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Modi govt cracks whip on corrupt babus: After dismissing 27 bureaucrats, more heads to roll as centre seeks list of tainted babus

The Modi Government implementing it’s zero tolerance for corruption’ policy tightens its noose on corrupt babus. Days after sacking a handful of tainted officers from service the Modi government passes a directive to all departments and ministries to prepare monthly reports identifying officials facing charges of corruption and other wrongdoing against them.

The government, in the latest, has asked all the departments to conduct a periodic review of officials and list the names of officers with questionable credentials in the monthly report to be submitted to the Department of Public Enterprises on the 15th of every month.

As mentioned in the directive passed on to various departments, based on these reports the compulsory retirement provision will be used to get rid of more tainted officials.

As part of this cleanup operation, the government had compulsorily retired another 15 senior I-T officers for corruption on June 18. The sacked officials include the ranks of the principal commissioner, commissioner, additional commissioner, deputy commissioner, joint commissioner and assistant commissioner.

The retirement has been ordered under Rule 56 (j) of the General Financial Rules of Central Government Services.

This came after a week after the government dismissed 12 senior income tax officers including the Chief Commissioner, Principal Commissioners and the Commissioner of Income Tax Department have been ordered to retire early under Rule FR 56 (J) of the Central Civil Services (CCS) on Monday. The order was issued by Finance Ministry.

As per reports, some of these officers are said to be guilty of sexual assaults, illegal and disproportionate assets, and corruption.

The development comes within days after the Cabinet Secretariat and the Central Vigilance Commission had instructed the vigilance heads across departments to speed up the process of identifying officers eligible for compulsory retirement under Fundamental Rule 56(j) of Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972.

The decision was taken to weed out the corrupt officials sitting atop bureaucratic ranks and non-performing officials over the next few months.

Under 56 (j), the performance of an officer who has turned 50 or 55 or has completed 30 years of service is reviewed to determine if he/she is accountable for compulsory retirement.

Though 56(j) has been in existence for several decades, however, it is the Narendra Modi led government that decided to act upon this rule. The Modi government has been instrumental in forcing various government employees to retire ahead of their tenure of attaining superannuation based on their non-performance or lack of integrity.

This move by the BJP government is expected to improve the administrative efficiency of officials, reduce corruption and open jobs avenues across departments such as railways, armed forces, postal department, and central schools over the next few years.

Letter reveals Karnataka Congress-JDS govt ignored RBI warning and did not act against ‘halal’ investment group, IMA

While the investigations of the Rs 1,500-crore IMA scam was ongoing, a 2018 RBI letter revealed the inaction of the JD(S)-Congress led Karnataka government against IMA jewels, reported India Today.


Reportedly, the RBI had written a letter in November 2018 asking the Karnataka state government to launch a probe into IMA jewels, a halal investment group. The Assistant Commissioner of the Revenue Department, which was probing the Ponzi companies to attach their properties, issued a forfeiture notice against IMA in the newspapers calling the attention of investors towards the fraudulent activities of the company.

The notice had also named 16 entities including Mansoor Khan and asked people to provide information about their movable and immovable assets. However, the Karnataka police did not file an FIR citing ‘procedural issues’.

As reported by Deccan Herald, Revenue Minister R V Deshpande said that the public notice did not receive any feedback from the citizens. He also said that since the investors of IMA were made shareholders, the case wouldn’t attract the provisions of Karnataka Protection of Interest of Depositors (KPID) Act. An action could only be taken after a police report. The act enables the government to attach properties of a fraudulent company.

Interestingly, Deshpande had also revealed that Roshan Baig had visited him along with Mohammad Mansoor Khan, who was the founder and managing director of IMA jewels.

The scam first came into light when an audio clip of Mohammad Mansoor Khan where he claimed he is ending his life due to financial distress went viral. Khan had accused senior Congress MLA Roshan Baig of arm twisting and refusing to return the money that he had borrowed.

