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After SC grants protection to Arnab Goswami, petitions seeking FIR against him and a ban on Republic TV filed in Bombay and Karnataka High Courts

OpIndia Staff
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After SC grants protection to Arnab Goswami, petitions seeking FIR against him and a ban on Republic TV filed in Bombay and Karnataka High Courts

Pleas have been filed in the Karnataka and Bombay High Courts seeking FIR against Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami after he questioned interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi in his show for her silence over the Palghar mob lynching in which two Hindu Sadhus were brutally killed by a group of 100 frenzied villagers.

The filing of petitions came on the heels of the Supreme Court order which granted the journalist protection from an arrest earlier today.

Additionally, the petitions have also sought court directive to stop broadcasting of Republic TV and ‘The Debate’, the primetime debate show anchored by Arnab Goswami.

A petition filed in Karnataka High Court seeking a ban on the broadcasting of Republic TV

The petitioner, Mohammed Arif, who filed a plea in the Karnataka High Court, has alleged in his petition that Republic TV and other channels have attributed the coronavirus outbreak in the country to the entire Muslim community after the role of Tablighi Jamaat in aiding the virus spread came to the light. Arif contended that broadcasting of such news enables stigmatisation of Muslims in the society.

The petition also cites the Supreme Court directive that instructed the media to remain responsible in its coverage of the pandemic after the centre approached the apex court seeking a bar on the media from publishing COVID-19 information without government verification.

The petition further mentions that Arnab Goswami has not only promoted communal enmity among the people but has also indulged in “shameful acts of derogatory, defamatory and name shaming on live TV”.

Furthermore, the petitioner claimed that Goswami had resorted to sharing fake news while alleging that the shameful killing of the Hindu sadhus in Palghar was a handiwork of a Christian or Muslim mob.

Citing these alleged offences, the petitioner has asked the Karnataka high court to put a ban on the broadcasting of Republic TV.

A plea submitted in Bombay High Court against Arnab Goswami and Republic TV

The plea filed in the Bombay High Court seeks an FIR against the Republic TV Editor-in-Chief, Arnab Goswami, along with an interim ban on the broadcasting of his news channel. The request has been made on the grounds of falsely purveying fake news that a Muslim or a Christian mob was behind the unfortunate lynching of the Hindu sadhus.

Suraj Singh Thakur and Bhai Jagtap, the petitioners, have alleged in their petition that lynching is alleged to have been committed due to the religion of the victim, however, it was amply clear during the time of the debate that the mob consisted of members of the same religion as the victims of the lynching.

Statements such as “Italy’s Antonio Maino(Sonia Gandhi) is happy that Sadhus have been killed” were made to stir a political upheaval, the petition said.

The petitioners have alleged Arnab Goswami of promoting enmity between different religion groups by politicising and communalising the matter. In addition, the petitions also alleges that the means employed by Arnab Goswami were unethical and abusive of the true notion of the freedom of speech and the press.

Supreme Court grants protection of 3 weeks to Arnab Goswami

The Supreme Court of India today granted interim protection of three weeks to senior journalist Arnab Goswami against multiple FIRs filed against him by the Congress party in various states. The Apex court also directed to merged all FIRs into one which will be investigated in Mumbai, where the Republic TV Editor-In-Chief is based, and stayed all the FIRs till further orders.

Arnab questioned Sonia Gandhi’s silence over Palghar incident

Launching an attack against Sonia Gandhi, Arnab Goswami had questioned if she would have maintained the silence she is exhibiting today had Christian padres been killed instead of Hindu sadhus in the horrifying lynching incident in Palghar. However, soon after, Congress leaders and many journalists started abusing Arnab and by extension Prime Minister Modi implying he was responsible for Arnab questioning Sonia Gandhi’s silence.

Database with 267 million Facebook user profiles sold on the dark web: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Database with 267 million Facebook user profiles sold on the dark web: Reports

Cybersecurity researchers at Cyble had found that a database with 267 million Facebook user profiles wad been sold on the Dark web, reported cybersecurity firm Sophos. The firm bought the database for $540 or ₹41,033.

