Imam made his first speech in Jamia on 13th December 2019. Later his much-publicized second speech was made at AMU on 16th January 2020. Amanatullah Khan makes his hate speech in this phase in Okhla. Large scale public violence is followed by Police action in this phase.

Delhi riots 2020: The Second Phase

After Police action and violence in Universities, the second phase was the escalation of the Shaheen Bagh type dharnas. North-East Delhi is exclusively escalated as one dharna zone. Most of the political parties supported these Dharnas. However, Urban Naxal-Jihadi organizers closed these protests to any outside negotiation. Scheduled Castes were approached to join but apart from the Bhim Army, local Dalits largely remained out of these sites. There were 7 incidents of anti-CAA protestors turning violent in December 2019. FIRs have been filed. Kanwalpreet Kaur of AISA was taken into custody by the Delhi Police from one such protest site on 23rd Dec 2020. Anti-CAA protests which have been touted as peaceful and democratic were neither non-violent nor democratic. 

Delhi riots 2020: The Third Phase

By about 15th January 2020 most of Delhi had dharna sites following the Shaheen Bagh Model. Till 15th February 2020, these sites continued to protest. There was no Police or State action. Over this period most of these dharnas were sites of artists performances, speeches, poems which created a further wedge between communities through their anti- Hindu and radical Islamic protest formats. JNU, AMU, Jamia and premier colleges in Delhi University in Delhi continued to feed these dharna sites. Teachers and students from AISA and urban Naxal organizations escalated these protests. Ample evidence is there in the public domain. Electronic footprints cannot be wished away.

Delhi riots 2020: The Fourth Phase

This phase emerged after the failure of the first three phases. From 15th February 2020 onwards most dharnas entered a violent aggressive phase. On 17th February 2020, Umar Khalid asked people to come out on the streets during President Trump’s visit. Waris Pathan delivered his hate speech in Gulbarga on 20th February 2020. On 23rd February a crowd of around 4000 Anti-CAA protesters entered Malviya Nagar market. In an extremely dangerous move, Azadi slogans were raised in front of the Shiva Temple. Clashes with the police occurred when the Anti-CAA protesters tried to block the main arterial road in the area.

The Immediate Violence in North East Delhi

Muslim protesters, mostly women blocked the two carriageways on road number 66 at Jaffrabad at 2 am on 23rd February 2020. The road is blocked cutting off the entire population of over 25-35 lakh people from Delhi and UP. Around 8 am the crowd at Jaffrabad blocking the road swells to around 3000 men and women. Locals from adjoining areas join the Jaffrabad blockage. The crowd refused to talk to the Delhi Police. Around 12.30 noon this crowd tried to block the Wazirabad road. They also went towards the Petrol pump at Bhajanpura which was subsequently burnt on 24th February 2020. Kapil Mishra came to Maujpur around 3.30 pm. Locals at Maujpur assembled there singing Bhajans and asking that the Delhi Police remove the Jaffrabad blockage after which they would move out too. 

On 24th February, the violence spread to Bhajanpura and other localities. In Bhajanpura, selective Hindu properties were attacked by anti-CAA protesters from Chand Bagh. The Delhi Police was attacked with swords and stones by burkha clad women inside the Chand Bagh anti-CAA protest site. As a result, constable Ratan Lal died by lynching and bullet injuries., DCP Amit Sharma was lynched but survived.

Subsequently Shiv Vihar in Khajoori was engulfed in Iraq–Syria type warfare leading to the death of several innocents. Dalits and nomadic communities were targeted.

All along, the outside elements engineering violence were present at the dharna sites. Certain organisers of Shaheen Bagh have indicated in their social media posts that urban naxals were pushing for violence all along. The posters, slogans and the media coming out of the anti-CAA protest sites have been well documented. They clearly indicate the presence of Urban Naxals in the anti-CAA protest sites. These slogans and posters are clearly not emerging from a Muslim population that lived in close cooperation with Hindus in affected areas.

Violence continued between the two communities till 26th February 2020. Both communities have suffered. Those who were present at the anti-CAA dharna sites constantly provoking this violence must be held accountable. 