Mansoor Khan has gone missing since the audio clip went viral. Reports suggest that he must have fled to Dubai on June 8th. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued summons to Mansoor Khan asking him to appear before June 24.

Amid the row, Roshan Baig had been suspended on Tuesday by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee for ‘anti-party activities’.

Naya Pakistan? Human right activist charged under anti-terrorism laws for raising voice over rape and murder of a minor

A human right activist, Gulalai Ismail, has been forced into hiding for raising voice over the rape and murder of an 11-year-old minor in Pakistan.

In an open letter demanding Ismail’s protection, a group of women activists including Mariana Katzarova of Reach All Women in War, Binalakshmi Nepram of the Northeast India Women Initiative for Peace and Jaana Rehnstrom of the Kota Alliance, appealed to the government of Imran Khan to ensure her safety.

The letter has been passed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Omar Waraich, deputy South Asia director at Amnesty International said that “harassment, threats and intimidation of Gulalai Ismail and her family at the hands of the Pakistani authorities must end”.

“Instead of addressing the alarming human rights situation in the country, they are expending their energy and resources on trying to silence human rights defenders,” he added.

Ismail’ ordeal began almost a year after Pakistanis elected Imran Khan, as their Prime Minister.

Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) activist Gulalai Ismail’s name had been charged with sedition under anti-terrorism laws after taking part in protests to highlight the reportedly hapless response of the authorities to the killing last month of Farishta Mohmand, whose body was found in woodland near the family’s home in Islamabad.

The Imran Khan government had blacklisted Ismail on May 27 in connection with anti-state speeches case.

In a speech in the nation’s capital, Ismail, called on police and security agencies to move to protect citizens, in particular members of the Pashtun minority to which both she and the child belong.

Two cases had been registered against her in Islamabad under the anti-terrorism act for delivering ‘anti-state’ speeches and for allegedly inciting Pashtuns against the government and armed forces.

The first information report (FIR) lodged against the PTM leader mentions sections 500 (punishment for defamation), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups, etc) and 124-A (sedition) of the Pakistan Penal Code, as well as sections 6/7 of the Anti-terrorism Act, 1997.

She was briefly apprehended by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) at Islamabad Airport upon her arrival from London on June 10. After two hours of interrogation, she was later allowed to go.

In a Tweet on June 4, Gulalai Ismail’ father Professor Mohammad Ismail recounted the harassment his family was facing in the hands of the Pakistani authorities. He wrote that their home was raided on June 3 “by a large contingent of male police and security agencies before iftar.” He said they took away his mobile phone and his wife’s and the CCTV system. “They had no court order and didn’t give me any receipt of taking away these things. They were threatening me to be taken away,” he wrote on Twitter.

Gulalai, a Pashtun and women’s rights activist, was in 2017 awarded the ‘Reach all Women in War’ Anna Politkovskaya Award.

She co-founded a non-governmental organisation, Aware Girls, with sister Saba Ismail in 2002. The organisation aims to strengthen the leadership skills of young people, especially women and girls.

Gita is a military manual and contains instructions given on battlefield, should be read by all: Major General Subhash Sharan

Major General Subhash Sharan who is the additional director-general of Army recruitment in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Uttarakhand reportedly said that the Bhagavad Gita is a military manual that should be read by all youngsters.

Major General Subhash Sharan also said that the Bhagavad Gita also prepares people for all eventualities of life.

Major General further said that Bhagavad Gita contains instructions which are usually imparted on the battlefield.

“Bhagavad Gita is not a religious book. Youngsters must read it for the simple reason that it will prepare us for all eventualities of life. Bhagavad Gita is a military manual which contains instructions which is given on the battlefield. In the battlefield, we only talk about war. Therefore, I call the Bhagavad Gita a military manual”, he added.

Major General Sharan was in Meerut on 22nd June, Friday after the first round of recruitment rally in western UP which was held in Baghpat’s Baraut from May 25th to June 15th.