The user records comprised of unique Facebook IDs, email addresses, age, and even phone numbers. As per the report, even though no passwords were exposed, emails and text messages could be used for phishing campaigns (luring individuals to reveal sensitive information).

While the source of a data breach could not be ascertained, cybersecurity experts believe that the database might have leaked from through Facebook’s third-party developer API (tools used to build software).

The Unknown Actor

Reportedly, the user records were shared elsewhere before being sold on the Dark Web. It was initially taken down by the ISP (Internet Service Provider) hosting the page. When the database reappeared, an unknown actor replaced the personal information with ‘dummy data’ and changed user names to “please_secure_your_servers.”

This was first spotted by researcher Bob Diachenko who then teamed up with Comparitech, a technology comparison website, to discover that the Facebook user records were exposed for roughly 14 days before it was removed.

The unknown actor changed FB database names to “please_secure_your_servers.”

Protecting your Facebook Information

The more information a user has in his/her public domain, the higher is the vulnerability towards cyber-attacks/ online scams and phishing campaigns. It is, therefore, important to be wary of emails and texts received from unknown sources. Cybercriminals can use the exposed email addresses of the compromised Facebook accounts to harvest passwords. This can be executed by comparing it with leaked databases that included passwords from the past.

If someone uses the same email address and password elsewhere, then, it can lead to leakage of more sensitive information. Therefore, it is suggested to activate two-factor authentication for Facebook accounts to prevent scammers from harvesting your valuable data.

Allegations of Illegal data harvesting by Facebook

In December 2018, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) had imposed a penalty of 10 million euros ($11.4 million) on Facebook for illegally harvesting the data of its users for commercial purposes. The Authority said, “Facebook has been practising aggressive policies towards registered users, who suffer from the transfer of their personal data by Facebook to third parties without their direct and prior consent, thus without notification and automatically”.

The Authority had also asked Facebook to run an apology on its website and app. A Facebook spokesperson told the company was considering the decision of the Authority and the matter will be resolved soon. The company had made some changes in its policy providing more rights to the users.

“I am deeply grateful to SC for upholding my constitutional right to report, I will not be intimidated”: Arnab Goswami

OpIndia Staff
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“I am deeply grateful to SC for upholding my constitutional right to report, I will not be intimidated”: Arnab Goswami

Hours after Supreme Court of India granted interim protection to senior journalist Arnab Goswami against multiple FIRs filed against him by the Congress party in various states, Republic Media Network’s Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami expressed his gratitude to the Supreme Court for upholding his right to report.

In a video message, Arnab Goswami thanked the apex court for upholding his constitutional right to report and for defending his freedom of expression and his freedom as a journalist. Arnab Goswami added that he was delighted to know that the Supreme Court had given him protection from the arrest.

Continuing his attack on the Congress party, Arnab Goswami said filing hundreds of FIR against him and his network was an act of intimidation against reporting the truth on Palghar mob lynching. “I am deeply grateful to the Supreme Court for not allowing Congress party to harass me and my network, especially in Congress-ruled states,” said Arnab in his video message.

“Congress leaders have been intimidating me and threatening me with physical violence. I am deeply grateful that the Supreme Court has noted the violence against me and my wife,” he said.

Arnab Goswami said that his faith in the country’s highest court has been upheld even today and said that he will bow down to the apex court for the manner in which they have defended his rights as a journalist. He also thanked millions of citizens who wrote to him at a time when he and his family was subjected to harassment by the Congress party leadership.

The Editor-in-Chief of Republic TV also urged the Congress party to reconsider its path of trying to coerce and intimidate a journalist on his duty by taking things out of context and to use fake news against him.

“In the last 72 hours, numerous attempts of physical violence and threats have been issued and my phone number has been circulation by few people associated with the political party,” said Goswami.

Goswami added that he will not be cowed down by the threats and abuse issued by the Congress party and said that such abuses only made his resolve to report much firmer.

Sonia, you are nothing but a crumbling symbol of entitlement: Arnab

A day after the Congress ecosystem had suffered a meltdown after Arnab Goswami called Sonia Gandhi by her original name ‘Antonia Maino’ and questioned her silence on Palghar lynching, and started hounding him, resulting in an attack against Arnab Goswami, Goswami had declared on live TV again that he will not be scared by the intimidating tactics.

