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Amidst worsening coronavirus crisis in Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray government denies Army intervention in the state: Report

OpIndia Staff
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Amidst worsening coronavirus crisis in Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray government denies Army intervention in the state: Report

Even as the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak in Maharashtra continues to exacerbate, and the number of positive coronavirus cases rising precipitously, threatening to overwhelm the public health system, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in the state has refused the central government’s move to deploy the Armed Forces and stem the inexorable spread of the virus in the country’s financial capital, says a report published in Sakal.

The number of positive coronavirus cases in the city of Mumbai, one of the largest and most dense Indian cities, are surging uncontrollably. A large number of infected people detected from various suburbs of Mumbai such as Worli, Dharavi, Andheri, Jogeshwari, Byculla, Powai, Dongri, Grant Road, Santacruz, Chembur, Govandi, Malad, Dadar and Kandivali have amplified the fears of a possible transition of the contagion into community transmission stage.

With the state government’s inability to effectively implement the lockdown and deter people from breaching the restrictions, the centre had planned to send in Army to take control of the city and blunt the soaring spread of the virus. Despite the number of positive COVID-19 cases surging uncontrollably in the city, people in Mumbai continued thronging the streets in flagrant violation of the lockdown orders. The centre had therefore planned to station Army in the city, specifically in areas such as Dharavi, Ray Road, Mankhurd, Mohammad Ali Road and Bhiwandi in Thane.

However, the plan was suddenly dropped after the Uddhav Thackeray government remained obstinate in denying the Army intervention in the station amidst a spiralling crisis. According to the report, the Maharashtra leadership is racked with misgivings that if the Indian Army is allowed to take over the reins of Mumbai, the powers vested in state and local administration would be effectively lost and the central government would dominate the city with the presence of the federal armed forces. It is because of this fear, the report says, that the Maharashtra state government, which has so far bungled spectacularly in its response to confront the coronavirus, refused Army intervention in Mumbai.

Maharashtra is the worst-affected state from the scourge of coronavirus in India. About 2064 positive COVID-19 cases have been registered in the state, out of which more than half of them have been reported from the city of Mumbai alone. Yesterday, 217 positive coronavirus cases were reported by the BMC with 16 fatalities.

Frontrunner for Democratic nominee in 2020 US Presidential Election Joe Biden accused of sexual harassment by former staffer

OpIndia Staff
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Frontrunner for Democratic nominee in 2020 US Presidential Election Joe Biden accused of sexual harassment by former staffer

In a shocking revelation, a former aide has accused former US Vice President and Democratic party presidential candidate Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her during the early 1990s when he was a Senator.

According to the reports, Tara Reade, who hails from California, had accused Joe Biden of assaulting her in the basement of a Capitol Hill office building in the spring of 1993. She had also filed a police report in Washington on Thursday which said that she was a victim of a sexual assault by an unknown person.

Tara Reade, who had briefly worked as a staff assistant in Biden’s Senate office said that in 1993, Biden had pinned her to a wall in a Senate building, reached under her clothing and penetrated her with his fingers. Reade’s statements were confirmed by her friend, who said that Reade had told her the details of the allegation at the time. Another friend and a brother of Reade also said she told them over the years about a traumatic sexual incident involving Biden.

Last year, Reade had publicly accused Biden of inappropriate touching in the past. In a podcast interview, Reade had accused Biden of assaulting and touched her without consent while the two were alone after she delivered him a gym bag.

However, Biden deputy campaign manager and communications director Kate Bedingfield has refuted the allegations and stated that the former vice president has “dedicated his public life to changing the culture and the laws around violence against women.”

She added, “he firmly believes that women have a right to be heard and heard respectfully, but such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press.” Bedingfield further claimed, “What is clear about this claim: it is untrue. This absolutely did not happen.”

Earlier in the Democratic primary, Biden had also faced accusations of unwanted touching by several women, who said they were uncomfortable with hugs, hand-holding and other actions. Reade was among the few victims who had come forward at the time to narrate her ordeal.