Recalling an interesting anecdote, he said that the American army had taken copies of Bhagavad Gita from India for their soldiers who were about to be deployed Iraq.

“To motivate their soldiers, the Americans took 30,000 copies of Bhagavad Gita to teach them ‘Karma Yoga’, that is, the reason behind fighting a battle and engaging their enemy without thinking about the final outcome”, he added.

Choksi’s health excuses are a facade, we will bring him in air ambulance: ED tells court

The Enforcement Directorate has rejected fugitive Diamond tycoon Mehul Choksi’s plea of ill health in its affidavit filed in a Mumbai court. As per reports, the ED had filed a counter affidavit to Choksi’s claims and has stated that the scam accused’s excuses of ill health are just a facade.


As per reports, PNB Scam accused Mehul Choksi had submitted to the court through his lawyer that he is too ill to travel and he is willing to be questioned in Antigua, where he had taken citizenship last year.

The ED, in its rejoinder, has stated, “The medical reasons and conditions appear to be facades being erected merely to mislead the court in an obvious attempt to delay the lawful proceedings”. The ED has also added that Choksi has already been given several opportunities to cooperate in the probe but he so far only evaded questioning.

The ED also added that Choksi has claimed that his assets worth Rs 6129 crores have been seized, but it is wrong and the ED has only attached properties worth 2100 crores during its investigation.

The probing agency also stated that Choksi’s claim of ill health is a ruse to evade questioning and if needed, they will provide an air ambulance with the best medical facilities and doctors to bring Choksi back from Antigua. The ED has also offered to provide all necessary medical facilities to Choksi once he lands in India.

The ED has also requested the court to direct Choksi to file an affidavit declaring his intention to return to India within a month.“In his affidavit, he should mention the exact date of his intended return,” submitted the probing agency.

Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi are the two main accused in the 13,000 crores PNB scam. While Nirav Modi has been arrested by UK authorities and the attempts for his extradition are already on, Choksi had taken the citizenship of the Carribean nation under an investment program. In January, Choksi had surrendered his Indian passport and had given up Indian citizenship.

On December 13, 2018, the International Police Organisation (Interpol) has issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Mehul Choksi on the request of the CBI. Interpol had also issued RCNs against Nirav Modi, his Belgian national sister Purvi Modi and brother Nishal Modi in relation to the scam.

‘Virtuous Paedophiles’: Another sickening step towards the normalisation of paedophilia by ‘enlightened progressives’

The normalization of paedophilia has become extremely mainstream in the West. It has become mainstream to suggest that paedophiles are ‘just like everyone else’ and worthy of our compassion. It has also been argued that society contributes to sex crimes against children by marginalizing and blaming paedophiles.

Paedophile Advocacy Groups have long been mainstream in the West. There was an actual paedophile political party in the Netherlands which was allowed to contest the country’s general election by the Judiciary in 2006. The primary agenda of the party, which called itself ‘Brotherly Love, Freedom and Diversity party (PNVD)’, was the legalization of child pornography and the lowering of the age of consent to 12 years old.

A new strategy that has been adopted to normalize paedophilia is the invention of the term: “Virtuous Paedophiles”. According to the narrative, ‘virtuous paedophiles’ are those who admit their paedophile tendencies and yet never act upon their urges. It’s also said that these paedophiles don’t call for the legalization of child pornography and the abolition of the age of consent like most paedophile advocacy groups do.

These paedophiles have a website dedicated to themselves and also have a Twitter account dedicated to themselves where they advocate for acceptance and raise awareness. They staunchly assert that sexual contact between adults and children is wrong under any circumstances due to the inability of the latter to consent.

Liberal Western Media has bought into that line of argument hook, line and sinker. There are numerous articles written about them. Far-Left website Salon published a report titled ‘Meet Paedophiles who mean well’. Another report was titled ‘Online Support Groups Can Keep Paedophiles From Offending but They Keep Getting Shut Down’, it said that “every time their support groups get shut down, saving virtuous paedophiles gets harder and less likely to happen.”