Last night, Goswami addressed to Sonia Gandhi again on the live debate of Republic TV. He stated, “I am sorry Sonia Gandhi, but here I am, back on the air. You carried out a little Italian mafia-style operation, remember?”

“And please Sonia, do not get touchy about the Italian reference, because that is where you are from. Because I truly mean it,” he said.

Calling Sonia Gandhi a failure, Arnab Goswami had said, “You failed Sonia, like you always do. You are a failure. You failed at elections. You failed to cover-up your scams. You failed to prop-up your tin-pot dynasty. And do you remember Sonia that scary tale? That those who dare to take you on do not survive to tell the tale? Figuratively or otherwise? Even that does not scare anyone any more.”

Youth Congress’ attack on Arnab Goswami

In a shocking incident, Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami was attacked by two goons in the wee hours of the night.

In the intervening night of 22nd and 23rd April, Arnab Goswami and his wife were driving back home when two bike-borne assailants attacked their car. According to Republic TV, the goons confessed that they were from Youth Congress and the attack took place only 500 meters away from Goswami’s residence.

Following the horrific attack on him, Republic TV’s Editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami released a video narrated the incident.

Narrating the incident, Arnab Goswami said that he and his wife were driving back to their residence around 12.15 AM at Ganpatrao Kadam Marg when two bike-borne attacked him. Arnab added that his security detail later informed him that the attackers belonged to Youth Congress workers, who confessed that they were given instructions by their higher-ups to carry out the attack.

In a video released after the attack, Arnab went on to hold Sonia Gandhi personally responsible for the attack while asserting that neither him or his network will be cowed down by the attack.

“I will hold you personally responsible for any consequences and any attack on me. If anything ever happens to me, it is Sonia Gandhi and Vadra family, who cannot take my questions, are responsible,” had added Arnab Goswami.

He was scratching, was without a mask, never mentioned his religion: Here is the truth about a man being booked for ‘refusing delivery from Muslim man’

OpIndia Staff
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He was scratching, was without a mask, never mentioned his religion: Here is the truth about a man being booked for ‘refusing delivery from Muslim man’

In a video that has now surfaced online, a man, reportedly the 51-year-old Gajanan Chaturvedi who was earlier arrested for allegedly refusing to take delivery from a Muslim person has dismissed claims of ‘religious discrimination‘ levelled against him.

In the viral video, Chaturvedi clarified, “My elder daughter who lives in Hyderabad had booked groceries online for me. When I and my wife went downstairs to collect our supplies, I was not pleased with his behaviour. He was sitting on his Scooty and scratching his unmasked face.”

No mask, was touching face continuously

“I was taken aback, given that people are scared to even touch their own face at the time of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic.” On being asked his address, the 32-year-old delivery man said that he had come from Naya Nagar, one of the Coronavirus hotspots in the city. The man asked, “How did you reach here from Naya Nagar when there is a strict restriction on the movement of people?”

Scared by the fact that the delivery boy was touching his face continuously and had come from a Coronavirus hotspot, the Mumbai man refused to take his groceries. When the couple began heading towards their home, the boy allegedly kept yelling, “I am a Muslim and so you are not taking my stuff.”

Never mentioned his religion

The man clarified, “During my interaction with him, I never mentioned the word ‘Muslim’ even for once.” Rebuking the delivery boy, the man emphasised that he would not take the groceries. “It is important to stay safe. If I get infected, then, my children will also get infected”, Chaturvedi was heard saying in the video.

The man alleged that the boy did not turn the camera towards himself as it would have revealed the fact that he was not wearing the mask. “There were no gloves in his hand. I told him that I won’t take the goods. Tell me where am I wrong?”, the man asked.

The delivery boy had registered a complaint at Kashimira police station on Tuesday. The police booked Gajanan Chaturvedi under the Indian Penal Code section 295 (a) for committing a deliberate or malicious act with the intention of outraging Patel’s religious feelings and beliefs. He was then produced before a Thane court. Chaturvedi was later released on a personal surety of Rs 15,000, as per reports.

