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FIRs filed against The Wire Founder-Editor Siddharth Varadarajan for spreading fake news about Yogi Adityanath

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FIRs filed against The Wire Founder-Editor Siddharth Varadarajan for spreading fake news about Yogi Adityanath

Two FIRs has been registered against The Wire Founder-Editor Siddharth Varadarajan for spreading fake news against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Varadarajan, in a bid to whitewash the deeds of Tablighi Jamaat, had wrongly attributed a fake quote to the UP CM.

Mrityunjay Kumar, the media advisor to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, informed that despite the warning from the state government, Varadarajan neither deleted the false article and nor apologised for the same. Therefore, an FIR has been registered against him and actions been taken as warned earlier. “If you are also thinking about Yogi government kindly remove such thinking from your brain”, Kumar warned others about spreading fake news about UP govt.

As soon as the news of Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin emerged as the newest hotspot for coronavirus outbreak, the ‘liberals’ huddled up to absolve the congregation of defying orders and putting public health and safety at risk.

At 12:45 AM on 31 March 2020, The Wire Founder-Editor Siddharth Varadarajan tweeted a link claiming that the Nehru Stadium in Delhi will be converted into quarantine facility. While sharing it, Varadarajan attributed a quote to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Varadarajan claimed that on the day Tablighi Jamaat event was being held, “Adityanath insisted a large Ram Navami fair planned for Ayodhya from March 25 to April 2 would proceed as usual and that ‘Lord Ram would protect devotees from the coronavirus”.

Siddharth Varadarajan’s tweet attributing fake quote to Yogi Adityanath

The Founder-Editor of The Wire took quotes of an expelled mahant and misattributed them to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to whitewash the Tablighi Jamaat superspreaders.

After Varadarjan’s tweet, Mrityunjay Kumar had tweeted saying that CM Yogi Adityanath has not made any such comment. ‘Delete it else actions will be taken against it and defamation proceedings will also be initiated. After that you will be forced to beg for donations for legal case along with donations for the website’, the CM’s media adviser had tweeted referring to The Wire asking for donations from the public.

https://twitter.com/MrityunjayUP/status/1245226821643194368

The second FIR was filed in Ayodhya police station for the fake tweet posted by the Wire editor. The FIR filed by one Harbhajan Gaud says that Varadarjan had posted the fake tweet to defame UP CM Yogi Adityanath and the Uttar Pradesh govt.

The Tablighi Jamaat has emerged as the latest hotspot after dozens of COVID-19 positive cases were traced back to Nizamuddin in Delhi where hundreds of Muslims had gathered on 21 March 2020 for three-day Islamic evangelical event. As of 1st April, 2100 Muslims were evacuated from the building in Nizamuddin and sent to isolation ward. Investigation is currently underway and efforts are being made to trace those who had attended as well as those who had come in contact with them.

Scientists identify at least eight strains of coronavirus from over 2,000 genetic sequences

OpIndia Staff
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Scientists identify at least eight strains of coronavirus from over 2,000 genetic sequences

The researchers who are working overtime to understand the evolution of the virus, have identified at least eight strains of novel coronavirus doing the rounds globally. According to a report in National Geographic, the samples included from almost every continent except Antarctica showed the virus is taking on an average of 15 days for mutation.

Over 2,000 genetic sequences of the coronavirus were submitted from the laboratories across the world to an open-source project Nextstrain.org to examine how the virus is migrating into new subtypes.

However, this does not mean that the virus is turning dangerous, rather, the mutations are helping scientists understand their behavior and origin. Nextstrain Co-founder Trevor Bedford, a computational biologist by profession at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, US, said, “These mutations are completely benign and useful as a puzzle piece to uncover how the virus is spreading. One thing that’s become clear is that genomics data gives you a much richer story about how the outbreak is unfolding.”

As per reports, the evolution of the virus also helped scientists to debunk the conspiracy theory that the virus has been originated in laboratories.

The deadly pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that emerged in the Wuhan province of China last year and has been a reason for severe health crisis from across the world is the product of natural evolution, the study reveals in the Journal Nature medicine.

The corresponding author on the paper Kristian Anderson, Associate Professor of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research Institute in the US, “By comparing the available genome sequence data for known coronavirus strains, we can firmly determine that SARS-CoV-2 originated through natural processes.”