Psychologists, meanwhile, have opined that Paedophilia is a sexual orientation, putting it at par with homosexuality. A criminal psychologist argued, “An individual can have paedophilic interests without ever acting on these behaviourally. However, as I am working with criminal offenders, my experience is entirely weighted to those who have engaged in this behaviourally.” Similar arguments have been made by others as well. Things have reached a point where paedophiles are now writing articles on mainstream media outlets accusing others of being monsters.

The entire argument is based on a theoretical premise which can be summed up thus: “There exist paedophiles who are attracted to children but do not act on their urges. It is possible for them to experience the attraction without acting on them or satisfying their desires by using child pornography.” But is there any meat in this theory? Let us attempt to evaluate the theory in light of the admissions made by these very individuals while conversing with journalists.

Far-Left media outlet VICE published an article in 2017 titled ‘I Spent a Year Living With ‘Non-Offending’ Paedophiles’ where the journalist spoke with four self-proclaimed ‘Virtuous Paedophiles’. One of them he spoke to was called ‘Gary’. Gary was accused in 2010 of sexually abusing one of three foster children he was raised by the biological mother of the girl. The claims were dismissed by the Police, and also by the girl in 2015. However, two years later, the girl said that she was disgusted by the fact that Gary was posing as a ‘virtuous paedophile’ and she was the evidence of the fact that he was not one.

This Gary appears to be Gary Gibson who had himself said in public, ‘I knew I was attracted to little girls, I was always a little close, maybe I hugged them too tight, or did some things I shouldn’t have done, but I never penetrated a child, never – what I would call – had sex with a child.’ Thus, in his own words, he appears to have molested children but did not rape any, therefore, he is ‘virtuous’. It is almost bewildering that he is in the public eye and law enforcement authorities did not bother to question him exactly what things he did that he shouldn’t have done.

Sammy, another ‘VirPed’ member the journalist spoke to was a member of ‘pro-contact forums’. To make it clear, ‘pre-contact’ actually pro-child molestation and these forums are where members openly advocate molesting children. The third was a definite sexual predatory. ‘Jack’, this one was called.

Between 1967 and 1989, Jack admitted to having ‘inappropriately touched’ (read molested) over 300 boys. He told the journalist that he hadn’t molested again since 1989. Incidentally, he quit VirPed because he believed it was not ‘okay’ “to accept yourself for feeling an attraction to minors as long as you don’t act on it.”

The fourth was called ‘Ian’ and he didn’t tell the journalist any potentially criminal activity he might have committed. He claimed to be working at a specialized children’s library. The actions of the journalist himself are quite unethical. Although he writes in the article that he could not guarantee that these people had not committed any sex crimes against children, a paedophile admitted to him that he had molested over 300 children.

Yet, it appears he didn’t report it to the law enforcement authorities. One can understand the ethical dilemma here as a journalist, however, we are talking about someone who has molested over 300 boys. Sometimes, you have to take the fall to do something that is ethical. Thus, we have one VirPed who did commit sex crimes against children by his own account, one that was accused of committing a sex crime against his own foster child and another who was part of online forums where molesting children was advocated and quite probably, even child pornography was shared. The fourth one works in close proximity with children and there is no way of telling if he acted upon his fantasies or not.

Salon’s paedophile who wrote the article (it has now been deleted) calling others monsters, Todd Nickerson, himself has a very checkered past. He also featured in a documentary which was an attempt to portray paedophiles in a better light. As American rightwing outlet Breitbart pointed out, he admitted to being part of an online forum which advocated child molestation.

Nickerson says, as quoted by Breitbart, “Nothing illegal was happening there, but many of its most influential members were pro-contacters, meaning they believed that sex with children was theoretically OK and supported the elimination of age of consent laws. That forum still exists and I won’t name it here, but suffice it to say, I found myself taking up the same pro-contacter chants if only to feel like I belonged somewhere.”