Itna neeche koi Brahmin hi gir sakta hain: Complaint against Congress spokesperson Udit Raj for anti-Brahmin statement while targeting Arnab Goswami

OpIndia Staff
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Itna neeche koi Brahmin hi gir sakta hain: Complaint against Congress spokesperson Udit Raj for anti-Brahmin statement while targeting Arnab Goswami

A social worker and the president of an NGO operating in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district, Sampat Saraswat has lodged a complaint at the Cyber ​​Crime Branch in New Delhi against Congress spokesperson Udit Raj for his defamatory statement against the Brahmins.

Calling the Congress spokesperson an opportunist and a product of caste-based reservation Saraswat took to Twitter to share the copy of the complaint lodged against the leader for making vulgar comments on Brahmins.

Tweet by All India Parisangh, founded by Udit Raj

Like other Congress leaders, Udit Raj also attacked Arnab Goswami after the Republic TV Editor-in-Chief questioned UPA chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi over her silence on Palghar mob-lynching in which two Hindu Sadhus and a driver were killed by an unruly mob. The Congress spokesperson’s organisation All India Parisangh Tweeted through its official handle in Hindi: “Itna neeche koi Brahmin hi gir sakta hain, jitna Arnab Goswami gira hain”, roughly translated as (only a Brahmin can fall as low as Arnav Goswami has fallen).

Tweet by All India Parisngh, founded by Udit Raj
All India Parisangh twitter account, that mentions it was founded by Udit Raj

Though after getting noticed and called out, All India Parisangh promptly deleted the Tweet, however, until then the damages were done. People on Twitter took screenshots of the hateful message and circulated it widely.

Congress and journalists attacked Arnab Goswami

Congress leaders and journalists who identify themselves as neutral had attacked Arnab Goswami after the Republic TV Editor-in-Chief questioned UPA chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi over her silence on Palghar mob-lynching incident. While Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot called Goswami ‘insane’ and called for BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar to ‘fire’ Goswami from Republic even though he no longer has anything to do with the media house, Congress handles also came together to prove Sonia Gandhi as a patriot. Soon, the journalists and liberal fraternity had also joined in, to abuse Arnab.

Arnab Goswami on Sonia Gandhi

During the show, Arnab Goswami had referred to Sonia Gandhi by her real name ‘Antonia Maino’ and had cited her Italian origin as he exposed her hypocrisy over the killing of Hindu Sadhus in Maharashtra.

Arnab further alleged that he felt that Sonia Gandhi was deep down happy that Hindu saints have been killed by the frenzied mob in a state that is governed by her party. He also contended that Gandhi would prepare and send a report to Italy saying she had been successful in eliminating Hindu saints in a state where she had formed the government.

Is Azaan really ‘banned’ during the lockdown? Not really says Delhi Police: Here is exactly what happened in the viral video

OpIndia Staff
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Is Azaan really ‘banned’ during the lockdown? Not really says Delhi Police: Here is exactly what happened in the viral video

The Delhi Police issued a clarification after an incident on Friday where two policemen in Delhi could be heard telling Muslim women that they couldn’t offer Azaan in a Masjid in the wake of the nationwide lockdown imposed to combat the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic. The Delhi Police has said in a statement that “Azaan may be carried out in accordance with NGT guidelines” and Muslims were requested to offer their Namaz while staying indoors and have Sehri at home.

Source: Delhi Police/Twitter

The statement was released by the Delhi Police after the video of an altercation between Muslim women and two Policemen went viral on social media. In the said video, the Muslim women claim that five people are allowed to perform Namaz in the Masjid and insist that Azaan be allowed to be carried out. The Policemen are heard saying in the video that Azaan could not be carried out in the Masjid. One of the women asks, “If Azaan is not carried out, how will we offer Namaz?” The Policemen insist that the order have come from the Lieutenant General of Delhi.

From the nature of the conversation and the statement by the Delhi Police which mentions guidelines issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), it appears that loudspeakers might have been used to relay the Azaan to the masses. The use of loudspeakers during Azaan is prohibited and the NGT has taken a hardline stance on the matter. Last year in March, the NGT directed the Delhi Police to map out hotspots in the city and crack down on violators.