FIR registered against Sudhir Chaudhary of Zee News in Kerala for explaining different types of Jihad through a flow chart in his TV show

OpIndia Staff
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FIR registered against Sudhir Chaudhary of Zee News in Kerala for explaining different types of Jihad through a flow chart in his TV show

An FIR has been filed against Zee News’ Editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary after he had reported on various kinds of ‘Jihad’ and exposed its modus-operandi on a TV show.

On Thursday, Zee News’ Editor-in-chief Sudhir Chaudhary, shared the copy of an FIR filed against him in Kerala over his March 11 report, in which he had exposed the idea behind ‘Jihad’ with a flowchart. The show had triggered the ‘secular-liberal’ media, who had attacked the Zee News editor for his reportage.

Taking a dig at Pulitzer awards, Sudhir Chaudhary said that the FIR was his Pulitzer Prize for “reporting the truth”. “The award for exposing inconvenient facts,” he added.

“This is the price for daring to speak against #ZameenJihad in Jammu, #LoveJihad in Kerala, PFI funding of CAA protests, and for daring to enter Shaheen Bagh. I have all the respect for the law but these tactics won’t stop me. Bring it on!” Chaudhary added.

Sudhir Chaudhary’s episode exposing the real purpose and ways of carrying out ‘Jihad’ was watched widely. The highlight of the show, broadcast on March 11, was the “Jihad chart”.

In the show, the Zee News’ Editor-in-chief had explained stating that there are two types of Jihad – Hard Jihad and Soft Jihad. “Hard Jihad includes Population Jihad, Love Jihad, Land Jihad, Education Jihad, Victim Jihad and Direct Jihad, while Soft Jihad includes Economic Jihad, History Jihad, Media Jihad, Movies and Songs Jihad and Secular Jihad,” Sudhir Chaudhary had explained in his hour-long show.

Ecosystem against journalists who question their narratives

The harassment being meted out to Sudhir Chaudhary is in line with the latest trend of the ‘liberal-secular’ ecosystem unleashing its might to silence media persons who often share a nationalistic discourse and stay away from toeing the line of the left-wing intelligentsia in the country.

The threat to Sudhir Chaudhary’s freedom of expression comes just weeks after Congress party and its ecosystem had attacked Republic TV editor Arnab Goswami and his wife after he had asked questions regarding the silence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Palghar lynching incident.

Soon after that, Arnab Goswami was not only physically attacked but was also repeatedly harassed by the Maharashtra government and the Congress party as dozens of FIRs were filed against him. Later, Mumbai police had also attempted to bully him by day-long interrogation despite Arnab Goswami being the victim of the violence.

Vishakapatnam gas leak tragedy: NDRF evacuates 1500 people, 800 admitted in hospitals, says Director-General

OpIndia Staff
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Vishakapatnam gas leak tragedy: NDRF evacuates 1500 people, 800 admitted in hospitals, says Director-General

The Director-General of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) SN Pradhan has said that the team of NDRF have evacuated around 1000-1500 people, and more than 800 have been hospitalized after the gas leak incident at a chemical plant in Vishakapatnam. He revealed that the police and the local administration came into action after locals reported throat and skin irritation and some toxic smell following the leak from the polymer plant.

SN Pradhan said, “The incident was reported by locals around 2:30 in the morning, it was because of throat irritation and skin irritation and toxic smell. They informed the local administration. The administration officials and fire tenders reached the location. The NDRF unit of Visakhapatnam was informed at 5 am in the morning; they reached the site in half an hour and started rescue operations.”

He further added, “The focus right now is on the evacuation and treatment of the people, around three-four villages and 500 families have been affected, two villages near the incident have been affected more.”

Vishakapatnam Gas leak Tragedy

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

The 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 the plant that manufactures polystyrene.

At least three surrounding villages are being evacuated and house-to-house checks are on. Reportedly, more than 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 an 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.

Low wage migrants in Qatar forced to beg for food amid the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Low wage migrants in Qatar forced to beg for food amid the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic: Report

Low-wage migrant workers in Qatar have been forced to beg for food during the Wuhan Coronavirus crisis, The Guardian reported. Many of them have been left without a job and they have no means to earn a living. Under such circumstances, they have been forced to beg for food from their employers and charities. Qatar has one of the highest rates of per capita infection in the world and over 25% of those tested have been found to be infected in the past week, the vast majority of which were migrant workers.