Are we to trust the word of a paedophile who was a member of that group once upon a time when he says “nothing illegal” was happening there? Especially considering the fact that the moderators openly advocated child molestation which Nickerson describes as ‘pro-contact’. In the said article, he claimed that he was “victimized” by a vigilante group even though he himself admitted to having an extremely disturbing opinion about children. He was a part of this group long after the vigilante incident.

He was part of this forum for years, given the timeline he had provided and was involved with it even the year before he wrote that article for Salon. Thus, he wants us to believe that within the space of a year, without outside intervention,  he went from being a child molestation advocate to being a ‘Virtuous Paedophile’. Does anyone else find his story hard to believe?

We need to see all of this in context with the larger phenomenon that is underway here. The phenomenon of ‘Drag Kids’ is increasingly gaining prominence in the West. Last year, there was even an occasion when one drag kid, called Desmond Is Amazing, was seen dancing at a gay bar while adult gay men threw money at him. This child has an extremely troubling record which will be explored in a separate article.

There is also the existence of a significant section of paedophiles who perceive themselves to be part of a social movement to gain acceptance for their actions. They appear to believe that the age of consent should be abolished and that children are capable of giving informed consent and that paedophiles are even beneficial for children. Paedophile advocacy groups exist all over the world and there was even an international paedophile advocacy group, ‘International Paedophile and Child Emancipation’.

The most troubling aspect of the entire affair is the fact that Paedophilia is being labelled a sexual orientation at par with homosexuality by psychologists. No one should be more offended with this than homosexuals themselves.

Thus, we see that the actual ‘Virtual Paedophiles’ on the basis of which the theory of the existence of such a category of paedophiles was founded upon are not very virtuous themselves. Some of them have admitted to committing sex crimes against children while others have either been accused of it or have been part of forums that advocated child molestation.

Moreover, we are asked to place an awful lot of trust in such people when they say they haven’t committed any crime despite their extremely troubling past. One also ought to remember that Western psychologists who preach the existence of such paedophiles also advocate in favour of hormone blockers for pubescent children which permanently stop their natural growth at a very very young age and often, ruin their lives for good.

The mainstream media which advocates for such ‘Virtuous Paedophiles’ doesn’t think it’s absolutely deplorable that a journalist was told by one of these people that he molested over 300 children and yet, did not report the matter to law enforcement authorities. The same media has made a hero out of Desmond and does not find it problematic that he dances at gay bars in front of adult men who throw money at him.

Therefore, there is absolutely no reason for us to trust these psychologists and the mainstream media in this matter. The conduct of these self-proclaimed ‘Virtuous Paedophiles’ themselves proves that such paedophiles cannot exist. And is, thus, merely a theoretical concept like Unicorns that fart Rainbows. Of course, such Unicorns can theoretically exist but every evidence and observations and logic suggests that they do not.

There is an urgent need to increase the safety of children. However, surely, there are better ways towards achieving it than normalizing such extremely dubious people with a morbid past while chasing an illusion.

It is also important to note that none of these ‘Virtuous Paedophiles’ condemned the gay bar incident involving Desmond. And none of them, despite all their self-proclaimed virtue, have informed law enforcement authorities about their forums which still advocate child molestation.

Video and statistics highlights from England v Sri Lanka match

What a turnaround, what a match, what a win for Sri Lanka and what a comeback from behind. England v Sri Lanka would be remembered for years for producing such excitement and result which has opened the gate of opportunities for many teams.

England’s next three games are against Australia, India and New Zealand. If they lose all three they may not even reach the semis.

After winning the toss, Sri Lanka decided to bowl first. The start was horrifying as they lost both the openers in space of 3 balls with just 2 runs on the board. A counterattack by the Avishkha Fernando (49) who was playing his first match of the World Cup recovered the Lankans from an early loss. But the star of Sri Lankan innings was Angelo Matthews who finally found the form and scored a well made unbeaten 85, which helped the Lankans to achieve a respectable total of 232 in 50 overs. Wood and Archer took 3 wickets each, while Rashid took 2.