Reade’s sexual harassment charges against Joe Biden comes a time when the former vice president is seeking to unify the Democratic Party behind his campaign as the party’s presidential nominee after Bernie Sanders dropped out of the contest last week.

Delhi police closes in on Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad, expects to arrest soon: Reports

OpIndia Staff
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Delhi police closes in on Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad, expects to arrest soon: Reports

According to media reports, the Delhi Police’s team of crime branch officials is all set to nab controversial Muslim cleric Maulana Muhammad Saad – the mastermind of the Tablighi Jamaat coronavirus incident, to question the Tablighi leader and other people named in the FIR in next two days. The crime branch will include doctors in the team so that Maulana Saad does not get an escape route, reports India TV. He has been absconding since March 28.

The sources in the Delhi police told India TV that they also suspect that Maulana Saad might make excuses to avoid questioning claiming that he has just come back from home quarantine, therefore, he will not be able to support the inquiry immediately. He might also say that since he was in quarantine from last 14 days therefore he is not aware about the current situation of the Jamaat headquarters and he needs time to talk to his colleagues, the sources said to IANS.

“We are thinking of including a team of doctors so that he can’t evade the questioning now,” said a police officer of the Crime Branch who was asked how would Delhi police counter claims of the Maulana.

The officer added that Maulana will be quizzed on why was such a huge gathering called despite repeated warnings from the police, SDM, WHO and health department of Delhi government. The Crime Branch official also added that there is no need for any evidence as of now. The further line of investigation will be prepared on the basis of the statements of the accused, he added.

Responding to the questions on Maulana Saad’s insistence of meeting police in the Markaz headquarters, his whereabouts and delay in questioning, the official said, “All such news has been spread by the media. We are doing what needs to be done. We are ready with everything. Till now we are waiting for his quarantine period to be over because social distancing is important during this pandemic spread.”

Maulana Saad Khandalvi is the chief of Nizamuddin Markaz, the event which has now emerged as a hotspot for the maximum cases of coronavirus as over 1300 of the total number of Tablighi Jamaatis have been traced back to the event and their contacts. Nearly 25,000 people have been quarantined by the government of India.

Maulana Saad is 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.

Earlier, there were reports that the head of the Tablighi Jamaat, Maulana Saad, who claims to have quarantined himself in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak was reportedly using his time to gather support and mobilise the Jamaatis. Saad who is a resident of Zakir Nagar is hiding on the outskirts of Delhi at a supporter’s house. Reportedly, the Islamic cleric had hidden in a dense population area, knowing well that it could help evade arrest. 

Coronavirus: Mumbai’s Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum reports 19 news cases on Sunday, 47 cases and 5 deaths till now

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: Mumbai’s Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum reports 19 news cases on Sunday, 47 cases and 5 deaths till now

Nineteen fresh cases of Wuhan coronavirus have been reported from Mumbai’s Dharavi on Sunday alone- the largest slum in Asia which is home to nearly eight lakh residents, taking the total to 47. So far five deaths have been reported from the locality in Mumbai, reports Times of India.

on 13 April, 4 new cases of the coronavirus have already been reported from Dharavi.

According to the reports, the Mumbai police on Monday barricaded the area amid the rising number of coronavirus cases from the locality. The policemen have maintained a strict vigil to check the movement of the people. The authorities stated they are working towards limiting the spread of coronavirus in the crowded areas.

The officials said that seven of the cases came from three different areas where positive cases had not been reported so far.

Earlier this week, the Mumbai civic officials had said that at least nine containment zones have been put in place in Dharavi and added that more such zones will be identified if more cases come up in the area.

Maharashtra has been the epicentre of India’s coronavirus cases with more than 1,700 cases being reported out of the country’s 8,356 cases. Maharashtra has reported 127 deaths out of 300-odd deaths due to coronavirus in the country. Mumbai was identified as a coronavirus hotspot by the centre after it reported more than 1,000 cases.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray has decided to extend the lockdown in the state at least until April 30, which has reported the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country.