“There has to be strict action of identifying and mapping the hotspots of noise pollution, requiring installation of noise measuring device by the users of noise creating devices having potential of causing high noise level, beyond the prescribed limit,” the bench had said.“There has to be a surveillance and monitoring mechanism, coordination with educational institutions and resident welfare associations,” it added.

Thus, quite clearly, Azaan is not banned but using loudspeakers for it is indeed prohibited. The video does not portray the entire series of events and it does tell us about the chain of events leading to that conversation. However, it appears very probable that loudspeakers were involved and perhaps, the Delhi Police should offer more facts regarding the incident.

Meanwhile, Muslim ‘intellectuals’ on social media have gotten themselves busy playing the victim card over the incident and hailing the women as heroes. It’s not only Saba Naqvi who insinuated that Azaan during Ramzan had been banned, others joined in the clamour too.

There doesn’t appear to be any clarity yet regarding the precise nature of events, however, the victim card is out again on full display. It could very well be that there was lapse on the part of the two policemen but at the same time, the policemen could have been telling the people that Azaan through loudspeakers is not permissible. In any case, it’s too early to be playing the victim card but that hasn’t prevented the usual suspects from spinning the incident already into their narrative of alleged persecution of Muslims in India.

Maulana Saad transferred windfall donation received by Tablighi Jamaat in March to a dozen different bank accounts: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Maulana Saad transferred windfall donation received by Tablighi Jamaat in March to a dozen different bank accounts: Reports

Soon after the role of Tablighi Jamaat as the most potent coronavirus hotspot came to the fore, Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, who heads the orthodox Islamic organisation headquartered in Nizamuddin has been on the run from the police to evade arrest. The police are now investigating into the finances of Tablighi Jamaat, suspecting Maulana Saad of being involved in money laundering. In the preliminary investigation, the police have discovered that the outsize donation received by Tablighi Jamaat in the month of March was transferred to more than a dozen different bank accounts almost within 24-48 hours of receiving the amount.

Millions of rupees as donation, maximum in March this year

According to the Crime Branch of Delhi Police, which is investigating the finances of Tablighi Jamaat, Maulana Saad has been receiving money in the tunes of billions by anti-national forces. They have also asserted that the money received by Tablighi Jamaat is being made under the guise of donation for religious education. The role of accused Maulana Saad’s acolyte, Javed, is also under scanner as the police have accused him of transferring millions of rupees every day to Markaz’s account in batches from different bank accounts to escape scrutiny.

As per a report in Jagran, the Crime Branch and Enforcement Directorate of the Delhi Police, which is investigating the Tablighi Markaz, have discovered a bank account in the Bank of India’s branch at Nizamuddin in the name of Markaz. Maulana Saad’s name is also mentioned in the account. Although Tablighi Jamaat keeps receiving the donation from its patrons all around the year, the investigative agencies are probing into the unusually large donations that the organisation received in the month of March.

However, a key aspect to this donation was that within 24-48 hours of receiving the windfall, the money was transferred to more than a dozen accounts through net banking, raising suspicion. When the bank officials questioned Javed regarding the suspicious transfer, he gave evasive replies to the bank officials’ queries. Later, when on March 31, the bank officials warned to close the bank account if Saad does not appear in person.

The influence wielded by the head of Tablighi Jamaat organisation can be gauged from the fact that when the bank officials asked one of his closest confidantes, Javed, to ask Maulana to appear before them, he right-away rejected their demand saying Saad will not appear. He even gloated to the bank officials that even a prominent security officer along with several others had to seek Maulana’s time before meeting him.

In order to ascertain the truth behind the suspicious bank account transfer, the Crime Branch is preparing to arrest not just Maulana Saad but other six maulanas involved in the management- Ashraf, Mufti Shehzad, Dr Zeeshan, Murshleen Saifi, Salman and Yunus.

Significantly, in its investigation to determine the whereabouts of Maulana Saad, the team of Delhi Crime Branch on Thursday reached Shamli district of UP. Maulana Saad reportedly owns a plush farm-house in the district which he frequents every year. However, he wasn’t found there.