Watch: Sri Lankan Innings

England too had a poor start, they lost Bairstow on the second ball of the innings when he was caught plumb in front of the wicket off Malinga’s bowling. Malinga took another wicket as Vince was caught at the first slip. However, Root and Morgan steadied the innings for the next 12 overs.

All looked good till 30th over as England was cruising to the victory, but Malinga had other ideas, the Lankan legend dismissed Root and Buttler in space of two over and opened the floodgates of wickets. The panic started in the English camp and they started losing wickets under the pressure of scoring in a run a ball chase. Their only hope was Stokes who remained not out on 82 but didn’t get the support from the other end. The Sri Lankan star, Malinga who 4 wickets, also grabbed the Man of the Match award.

Watch: Fall of Wickets (England Innings)

STATS

  • Since the 2007 World Cup, England has lost all the matches they played against Sri Lanka in the World Cup, they lost in 2007, 2011, 2015 and now in 2019.
  • Malinga has now 51 wickets in World Cup history, only McGrath (71), Muralitharan (68) and Akram (55) have more wickets in the World Cup.
  • England has not won a single game against Australia, India and New Zealand in the last 27 years in the World Cup. They have to win 2 out of 3 games against these three teams to qualify for the semis.

CBI registers FIR against Sanjay Bhandari, Arms dealer linked to Rahul Gandhi, in the Pilatus Aircraft deal bribery case

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered an FIR against notorious arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, unknown officials in the Indian Air Force and Swiss aircraft maker Pilatus over alleged irregularities and corruption to the tunes of 339 crores.

The kickback amount was allegedly given during the procurement of 75 basic trainer aircraft for the IAF in 2009.


CBI’s FIR may also mean trouble for Congress’ son in law Robert Vadra. As per reports, during the Pilatus dealing, kickbacks were paid to Sanjay Bhandari’s company Offset India Solutions. The preliminary inquiry that led to this FIR was started under Manohar Parrikar’s tenure as the Defence Minister. By 2014, 43 of the 75 aircraft were already brought to India.

As per reports, the CBI’s inquiry had found that in 2009, Sanjay Bhandari’s company had received the kickback amount through his Singapore based bank account. From there the money was laundered to Bhandari’s company in Dubai and then, it was allegedly used to purchase properties in London. It is notable here that the Enforcement Directorate has already stated in open court that Sanjay Bhandari was acting on behalf of Robert Vadra for the purchase of properties in London.

It is notable here that not only Robert Vadra, the notorious arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari has been found to have conspicuous links with Congress president Rahul Gandhi too. Back in March, OpIndia had exposed the dubious land deals that linked Rahul Gandhi to Sanjay Bhandari.

The probe began in July 2017 after the government had ordered a probe into the Pilatus deal. The CBI had begun an investigation into the Rs. 2900 crore Pilatus deal which allegedly involved absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, who is close to both Congress President Rahul Gandhi and Robert Vadra.

While the ED is only looking at the money laundering and financial irregularities of the deal, CBI is investigating the larger aspects of corruption which also involves senior government officials and IAF personnel.

The Pilatus deal controversy began when Korea Aerospace Industries, the closest rival to the Pilatus, had strongly protested against the UPA government deal claiming that Pilatus had submitted an incomplete bid and demanded its disqualification. South Korea’s defence minister had personally contacted A.K. Antony, his Indian counterpart, requesting a “high-level review”. However, these objections were overruled and Pilatus was awarded the contract.

A sudden rise in cases of Encephalitis after years of decline in Bihar: Are Litchis to be blamed? Here is all you need to know

Much has been reported in the media on the ongoing unfortunate deaths of children in the “litchi belt” of Bihar due to Encephalitis – from sensible articles by researchers to the hysterical yet disgusting antics of some media persons barging inside hospitals and harassing on-duty personnel. This article attempts to bring clarity to this issue by laying down the facts that are known with regard to the cause of these illnesses and making some suggestions that can help solve this problem.