The Qatar government has established a £656m loan scheme for companies to be able to pay their workers in quarantine or government mandated self isolation but The Guardian were told by some workers in the Industrial Area that they have been put on unpaid leave. “The company said they won’t pay us for April but they would give us [some money] for food, but we haven’t even got that … They gave us a tray of eggs and some oil a few days ago. That was all,” Feroz, a worker from India, told the newspaper. He has been stuck at Industrial Area for almost two months. “We are facing so many problems here. It’s like we are in jail.”

Rafiq, a cleaner from Bangladesh who lost his job in March, told the newspaper, “I don’t have much food left. Just some rice and lentils. It will last only a few days. What happens when this food finishes?” “My boss says he has no money. How about my family in the Philippines? They need my money … How will I get food? There is no one to give us. Even my boss is not giving [food],” said a Filipino beautician. Saidul, a Bangladeshi decorator, said, “I have spent all my savings. I am borrowing money from friends and relatives for food and rent. It’s very difficult to carry on without work … I’m not afraid of corona. The problem is there isn’t any work.”

The situation is similar across the Gulf Countries in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, too, is struggling to contain the outbreak of the Coronavirus among its migrant population. According to its Health Ministry, migrant workers comprised over 76% of its more than 3000 new cases the previous week. “This is not surprising,” Ryszard Cholewinski, a senior migration specialist with the International Labor Organization, said. He added, “You’ve got the perfect storm, where migrants live and work in conditions that are more conducive to the spread of COVID-19.”

After Vizag, gas leak reported in Chhattisgarh paper mill, 7 hospitalised

OpIndia Staff
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After Vizag, gas leak reported in Chhattisgarh paper mill, 7 hospitalised

After the news of the hazardous styrene gas leak in Vizag’s LG Chemicals plant, another report of an alleged gas leak in a Chhattisgarh plant has surfaced. As per reports, 7 workers in a paper mill in Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh have been hospitalised.

As per reports, the 7 workers were hospitalised after being exposed to a gas leak while cleaning a chlorine tank in a paper mill in Raigarh. 3 of the workers are reportedly in a critical condition, the SP in Raigarh has reported.

The incident has occurred in the Shakti Paper mills located at Pusaur’s Tetla village. The critical workers are being referred to Raipur for treatment.

As per reports, the workers were hospitalised late in the night. They were assigned to clean the tank as the paper mill, shut down due to the lockdown, was supposed to start soon. The Raigarh police have stated that they were not informed immediately and came to know of the incident from the hospital authorities.

Vizag gas leak

At least 10 people have died so far and hundreds have been hospitalised after the leakage of hazardous styrene gas from the LG Polymer plant in Vizag. The leakage reportedly happened at around 3 AM near the Naiduthota area which is close to Gopalapatnam.

More than 200 have been admitted to the hospitals following the leak of what styrene gas from an LG Polymers facility located near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Mumbai: Coronavirus infected dead bodies left lying next to patients under treatment in Sion hospital, Milind Deora slams BMC

OpIndia Staff
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Mumbai: Coronavirus infected dead bodies left lying next to patients under treatment in Sion hospital, Milind Deora slams BMC

A shocking incident of a Mumbai hospital related to mismanagement of dead bodies of Wuhan coronavirus deceased patients has come into notice of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC). Reportedly, the dead bodies of coronavirus patients were kept next to the patients under treatment in a Hospital of Mumbai in the Sion area.

In a viral video recorded at the Sion hospital, bodies are seen wrapped in black plastic bags kept right next to Covid-19 patients undergoing treatment. The incident is raising serious questions regarding the management of hospital and the state authorities.

A senior official of BMC will undertake the inquiry in horrendous incident of mishandling of corona virus dead bodies.

The Hospital’s clarification

The Dean of the Sion hospital told reporters that there were special directives and they were fearing legal ramifications if they somehow conduct the funeral on their own since the relatives of the Coronavirus deceased patients were themselves in quarantine and therefore they are unable to claim bodies.

The BMC is held responsible for not issuing clear guidance on the handling of dead bodies.

Political leaders express shock

BJP leader Nitesh Rane tweeted regarding the incident. He wrote, “So the dean of Sion hospital accepts the video and says the relatives don’t come to claim the bodies so we have kept them there. What should we as Mumbaikars expect from the BMC after this? Private hospitals are not accepting patients and government hospitals are in mess! It’s a medical emergency!”