Cases filed against Maulana Saad

As the congregation organised at Markaz Nizamuddin and attended by thousands of Tablighi Jamaat patrons across the country rendered it into a super-spreader of the coronavirus, the head of Islamic organisation, Maulana Saad, was booked under The Epidemics Act 1897 for allowing religious congregation in the month of March despite repeated warnings from the centre and the state government. He disregarded the guidelines issued by the government in the light of the Wuhan coronavirus epidemic which is spreading rapidly. Maulana Saad is wanted in an offence lodged by the Delhi Police under sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 and sections of the Indian Penal Code, for violating government directions on steps to be taken for avoiding the spread of Wuhan Coronavirus.

In addition, the Delhi police have also charged Tablighi Jamaat Chief Maulana Saad Kandhalvi for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The charges of culpable homicide under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code was added to the FIR that was already lodged against the religious leader on March 31.

Furthermore, the Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against the Tablighi Jamaat Chief Maulana Saad Kandhalvi and nine others on Thursday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on predicate offence that is registered by Delhi police.

Letter war escalates in West Bengal: Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar replies to CM Mamata Banerjee, accuses her of minority appeasement

OpIndia Staff
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Letter war escalates in West Bengal: Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar replies to CM Mamata Banerjee, accuses her of minority appeasement

As West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee concentrates more on confronting the central government and the governor of the state than combating the Coronavirus pandemic in the state, governor Jagdeep Dhankhar has written a letter to the Chief Minister refuting the allegations made against him by her. Governor Dhankhar has accused that Banerjee’s ‘entire strategy is crafted to deliberately divert people’s attention from her abject failure in combating and containing Coronavirus in West Bengal’.

In an 11-page letter sent to the CM, the governor wrote that Mamata Banerjee’s appeasement of the minority community is most unfortunate which can’t be appreciated. He referred to the incident when Mamata Banerjee was asked about the role of Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi in spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus, she had replied with “do not ask communal questions.” Jagdeep Dhankar wrote that a perpetrator can never position as victim.

The governor sent the letter in response to a letter sent to him by Mamata Banerjee on Thursday where she had accused him of directly attacking her and her ministers and officers. “The tone tenor and language of your letters and messages to me are unparliamentary and an insult to my office,” the chief minister wrote. She also added, “You appear to have forgotten that I am an elected Chief Minister of a proud Indian state. You also seem to have forgotten that you are a nominated Governor.” Banerjee also added that there have been repeated and consistent interference in administration by the governor, and decency and the constitution have been flagrantly transgressed.

But the governor strongly refuted these allegations, saying that tot a single concrete instance is indicated as regards these. “Just have a look, at your convenience, and you’ll fairly concede,” he asserted.

He urged the state government to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, “which this government is trying their best to brush aside.” He listed the allegations against the TMC government by saying, “Imagine what Dr BC Roy and the like would have done today, to combat Covid! How he would have connected to and empathised with the people of the state, with what energy, honesty, integrity, empathy and commitment! Surely no coercive route! No violations of human rights! No politicking! No loot of public funds! No PDS politicization and scam!”

He wrote that it is unfortunate that the Central Teams visiting the states to coordinate the Coronavirus war were made to face unwholesome scenario, while in all other states it was seamless. He said that Banerjee’s cover up “mechanism” would lead to very painful results. As an example, he cited “banning of mobile phones inside Isolation Wards is a case in point”. He wrote that it is time to reveal the real picture so that the fight against the Coronavirus may be enhanced and sharpened.

Stressing how Mamata Banerjee is underplaying the threat of the Chinese Virus, Jagdeep Dhankhar wrote that she has conveniently chosen to give the very Coronavirus a miss in her letter. He further wrote, “​Your communication is part of “alibi strategy” emanates from a script that seeks to cover up ‘monumental failures’ in these challenging times by series of ‘blunders’ while people of the state are suffering untold miseries, media is muzzled, health warriors are stressed and there is virtual suspension of human rights of those not belonging to your party”.