When Congress tried to use Ramayana’s popularity on Doordarshan to win elections: Watch video

OpIndia Staff
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When Congress tried to use Ramayana’s popularity on Doordarshan to win elections: Watch video

Amidst the palpable threat of novel coronavirus sweeping across the country, PM Modi, on March 23, 2020, announced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days to blunt the insidious spread of coronavirus. With India’s vast population penned in their respective houses, the National Broadcaster Prasar Bharati decided to retelecast the massively popular Indian epics-Ramayana and Mahabharat on Doordarshan channels on popular demand.

The popularity of the show Ramayana can be gauged by the fact that as soon as the first episode of Ramayana went live, Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana on Doordarshan became the top search on Google in India with several people presumably either trying to find out what time the series would begin or trying to find an online link to watch the show. Indians who are locked up inside their homes due to the looming threat of coronavirus welcomed with open arms the retelecast of the show and once again hooked up to their television to relive their fond memories of the 1980s.

However, this did not sit well with some of the Congress leaders who questioned the government’s priorities while fighting a pandemic. Soon after the announcement that the two epic show will return to the Indian television, Jothimani, who is a close aide of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, criticised the government for having misplaced priorities. “Millions of daily wage labourers, platform dwellers, farmers, differently-abled, single women and other poor marginalised communities are struggling to cope up with the lockdown. Heartbreaking stories of children starving. Sad to see the Modi govt priority”, the Congress leader said on Friday.

In 2007, Congress had also raised doubts over the existence of Lord Ram. However, there were days when even the Congress party had resorted to seeking votes in the name of Lord Ram. In the 1980s, the Congress party did not shy away from exploiting the huge popularity of Ramayana and its stars among the Indians. In an interview in 1988, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad stated that they had enlisted TV actor Arun Govil, popular for playing the character of Lord Ram in the serial, in the Allahabad by-polls elections against VP Singh, who had just resigned from the Congress party over the government’s reluctance to investigate alleged kickbacks in defence contracts such as Bofors deal.

“We were trying to get Arun Govil on our side because VP Singh was trying to get him on his side. However, only after VP Singh said that Arun is not Ram but Raavan, did Govil agree to campaign for the Congress party to oppose this statement by VP Singh,” Azad said.

In the above interview, Azad was seen tacitly admitting that the Congress party used the Ramayana actor not in his capacity as a TV celebrity but as an actor playing out his role of ‘Lord Ram’ to dissuade people from voting for VP Singh. Govil, projecting himself as a pious Hindu, donned saffron robes on the hustings which drew large crowds. While canvassing for Congress, the Ramayana star stated, ″Take the name of the Lord and vote for the Congress.″

Nevertheless, Congress shenanigans of cashing in on Arun Govil’s popularity as Lord Ram did not yield them the desired result as VP Singh emerged victorious in the by-poll elections. Actor Amitabh Bachchan was initially finalised as the Congress candidate to fight against Singh. However, after a groundswell of opposition against his candidature within his party, Amitabh was dropped at the last minute. Suni Shashtri was latter fielded against VP Singh from the Congress but Singh defeated him with a margin of over 1.10 lakh votes. Besides Allahabad, the Congress party received a crushing blow in the two assembly by-elections – Tanda (Faizabad) and Chhaprauli (Meerut).

Indore: Medical team that had gone to check a coronavirus suspect assaulted, pelted with stones, police team attacked too

OpIndia Staff
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Indore: Medical team that had gone to check a coronavirus suspect assaulted, pelted with stones, police team attacked too

A medical team that had gone to check on a patient with suspected coronavirus symptoms was attacked and pelted with stones in Indore’s Tatpatti Bhakhal today. As per reports, the gathered mob had viciously attacked the team of health workers and had even thrown stones from nearby rooftops.

As per reports, when the medical team sought help from the police, the police team was attacked too. The gathered mob even broke down the barricades and used the women among them as human shields when the police tried to take action.

The doctor informed that they had gone for screening as directed by authorities and have been doing so since past three days. The team had gone after they found a history of someone getting in touch with a COVID-19 positive person. “As soon as we started asking, they started throwing stones at us,” the doctor informs. The doctor further states that because they had the police force and others along with them, they were saved.

A police officer while speaking to the media said that an old lady was to be taken for medical tests but people started opposing. Soon, a crowd gathered. Following this, police was called upon. The mob then directed the authorities that before anyone from the locality is taken for medical tests, they should be first informed.

The Police officer also confirmed that the mob broke the barricades and pelted stones. “Action will be taken against them,” the police informed. One of the health workers said that they were just going about doing their work when a mob came and started hurling stones at them. They had to run away to save themselves.