Congress’ Milind Deora also tweeted, “Outraged to see corpses laid beside the sick at Sion Hospital. Why isn’t BMC following WHO-prescribed protocols when disposing of Coronavirus infected corpses? Public hospital staff are doing their best with limited resources at hand. Mumbai’s administration needs to step up NOW!”

Earlier incidents

Earlier, a similar incident was reported from the Cooper hospital where a patient was allegedly left unattended and had to spend the night with two corpses around him.

Similar complaints regarding negligence in handling infected corpses have been reported from Kolkata too. In a viral video, corpses were seen lying unattended in Kolkata’s MR Bangur hospital.

Congress uses 2018 FIR in suicide case, dismissed by court, to target Arnab Goswami: All you need to know

OpIndia Staff
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Congress uses 2018 FIR in suicide case, dismissed by court, to target Arnab Goswami: All you need to know

The Congress party has gone hammer and tongs against Republic TV chief Arnab Goswami after his statements regarding Sonia Gandhi and the Palghar lynching. After the two sadhus were lynched in Palghar, Maharashtra, Arnab Goswami had asked pointed questions to the Congress party and its President Sonia Gandhi. When the attack by goons and the relentless haranguing by the state machinery did not help silence Arnab Goswami, Congress raked up an old suicide case, in which an FIR was filed against Arnab Goswami, in an attempt to cower him down.

It all started when Arnab Goswami asked why Sonia Gandhi was silent and whether the Italian born politician would have maintained such silence if it were Christian padres who were murdered. In the process, he also brought up the Graham Stains murder, a Christian missionary, as in November 2015, awarded the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice was awarded to the wife of Graham Staines. The award is given by an organisation close to the Congress party. Congress leader P. C. Thomas is one of the members of the committee that decides the awardees. If an organisation linked with Sonia Gandhi’s Congress party could award Staines’ wife, why would she not speak up against the lynching of two sadhus in a state where she has compromised her ideological moorings and aligned with the Shiv Sena.

Congress party filed multiple FIRs in multiple places in their attempt to hound Arnab Goswami and the Maharashtra police, which is now under the alliance government of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP questioned Arnab for over 12 hours. If that was not enough. the police then questioned the group CFO of Republic TV as well. And before the state machinery descended on Arnab, two Congress goons had attacked him and his wife while they were on their way home from the Republic TV studio. The police, in turn, refused to even add Congress’ name in the complaint lodged by Arnab Goswami.

Now, the suicide case being used by Congress to target Arnab Goswami is two years old and the party has been selective in placing facts on the record.

The suicide case of Interior Designer and the abetment to suicide case against Arnab Goswami

In May 2018, an FIR was filed against Arnab Goswami in an alleged abetment to suicide case. An Interior Designer had committed suicide in his bungalow in Alibaug.

Based on the suicide note left behind by Naik, police registered an abetment to suicide case against Goswami, Feroz Shaikh of IcastX/Skimedia and Niteish Sarda of Smartworks.

Naik’s wife had alleged that he committed suicide, as Republic TV did not pay his dues. A statement issued by Republic TV said that certain vested interest groups are running a false and malicious campaign and making false statements and innuendos against Republic TV by exploiting a tragic event involving Naik’s unfortunate demise.

“Republic TV will take strict legal action against anyone indulging in such false propaganda. Republic TV would like to clarify that it had engaged the services of one Concorde Designs Private Limited sometime in December 2016. All amounts due and payable under the contract were paid by Republic TV to Concorde Designs. The details of payment, including cheque numbers, amounts, dates of payment, related correspondence and documentation are available with Republic TV. All such details and evidence will be given to the appropriate authorities as and when required. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr Naik’s family,” the statement had said.

In a suicide note, Anvay Naik claimed Goswami and the other two persons—Feroz Shaikh and Niteish Sarda—owed him a total of Rs 5.4 crore. The Times of India had then reported Arnab Goswami had allegedly not paid Rs 83 lakh for a design project of a studio.