‘Liberals’ and Islamists attack cricketer Ravindrasinh Jadeja, mock Rajput community after he shares a video of his swordsmanship

OpIndia Staff
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‘Liberals’ and Islamists attack cricketer Ravindrasinh Jadeja, mock Rajput community after he shares a video of his swordsmanship

Cricketer Ravindrasinh Jadeja on Sunday took to Twitter to show his swordsmanship skills.

However, soon after he shared his video, he was attacked by ‘liberals’ and Islamists who not only mocked his swordsmanship but also abused the Rajput community.

Islamists like JNUSU officebearer too joined in in hating on the Rajput community.

Columnist with Shekhar Gupta’s ThePrint, too, joined in in mocking the Rajput community. Self-proclaimed ‘liberals’ too shared memes to imply that the Rajput have never won any major war in history. Similar shaming tweets were shared by many. However, amidst all the hate, there was also good-natured humour as other cricketers also cheered Jadeja. Cricketer David Warner and Jaydev Unadkat cheered him on.

Interestingly, those accusing Jadeja of ‘flaunting’ his upper caste privilege, seem to be unaware that Jadeja comes from a humble background. A February 2016 article by Sidharth Monga states that Jadeja’s father, Anirudhsinh Jadeja was a security guard without any fixed income. His mother was a nurse in government hospital and the family of five, Jadeja’s parents and his two sisters, lived in a one-room employee flat that was allotted to his mother. He lost his mother when he was 15-16 years old after a freak accident in kitchen.

Mangaluru: Minor was ‘bored’, so packed friend inside suitcase to bring him home, case registered

OpIndia Staff
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Mangaluru: Minor was ‘bored’, so packed friend inside suitcase to bring him home, case registered

The Mangaluru police have filed a case against a teenager for reportedly trying to smuggle his friend to his apartment, inside a suitcase on Sunday amidst the nationwide lockdown imposed in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, as per a report in Deccan Herald.

The incident occurred at a housing complex near Arya Samaj Road in Mangaluru. The minor who hails from a well-to-do family wanted his friend to accompany him during the lockdown as he was residing alone in his apartment, as he was ‘bored’. On being denied permission by the Housing Association from doing so, the minor came up with a bizarre plan.

The teenager packed his friend in a suitcase and took him to the apartment complex. But, given the weight of the bag, the boy kept struggling with it. This caught the eye of the residents of the complex. They insisted the minor to open the bag after it had hit a bump and his friend started moving inside the suitcase.

The cops came in after they were tipped off about the incident and registered a case against the duo. They will now be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.

As restrictions have been imposed over non-essential goods across the country due to the nationwide Coronavirus lockdown, addicts across the country are leaving no stone unturned to procure non-essential items like Gutka, tobacco, cigarettes, and alcohol. One of the tool being used for the delivery of such items is the drone, which is one of the latest gadgets that have become popular.

A similar incident came to light from Gujarat’s Morbi area where a drone was used to deliver paan masala to homes by a young man named Hiren Patel. The Rajkot police had detained Patel and his friend Ravi, the owner of the drone and have initiated a probe against the two people under the Epidemic Act. The drone worth Rs 25,000 has also been seized.

Watch: Pakistani doctors dance inside hospital wards in the middle of coronavirus pandemic

OpIndia Staff
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Watch: Pakistani doctors dance inside hospital wards in the middle of coronavirus pandemic

At a time when the healthcare workers are risking their lives to limit the spread of Wuhan coronavirus, doctors in Pakistan were seen dancing inside a hospital ward to perhaps lighten the mood.

The bizarre incidents of doctors dancing in front of patients have been all over the social media now. In the viral video, it can be seen doctors wearing some sort of protective suits and dancing in front of the patients. However, it is not sure whether the patients are tested positive for the coronavirus or are just in quarantine.

Former cricketer-turned-politician and BJP MP Gautam Gambir shared a video of such wild scenes in a Pakistani hospital, where doctors were enthusiastically dancing to a tune ‘Chitta Chola’, while patients rejoiced their dance moves.

Another video of doctors dancing inside a quarantine facility has also gone viral. The viral video is reportedly shot at one of the quarantine centres in Pakistan, where doctors are dancing with corona positive patients. Few patients also joined the doctors and the healthcare staff to shake their legs inside the health facility.