The medical team had reportedly gone to take the suspected coronavirus patient for further medical examinations. After the attack, senior police and administrative officials have reached the place. The barricading has been put up again.

It is notable here that Indore has been the city worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic in Madhya Pradesh. On Tuesday alone, 20 new positive cases were found, including 11 women and children. The city’s coronavirus tally has reached 63.

This is one of the many such cases when a mob had tried to resist the works of the authorities during the coronavirus outbreak. Earlier, reports of vicious attacks and stone-pelting on police officials had surfaced in Bihar and Gujarat. In Bihar’s Madhubani, a police team was attacked, pelted with stones and even fired at by a Muslim mob when said team tried to prevent a mass gathering for Namaz at a Mosque.

In Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, health officials seeking contact details of coronavirus positive patients were assaulted on the suspicion that they were collecting data for CAA and NRC.

A massive manhunt has been launched after several dozen cases of coronavirus were traced to a large gathering of Muslims in a Tablighi Jamaat conference held in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area organised by Tablighi Jamaat. Over 400 attendees were shifted to hospitals yesterday and over 2000 were placed under quarantine. The area has been sealed off.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan invites Pakistani youth to do a ‘jihad’ against coronavirus

OpIndia Staff
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Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan invites Pakistani youth to do a ‘jihad’ against coronavirus

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has invited Pakistani youth to join ‘jihad’ against coronavirus.

Taking to Twitter, Khan said that he wants the Pakistani youth to ‘play their role’ in helping the country’s fight against coronavirus by joining something called ‘Corona Tiger Force’. The Corona Tiger Force is organised to do ‘jihad’ against the ‘suffering caused by the pandemic’.

On Monday, Khan addressed the nation and said that while Pakistan is not rich like the US to fight the coronavirus, the country has its faith, Islam and that would help them sail through. In fact, Khan had also praised China,  the country which unleashed Wuhan coronavirus on rest of the world, for tackling the deadly virus by ‘locking down 2 crore people’. Imran Khan had also informed his citizens that coronavirus is a threat only for the old and people who are already sick. There is no medical evidence to suggest this. “Of these, only 4-5% people need to be hospitalised. Remaining can be cured by self-quarantine,” Khan informed his citizens. Again, there is no medical evidence to back this claim.

Tipplers fall for April Fool prank in Karnataka town, line up in front of liquor shops after social media messages said they will open for a day

OpIndia Staff
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Tipplers fall for April Fool prank in Karnataka town, line up in front of liquor shops after social media messages said they will open for a day

Tipplers in the state of Karnataka who is going through a dry phase because of countrywide lockdown fell prey to an April fool day prank on social media that confirmed the availability of liquor at Gadag town on Wednesday.

People from various corners of the town queued up in front of a shop in Mulagund Road hoping to purchase some liquor unaware of the fact that it is April fool day. Although they were queued up in a disciplined manner, they had apparently ignored the norm of social distancing and stood in close proximity to each other. The crowd included women, youth and senior citizens.

The man who saw the incident and shot a video of the same said, “The tipplers were speculating that the shop would open on April 1 and today a person stood in the queue. Soon others too started following him. Thus a long queue was formed but to no avail.”

Gadag rural police personnel rushed to the spot after being informed about the incident and asked the people gathered in front of the liquor shop to disperse.

Read- Coronavirus lockdown: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan allows sale of liquor as ‘lack of alcohol may cause social problems’

Liquor shops in the state of Karnataka are shut and the sale of liquor is banned ever since the countrywide lockdown was announced by the Prime Minister in order to prevent the deadly epidemic of COVID-19 to stop spreading further. The coronavirus has been spreading rapidly across the population disrupting the normal lives of the people. India has reported 1723 confirmed of coronavirus while 171 recovered from the disease. 55 casualties have also been reported.

Four more Tablighi Jamaat attendees test positive in Assam, state tally 0 to 5 in less than a day, may cross double-digits by evening

OpIndia Staff
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Four more Tablighi Jamaat attendees test positive in Assam, state tally 0 to 5 in less than a day, may cross double-digits by evening

With four more positive cases reported in Assam on Wednesday, the total number of confirmed Wuhan coronavirus cases in the state goes up from 0 to 5 in less than 24 hours. These four new positive cases were all reported to be Tablighi Jamaat attendees as the Nizamuddin Markaz emerges as a hotspot for COVID-19.

“All four were in Markaz, attended Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi,” confirmed Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, also stating that the cases in the state “may cross double-digits by evening.”