How is that case against Arnab Goswami being used now by the Congress party

On May 5, the Maharashtra unit of the Congress party tweeted a video by Akshita Naik, the wife of Anvay Naik. The video appeared to have been made to mark two years of the suicide of Anvay Naik and his mother. In the 2.4-minute-long video, most of which is in Marathi, Akshita appeals for support from all Indians to get justice for her and warns “If anything happens to me and my daughter, then solely Arnab Goswami, Anil Paraskar and Suresh Warade would be responsible”. Anil Paraskar was the superintendent of police of Raigad at the time of the suicides while Suresh Warade was senior police inspector in Alibaug.

Akshita alleges in this video that Warade had warned her at the time of filing the FIR that “many powerful people are involved” and asked her to deliberate before filing charges. She claimed her family has not gotten laptops or phones they had given for the investigation two years ago. Akshita Naik added her family were able to get the suicide note back after much persistence.

What happened to the FIR against Arnab Goswami in the abetment to suicide case? What is the status of the case now?

In response to the video circulated by Congress now, Republic TV has issued a statement that details what happened to the abetment to suicide case.

In the response, Republic TV has asserted that the video is malicious and leaves out vital information.

The response says that the case against Arnab Goswami was investigated and closed by a court of law after a closure report was filed by the Police in the matter since Mrs Akshita had no proof to back her allegations or prove any sort of illegality. The response also says that ARG Outlier Media Pvt Ltd has paid 90% of the amount due to Anvay Naik’s company Concorde Design Pvt Ltd as per the terms of the work order issued over 2 years ago. It says that the remaining amount was to be paid to CDPL after the completion of the work which was never undertaken. Even so, repeated attempts were made by ARG Media to settle the dues once and for all, but since CDPL had no shareholders or directors, that attempt was rendered futile.

Arnab Goswami has asserted that multiple attempts were made by his company to reach Anvay Naik, the wife of the deceased with request to settle the balance payment but no concrete response was ever received. He goes on to say that the balance amount was even transferred to the account of CDPL, however, since the account was inoperative, the amount was returned in July 2019.

The response then goes on to say that Anvay Naik wanted the amount remitted to a third party vendor and even though contractually, that is not allowed, ARG Media offered to have a sit down meeting with her in the presence of their lawyers to find an amicable solution. Despite their email on the 25th of January 2020 and subsequent communication on the 25th and 26th February, there was no response from her. ARG media also says that they have the full record of all communication that vindicate their stand.

Arnab Goswami might approach the court over defamation

The statement released by Republic TV says that the allegations that are being mounted that misrepresent facts will be met with legal action, both civil and criminal including under provisions of criminal conspiracy, defamation and criminal intimidation.

The Congress hand – unbridled vengeance

It is interesting that one comment about Sonia Gandhi and legitimate questions pointed to her have rattled the Congress party to an extend that aside from using goons to attack Arnab Goswami and the state machinery to hound him, they have now raked up a two year old case that was closed by a court of law. Interestingly, the full facts have not been disclosed by Congress and the statements, which according to Republic are false and malicious are being used to browbeat him into silence. Only recently, the Maharashtra government had approached the court alleging that Arnab Goswami is attempting to “terrorise” the Mumbai police through his debates. While the party screams about the freedom of the press and freedom of speech, it seems that those principles are only limited to journalists who prefer to ask Sonia Gandhi whether or not she made pasta for her mother in law and not others who choose to question her.

Don’t spoil good work for political benefits, Railways employees union writes to Sonia Gandhi over Shramik trains

OpIndia Staff
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Don’t spoil good work for political benefits, Railways employees union writes to Sonia Gandhi over Shramik trains

Amidst this raging controversy over who will ultimately foot the bill to ferry stranded migrant labourers back home, All India Railway Federation has written a letter to the Congress interim president, Sonia Gandhi requesting her not to play politics over the migrants’ rail fare.

Letter by All India Railway Federation

In the letter dated May 7, 2020, the general secretary of All India Railway Federation, Shiv Gopal Mishra tells Sonia that she should think of the safety of the railway workers too, who are sincerely rendering their noble services by risking their lives amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

He clarifies that railways have subsidised 85 per cent of ticket fare for special trains being run to transport migrant workers and the state government has to pay the remaining 15 per cent. This he said was necessary. Since the respective state governments will book the trains by making the payment, it would prevent commuters from huddling up at the stations which might have risked the lives of the railways’ staff as well.