The governor also writes that the CM’s favorite pastime is being in ‘accusatory mode’ and taking to streets. “Real time action and effective governance are need of the hour -not theatrics or politicking,” he added.

Governor Dhankar wrote that Mamata Banerjee’s actions are antithetical to the core values of Constitution, and her constant refrain ‘Governor is nominated’ is an affront to Dr. Ambedkar and founding fathers of our Constitution. “Governor is appointed and not nominated. He is neither a ‘rubber stamp’ nor a ‘post office’. He has to discharge functions and perform duties of great consequence,” he wrote.

He also referred to a telephonic conversation with the CM, where she “not only lacked courtesy but were also in ‘shouting mode’. This surely is not the way people at our level work,” he wrote.

With this explosive letter by governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, it seems that the letter war between the two constitutional heads of the state will continue for some time.

Pakistan: Tablighi Jamaat preacher cries profusely at fundraising event attended by PM Imran Khan, blames women for Wuhan Coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan: Tablighi Jamaat preacher cries profusely at fundraising event attended by PM Imran Khan, blames women for Wuhan Coronavirus

Maulana Tariq Jameel, a religious preacher of the Tablighi Jamaat and a scholar, was seen crying profusely on Pakistani television during a fundraising event attended by Prime Minister Imran Khan. This was after members of the Islamic Missionary organization spread the virus across the lengths and breadth of the country. While asking for Dua, Jameel was seen crying like a man-boy begging Allah to save the world from the Wuhan Coronavirus. And in the presence of Imran Khan, the Islamic preacher made some rather incendiary remarks.

Snorting every two seconds and crying, Maulana Tariq Jameel prayed to Allah to protect those battling the Wuhan Coronavirus at the frontlines. At one point, he says, “In a lockdown, ten people are sitting inside a home. What’s the benefit of a lockdown?” And then proceeds to break into another bout of profuse weeping. He tells Allah that only he can get rid of the calamity and lockdown will not help much.

Maulana Tariq Jameel also says, “Just as a child says to his mother, ‘I am tired of crying in front of you, at least listen to me now,’ I am also telling you that I am tired of weeping in front of you. Please heed our prayer. We don’t have anything else.” He begs Allah to help everyone but especially the Muslim Ummah. Maulana Tariq Jameel also begs Allah to grant the honour of a Martyr to those who have died due to the virus. He begs Allah to protect everyone in the country from the deadly virus.

During his address prior to the prayer, Maulana Tariq Jameel spoke about the plagues in earlier times and claimed that these were natural disasters sent by God and begging for repentance from Allah was the only way for humans to rid themselves of the calamity. He also offered sermons on the kind of clothes women should wear. Expressing dismay, he said, “Hamare betiyon ko kaun nacha raha hai? (Who is making our daughters dance?)” He said that when Muslim women and the youth indulge in shameless and immodest behaviour, then Allah inflicts pain and agony on humans.

During the course of the sermon, Maulana Tariq Jameel also blamed the media for spreading lies and appealed to Muslims to only eat Halal food. He appealed to Pakistani PM Imran to request everyone to beg for forgiveness to Allah. The entire agenda of his discourse was painting the Wuhan Coronavirus as punishment for humans and only forgiveness from Allah could forgive them. Even so, blaming women for the Wuhan Coronavirus appears far-fetched. He insisted that not even ventilators or vaccines could help humans fight the deadly pandemic but only Allah could.

Who is Maulana Tariq Jameel?

Maulana Tariq Jameel is one of the most prominent Islamic television preacher, religious writer, scholar and a member of the Tablighi Jamaat. He belongs to the Deobandi school of Islam. He regularly offers sermons on self-purification, the importance of following Allah’s diktats and following the path shown by Prophet Muhammad. He was born on the 1st of January, 1953 at Mian Channu in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. He is an alumnus of the Government College University, Lahore. He received his Islamic education from Jamia Arabia, Raiwind, where he studied Qur’an, Hadith, Sufism, logic, and Islamic jurisprudence.

Maulana Tariq Jameel holds great influence among Urban Muslims. According to the Muslim 500, “In addition to running a madrasa in Faisalabad, Pakistan, Maulana Tariq has delivered thousands of lectures around the world. He has been very effective in influencing all types of the community ranging from businessmen and landlords to ministers, actors, and sports celebrities.”