The global death toll due to the Chinese pandemic coronavirus has crossed 1,14,200-mark with more than 1.8 million people being tested positive for the Chinese virus.

On Sunday itself, Pakistan has reported 386 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of the coronavirus positive patients in the country to 5,170. Fourteen people have died due to Chinese pandemic in the last 24 hours in Pakistan, taking the total number of dead to 86. 

Delhi Police registers case against a firm for allegedly issuing fake ration cards, company cries foul

Dibakar Dutta
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Delhi Police registers case against a firm for allegedly issuing fake ration cards, company cries foul

On Sunday, a case was registered by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police against unidentified people behind a website for allegedly issuing ration cards to people in exchange for a payment of ₹407. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 420 and Information Technology (IT) Act Section 66D after a complaint was filed by the Food and Civil Supplies Department.

Minister of Food and Civil Supplies for Delhi, Imran Hussain, said, “Cheating the public and playing fraud on the government at this critical juncture is a crime against humanity. The guilty persons should be immediately arrested and sternly proceeded against for violating various provisions of law.” The cops have also been directed to bring the accused to justice without further delay.

Amidst the nationwide lockdown imposed in the wake of the Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak, the Delhi Government has been providing free ration to authorised cardholders and also to those who have already applied for it. Hussain urged people to stay alert and not fall prey to ‘fake websites.’

The website, rationcardagent.co.in, alleged to have been used in fraudulently issuing ration cards to people is registered under the name of one Rajesh Shivolkar of the Shivolkar Corporate Consulting Private Limited. The information regarding the website ownership was revealed by the WHOIS database.

When our team contacted Mr. Rajesh on the registered mobile number, he informed that he is the lawyer of the “form-filling company.” Shivolkar claimed that they only ‘fill form’ and do not provide ration card and blamed ‘unhappy customers’ for the FIR.

On Thursday, the Jharkhand police nabbed two fraudsters, namely, Noor Hassan and Mohammad Iftekhar who were accused of duping people to the tune of ₹52 lacs by urging them to donate to a fake website in the name of PM Cares Relief Fund.

During the inquiry, one Parmeshwar Sau has been identified as the main leader. The cops raided the house of Sau and recovered several documents including bank passbooks, checkbooks, and ATM cards. The ring leader is currently on the run from the law enforcement authorities while the other two have been sent to JP Jail. The fake website has been taken offline now.

Assorted fake news peddlers come together to spread lies that woman drowned her five children in river ‘due to lockdown’

OpIndia Staff
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Assorted fake news peddlers come together to spread lies that woman drowned her five children in river ‘due to lockdown’

While the country has come together to fight Chinese coronavirus, a certain section of propagandists are rooting for the government’s efforts to fail. Some of them have now taken to spreading fake news on social media to prove that the country-wide lockdown, which has actually been significantly effective in controlling the spread of pandemic, has been a ‘failure’ because it didn’t ‘fail’ the way they hoped it would.

Serial fake news peddler and former Aam Aadmi Party founding member, SC advocate Prashant Bhushan shared an IANS story published by Outlook to claim that the woman drowned her five children in the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh as she had no food for her children as her ‘work stopped due to lockdown’.

The IANS story shared by outlook mentions that the police officials thought she was mentally unsound. The whole claim of her drowning her children due to not getting food during lockdown was attributed to ‘sources’.

Same story was shared by the usual suspects who peddle propaganda under the garb of ‘concern’.

Official Congress leaders also joined in in spreading the news. At this point, do note that there is no official statement of the woman drowning her children due to loss of wages during lockdown.

The same piece of news was picked up by IndiaTimes’ serial fake news peddler Shweta Sengar. She even took the liberty to put the unverified piece of information in the headline.

Shweta Sengar, IndiaTimes fake news peddler-in-chief

This piece of news was also shared by the Left and Congress leaders and supporters.

However, truth is far from the claims made by the ‘concerned’ propagandists.