Addressing a press meet in Guwahati, health minister Sarma said that in addition to the first patient at Silchar Medical College and Hospital, four more people have been tested positive for Coronavirus at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH).

The State health minister furthered that the centre has provided the state government with a list of 547 people on Tuesday, out of which 134 were in the Nizamuddin area but not in Tablighi Jamaat event. He added that 68 people had stayed back in Delhi and 4 of them tested positive in the National Capital itself. “347 are back in Assam but did not get themselves quarantined. Out of 347, 230 have been traced overnight and samples are being collected. However, 117 are yet to be traced, added Sharma.

After dozens of country-wide COVID-19 positive cases have been traced back to the Tablighi Jamaat, the authorities have started a massive nation-wide manhunt to trace all the attendees who had participated so that they could be quarantined and their contact tracing could be established. Many of the foreign nationals who had attended the event were found ‘hiding’ in mosques at various parts of the country.

The recent gathering of as many as 3,500 people at a religious conference at Nizamuddin in the national capital is threatening to turn the area into the biggest COVID-19 hotspot in the country as it is triggering a tide of infections in several states.

The central and state governments now face the challenge of pan-India contact tracing and containment as thousands of participants at the March 13-15 event at Nizamuddin’s Banglewali Masjid have been exposed to those who have tested positive for COVID-19.

Coronavirus positive cases in India has risen sharply to 1,637, according to the health ministry website. A jump of 386 cases in merely 24 hours. The death toll currently stands at 38.

United Nations Secretary-General terms COVID-19 as ‘worst crisis’ in 75 years of UN history, equates the pandemic to World War II

OpIndia Staff
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United Nations Secretary-General terms COVID-19 as ‘worst crisis’ in 75 years of UN history, equates the pandemic to World War II

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the ongoing Wuhuna Coronavirus pandemic could be the most challenging phase since World War II. He stated that the pandemic can lead to a recession that probably has no parallel in the recent past.

The UN Secretary-General on Tuesday during the launch of reports on the socioeconomic impact of pandemic said, “We are facing a global health crisis unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations one that is killing people, spreading human suffering, and upending people’s lives… This is much more than a health crisis. It is a human crisis. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is attacking societies at their core.”

He stated that there is a risk of enhanced instability, enhanced unrest and enhanced conflict in the aftermath of the pandemic, stressing on a stronger and more effective global response to the outbreak.

The UN Chief called for unity against the pandemic, and forgetting the political games and understand that it is humankind that is at stake, may be able to emerge from the impending humanitarian and economic crisis. Mr Guterres said: “The new coronavirus disease is attacking societies at their core, claiming lives and people’s livelihoods”.

Antonio Guterres said, “The magnitude of the response must match the scale of the crisis large-scale, coordinated and comprehensive, with the country and international responses being guided by the World Health Organization.”

Read- As the world grapples with Wuhan Coronavirus, China engages in daylight robbery, theft and increased military activity: Read how

As per reports, the UN Chief reiterated the WHO’s clarion call clarifying that the pandemic is far from extinguishing at present and stressed the need for collaboration worldwide to tackle the negative impacts of the pandemic on the global economy.

He also warned the countries that are not respecting the guidelines of World Health Organizations.

Guterres said, “Let us remember that we are only as strong as the weakest health system in our interconnected world. It is essential that developed countries immediately assist those less developed to bolster their health systems and their response capacity to stop transmission.”

The UN report estimates that up to 25 million jobs could be lost around the world as the result of the outbreak. It also projects an up to 40% “downward pressure” on global foreign direct investment flows.

As the Wuhan Coronavirus continues to spread rapidly, around 856556 cases have been reported worldwide. 42332 casualties due to coronavirus have been reported while 178300 have been recovered.

From skits to hiring artists and dressing them up as coronavirus, police officials employ innovative means to create awareness about the threat posed by novel COVID-19

OpIndia Staff
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From skits to hiring artists and dressing them up as coronavirus, police officials employ innovative means to create awareness about the threat posed by novel COVID-19

As the threat of the coronavirus in the country becomes more acute, the law enforcement officials across the country are coming up with ingenious campaigns to create awareness amongst the public about the perils of breaching the lockdown restrictions. With the fight against the coronavirus being tough and long, the police officials are leaving no stone unturned in discouraging the people from flouting the government-mandated constraints, often by using innovative and inventive ways.

Recently, the Bengaluru police’s avant-garde method to dissuade people from venturing out amidst lockdown is winning hearts on the Internet.