The Role of Tablighi Jamaat in spreading the Wuhan Coronavirus

The Tablighi Jamaat has spread the Wuhan Coronavirus not only in India, where it has emerged as the greatest cluster of Coronavirus cases, but also across other countries in South Asia and in territories as far as Palestine. Islamic religious events held in Pakistan and Malaysia, too, served as conduits for the virus to spread to numerous countries in the region and even to countries as far off as Palestine. In Pakistan too, the Tablighi Jamaat event at Raiwind served as the conduit for spreading the virus across the entire country.

At one point of time, over half of the Wuhan Coronavirus cases in Malaysia were linked to the Tablighi Jamaat event held at a mosque outside of Kuala Lumpur. Most cases in Brunei and at least 10 cases in Thailand were linked to the Islamic Missionary organization. Eleven out of twelve people who tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus on March 16 in Cambodia had attended the Islamic evangelical event in Malaysia.

Dead bodies remain unattended in Mumbai hospital, coronavirus suspect patient spends the night with 2 bodies around him: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Dead bodies remain unattended in Mumbai hospital, coronavirus suspect patient spends the night with 2 bodies around him: Reports

As the menace of coronavirus outbreak threatens to overwhelm the public health system in the country, overburdening the healthcare workers, a shocking case of gross dereliction of medical duty has come to the fore from the Cooper Hospital in Mumbai where at least 5 patients were left to fend for themselves for about 22 hours. According to the reports, the patients who were either COVID-19 patients or suspects were left unattended in the Hospital’s isolation and casualty wards for about 10 to 22 hours because attendants were terrified of touching them.

The traumatised patients were stuck in the ward that also had bodies of other patients who had died in the hospital. Their request to move the bodies was overlooked by the authorities until the videos and pictures of the ward were sent out and one of them described the pathetic conditions to a politically-connected friend who called up senior officials of the hospital and got the bodies moved. As per a report in Mumbai Mirror, Three dead bodies were in the isolation ward while two in the casualty ward.

One of the patients awaiting COVID-19 results was so disconcerted by the bodies on either side of his bed that he remained awake the whole night on Wednesday. The man, a heart patient, said he made several panic-stricken calls to his wife to request the hospital administration to shift the bodies but the bodies were removed only the next evening after she got in touch with a political leader and persuaded him to intervene. “More than the anxiety of the test results, the tribulation of spending the night with the corpses is gonna remained etched in my memory forever,” he said. 

The deceased, Raghunath Jadhav, 58, a flower seller at Santacruz, had died at 6 pm on Wednesday, but his son Ganesh, 29, was handed over the body at 4.30 pm the next day. Another deceased, Rachana Mane’s grandmother, remained in the isolation ward for about 10 hours. She died in the wee hours on Thursday but her body was given to her family only after 4:30 PM.

The Cooper Hospital Dean Dr Pinakin Gujjar contended that the inordinate delay in shifting the bodies was because the staff members had refused to wrap the bodies of the deceased and the Juhu police arrived late for the panchnama. Gujjar also added that the plausibility of coronavirus infection in all the five cases was pretty high. He stated that the patients whose bodies were left unattended in the hospital’s isolation and casualty ward were suffering from co-morbid conditions but they also exhibited symptoms of carrying COVID-19 infection.

Gujjar also issued a clarification that there are no shortages of high-quality body bags to wrap the deceased. He said that the hospital had received 70 body bags just a day before yesterday. Akhil Chitre, vice president, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, said he is going to write a letter to Health Minister Rajesh Tope. “I am going to demand an investigation. Workforce management at Cooper must improve,” he said.

As per some staff members quoted by the Mumbai Mirror report, the hospital has definitely erred on not following the recommended measures. According to one doctor, the body of the suspected/confirmed cases of COVID-19 cannot stay unwrapped for more than two hours.

A similar case was reported in West Bengal recently when a viral video from a Kolkata hospital showed patients sitting helplessly as the dead bodies of coronavirus patients around them remained unattended.

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