Woman drowns children after a fight with her husband

The woman had actually drowned her children after she had a fight with her husband. The woman confessed to the police that she drowned her children because her husband would fight with her every day. That’s not all, in a video shared by Political Kida, one can hear the woman admitting that she drowned her children because of her fight with her husband.

As one can hear her say she took the step due to the fight with her husband. While the incident of the woman drowning her children is indeed unfortunate, the propagandists masquerading as journalists and politicians used it to attack the Modi government over lockdown.

Despite the proofs, some were still not ready to believe. Leftist leader Kavita Krishnan expressed ‘concerns’ and claimed that the woman’s statement was being taken under distress.

The Police also verified that there was indeed food in her house and the reason behind her killing her children was not lack of food due to lockdown.

But then, why let facts get in the way of propaganda.

Central govt rejects Sonia Gandhi’s demand to transfer PM-CARES fund to PMNRF, to allow FCRA-exempted foreign donation

OpIndia Staff
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Central govt rejects Sonia Gandhi’s demand to transfer PM-CARES fund to PMNRF, to allow FCRA-exempted foreign donation

The Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund), which is a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic has been opened up for donations from abroad after it was exempted from the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). The foreign donors can now download donation receipts directly from the PM-CARES portal, Economic Times reports.

Further, the government has stated that the PM-CARES fund will be audited by one or more qualified independent auditors who will be appointed by the Trustees, including Prime Minister.

In addition, the PM-CARES Fund will also receive exemptions from the operation of all provisions of the FCRA Act and can now accept donations from individuals and organisations based in foreign countries through foreign credit/debit cards and through wire transfer/SWIFT. To this purpose, a separate bank account has been opened. Also, donors will be able to download the receipts directly from the portal itself.

Earlier, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had lamented over PM-CARES fund and had demanded that all money under the PM-CARES fund should be transferred to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund to “ensure efficiency, transparency, accountability and audit”. She had termed the new fund as a “waste of effort and resources” to create two separate silos for distribution of funds.

It is pertinent to note that the PMNRF had a management committee that oversaw how the funds are employed. While the Prime Minister has discretion, the committee, when it was set up by Jawaharlal Nehru included the President of the Congress party.

The Modi government seems to have ignored the current Congress President’s demands

Further, the Left parties had also cried foul claiming that receipts for donations to the PM-CARES fund are not available. Congress leaders had also asked why the CM Relief Funds are not eligible for funds from companies under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), like the PM-CARES.

Interestingly, the issues raised by most Congress CMs regarding the CSR donation is an outcome of a law (Companies Act) passed by the UPA Government in July 2013, under which funds set up by the state government were omitted from the list of ‘eligible funds’ which could receive CSR donations.

“The controversy around CM relief funds not being eligible for CSR is hence a result of incomplete knowledge of the law and facts around it,” a senior government official said, as per the ET report.

According to the senior official, the law passed in 2013 notified that “eligible funds” for CSR included only the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund (PMRF) and any other fund set up by the Central government for purposes stated therein.

He also clarified that the contribution of funds to the state disaster management authority for combating the coronavirus shall be counted as CSR expenditure and hence companies can make CSR contributions to any state government for fighting the epidemic through the disaster management authority route.

He added, “The Corporate Affairs Ministry on March 23 clarified that Covid-19 activities relating to the promotion of healthcare, preventive healthcare and sanitation, and disaster management shall qualify as CSR expenditure.”

In the face of the Wuhan Coronavirus, Prime Minister Modi launched PM CARES Fund where he invited public contribution to fight the pandemic. The PM CARES Fund is an emergency fund that was set up to provide relief to those affected by the Wuhan Coronavirus.

The PM CARES, or the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund has been set up as a public charitable trust. The Prime Minister is the chairman of this trust and its members include Defence Minister, Home Minister And Finance Minister. 

Meanwhile, the PM-CARES fund will also have up to 13 eminent experts to undertake relief or assistance of any kind relating to a public health emergency including the creation and up-gradation of healthcare facilities.

It is notable here that with open-hearted donations from the public, corporates and celebrities, the PM-CARES fund had collected over Rs 6500 crores with a few days of its launch.

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