A bevy of policemen from the Ulsoor Traffic station presented a small street play to warn the people what would happen if they disregard the restrictions and step out of their homes. Cops wearing coronavirus-shaped helmets accosted the miscreant biker who was blissfully meandering the roads during the lockdown. Once the biker was caught, the coronavirus-shaped helmet was transferred to him, conveying that the virus could infect anyone who on and about the road. The play accurately captured the hazards of roaming around on the streets and attracted rave reactions from many on Social Media.

Before Bengaluru Police’s enthralling skit, police officials in the southern metropolis of Chennai were seen donning the spooky coronavirus-shaped helmets to exhort people to stay at home. A police officer named Rajesh Babu collaborated with a local artist Gowtham and designed a “Coronavirus Helmet” to raise awareness about the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He wanted to persuade people to comply with the nationwide lockdown by understanding the seriousness of the issue.

According to the Police personnel, the Coronavirus helmet has been useful in raising awareness. The distinct approach taken by the cops has appealed to the minds of the commuters. Children after seeing the gear chose to stay at home as well.

Andhra Pradesh cops today created awareness amongst people today by hiring local artists and dressing them up as Yamraj, Chitragupta and coronavirus.

They went about the town making announcements to make people stay inside the house amidst the lockdown.

In addition, the cops in Kerala, the state with one of the highest numbers of coronavirus cases, did a “handwashing” dance to illustrate people how frequent handwashing can help them in warding off the threat of coronavirus. The video showing a group of cops wearing masks and performing a handwashing dance to the Malayalam song Kalakkatha from Prithviraj’s film Ayyapanum Koshiyum quickly gained traction on social media with a record number of views.

The total number of coronavirus cases as of April 1 has skyrocketed to 1637, with the last 2-3 days witnessing a huge spike owing to a large congregation occurred at Markas Nizamuddin which was attended by at least 1700-1800 people and has emerged as a breeding ground for the virus’ unrestrained proliferation. With the cases rising steadily, it will, perhaps, need a lot more than police ingenuity to curb the spread of the virus.

Telangana: 20-year-old Engineering student sets herself ablaze fearing Chinese COVID-19 infection

OpIndia Staff
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Telangana: 20-year-old Engineering student sets herself ablaze fearing Chinese COVID-19 infection

In a distressing incident, a 20-year old engineering student has committed suicide by setting herself ablaze in Telangana’s Rajanna Siricilla fearing that she might have contracted the Chinese coronavirus.

According to the reports, the deceased has been identified as Dasari Sravanthi, daughter of Dasari Balaiah of Jillella village of Thangallapalli block in the district. She was a studying fourth yeat B.Tech at a private engineering college in Siddipet district.

The complaint lodged by the victim’s mother Lakshmi said that the deceased set herself ablaze when no one was at home.

“My husband Balaiah went to Muscat long ago, my son Vamsi and I had gone to the fields for work and my father-in-law Rajaiah had gone out for some personal work. When my father-in-law returned home in the afternoon, Sravanthi was burning in flames. By the time my son and I reached home, she was already dead,” Lakshmi said in the complaint.

The police rushed immediately to the village with a fire tender to put out the flames. A suicide note was recovered from the house in which Sravanthi said she was suffering from symptoms of cold and fever and feared she might be suffering from coronavirus.

“She suspected that she might have contracted the virus from her co-passengers in the bus in which she used to travel to her college in Siddipet. She asked her brother to take care of parents,” Lakshmi said.

Lakshmi added that there could be some other reason for her suicide and requested a thorough investigation as Sravanthi had not spoken about symptoms before.

Rahul Hegde, the Superintendent of Police of Rajanna Siricilla said that prima facie, it was evident that Sravanthi had committed suicide fearing that she might have contracted COVID-19. “But we have sent the suicide note to the forensic experts to find out whether it was written by Sravanthi herself or fabricated by anybody else. We are also awaiting the autopsy report to know whether she really had any COVID-19 symptoms,” the SP said.

This incident comes on the lines of a similar incident after a 58-year-old man committed suicide in Channarayapatna taluk in Hassan district on Sunday morning. The parent was earlier examined for COVID–19 infection and tested negative for the same. However, he was asked to stay quarantined at home for two weeks.

As the deceased had suffered from many other ailments, it has been suspected that the quarantine might have driven him to take the extreme step, said the medical officer.

In another incident, a 44-year old senior anaesthetist, Utpaljit Barman who was working at Pratiksha Hospital in Guwahati had reportedly died from a heart attack after he took anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine, that is also said to be effective against the Wuhan Coronavirus.

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