Central govt has 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. Despite Railways and the Centre clarifying that the stranded migrant commuters will not have to pay for the travel, the Congress Party has been creating unnecessary controversy over the issue.

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.

Why railways ask passengers to pay?

The ‘Shramik’ trains are specials trains that have been started by the Railways to ferry stranded migrant labourers from various states across India to their home states. These trains were started after requests by the states and protests by migrant labourers amidst the Coronavirus lockdown and as such, are not open for the public at large. It is the state that has to ensure that migrant labourers in their state are registered and screened and then, they can be ferried through the Shramik train to their home state.

Most importantly, passengers will not have to buy tickets as the state governments concerned will have to coordinate and pay for the tickets. As these are not regular trains, but special trains which will run on the request of state government, there is no provision to buy tickets for those trains. The respective state governments will book the trains by making the payment as charged by the Indian Railways, and the passengers do not have to pay anything.

The central government is paying 85% of the cost that is incurred per passenger to run this train and 15% of the cost in meant to be borne by the state government. Hence, ideally, the state is supposed to make good on that 15% payment through their coffers. However, if the state decides to charge the migrant workers, the only party to be blamed for that is the state government and not the central government. The central government itself it not charging the passengers or selling tickets.

Taliban-backed Haqqani network joined hands with Islamic State for Kabul Gurudwara attack: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Taliban-backed Haqqani network joined hands with Islamic State for Kabul Gurudwara attack: Reports

The Afghan security forces have raided a key hideout belonging to terror groups Haqqani Network and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) that was responsible for bloody attacks including one on Kabul’s gurdwara that had killed 28 Sikh worshippers on March 25.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, five terrorists belonging to two terrorist groups have been killed and eight terrorists have been nabbed by Afghanistan security forces as they raided two hideouts of the group in and around Kabul, the National Directorate of Security said.

The NDS said the joint centre destroyed by its forces was controlled by Sanaullah, who was responsible for recruitment for the ISKP and was the urban coordinator of Haqqani Network in Kabul.

The two Pakistan proxies in Afghanistan – Aslam Farooqui led ISKP and the Taliban deputy leader Sirajuddin Haqqani-led Haqqani network, which had often targeted each other in the past had taken some steps to work together recently. The two groups had jointly carried out attacks on Gurudwara in Kabul in March.

Farooqi was arrested by the NDS last month in raids carried out weeks after terrorists had opened fire at Guru Har Rai Gurdwara in Kabul’s old city and had murdered 28 worshippers in a brutal attack on the Sikh shrine.

The NDS has also blamed the joint cell for the rocket attacks in March on the inauguration ceremony of President Ashraf Ghani and the Bagram airbase, the US military’s largest base in Afghanistan. The joint terror cell had also launched rockets in the Shahid Mazari Mosque where many members of the ethnic Hazara community had gathered to mark the anniversary of the death of a Hazara leader. More than 30 people were killed in the terror attacks.

Taliban attacked on the behest of Pakistan

The statement from the NDS regarding the joint operation by the terrorist groups fits with New Delhi’s assessment that the attack on the gurdwara was ordered by the Taliban at the behest of Pakistani deep state with the larger motive of driving out India from Afghanistan.

According to intelligence reports, Taliban, which had stepped up attacks on Afghan security forces after the United States signed a troop withdrawal agreement on February 29, may carry out more attacks on Indian interests and religious minorities.

The security experts in Delhi believe that an arrangement between the Taliban-linked Haqqani network and the ISKP meant that even if the Taliban agrees to end violence, it could use other groups such as Aslam Farooqui’s ISKP to keep sending the rockets via its allies.

Kabul Gurudwara attacks

Four terrorists armed with AK-47, a part of the strike team of the group of terrorists, had attacked the Gurudwara on March 25 in Kabul. The terror attack had left 27 dead and at least 15 injured. One suicide bomber had detonated himself at the entrance after three ISIS terrorists stormed the shrine in the Shorbazar area Wednesday morning. 

According to intelligence agencies, the terrorist attack was a part of Pakistan’s efforts to drive out India from Afghanistan following the withdrawal of the US forces. With the USA gone, the objective is to use the strategic space offered by Afghanistan to renew their Jihad in Kashmir.

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