What is Encephalopathy/Encephalitis?

Encephalopathy is a broad term for conditions that can cause brain disease, damage, or malfunction. The symptoms of this disorder range from minor memory loss to severe illness such as seizures, loss of consciousness and death. “Encephalitis” is a more specific term for swelling (inflammation) of the brain and is usually caused by viral infections.

The highest concentration of encephalopathy cases in the current outbreak is being treated in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. This does not strictly mean that all victims are from that district, as these children have also brought to Muzaffarpur from East Champaran, West Champaran, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Vaishali, and Samastipur districts. Manoj Kumar, Executive Director of Bihar’s State Health Society has been quoted as saying that eleven children with AES have so far been admitted at government health facilities in Samastipur and Vaishali each and six cases are admitted in East Champaran.

Causes of Encephalopathy/Encephalitis?

The cause of AES is unknown in half of all cases across the state. However, in the outbreaks of encephalopathy at Muzaffarpur, the vast majority of cases have not shown any evidence of an active infection. As per health authorities, in the current outbreak in Bihar, Japanese Encephalitis virus has been identified in only two out of over 340 reported cases, thereby raising suspicion of the cause in the vast majority of cases being a toxin rather than an infection.

In studies conducted during outbreaks of AES at Muzaffarpur in June 2011, no viruses or other micro-organisms were identified in the clinical samples of cases presenting with AES, and the absence of isolated organisms has been a consistent feature of AES in the “litchi belt” over the years.

Do litchis cause Encephalopathy/Encephalitis?

The “litchi causes brain swelling” theory may sound almost unbelievable to a layperson, but in medical science, it is well-known and well-documented. A landmark study of 2014 published in the prestigious medical journal Lancet documented the presence of the toxin methylenecyclopropylglycine (hypoglycin A), in the blood samples of children suffering from encephalopathy in Muzaffarpur, which happens to be the highest producer of litchis in the country and supplies over half of the entire litchi business of the state of Bihar.

Hypoglycin A occurs naturally in litchis, and the outbreak of cases too was localised to the “litchi belt” and occurred at the time of harvesting. The researchers further found a strong correlation with children sleeping on an empty stomach after consumption of litchis with the occurrence of the disease. The presence of severe hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar levels) is also well documented in these children, most of whom also had stunted growth parameters suggesting malnutrition.

Administration of 10% glucose IV rapidly reverses the symptoms if given in a time before brain damage sets in. Malnutrition depletes glycogen stores in the body, leaving the child vulnerable to toxin-induced hypoglycaemia which will not usually occur in normal persons with adequate reserves and hence malnourished children are at risk for this condition.

Similar epidemics have been found in other countries with litchi plantations. A research paper published in 2014 pointed out that the presence of hypoglycaemia with the occurrence of AES in Bac Giang Province in North Vietnam coincided with the litchi harvesting season.

AES cases were also reported from Malda district of West Bengal in June and many of the affected children were found to have visited litchi orchards. Hypoglycin was first isolated as the agent that causes “Jamaican vomiting sickness” characterised by a sudden onset of vomiting several hours after a meal containing unripe ackees, followed by the development of severe hypoglycaemia causing convulsions, loss of consciousness and death. Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica and belongs to the Sapindaceae soapberry species, which is the same family as litchi. As has been noted in Bihar, this disease too occurred mainly in malnourished children.

Even though the researchers who conducted the Lancet study stopped short of categorically labelling the cause as litchi-induced due to the causation-correlation fallacy, they did point out that the most likely cause was hypoglycin A as it satisfied 7 out of 9 points needed for proof of cause. They suggested several remedial measures including restriction of litchis to children and giving the children a proper meal at bedtime, which was implemented by the Bihar government through various local programs.

Subsequently, the incidence of deaths due to encephalopathy showed a strong fall from 2015 onwards and reached single digits by 2018. In 2018, the Bihar government also released a Standard Operating Procedure Manual for Encephalopathy/Encephalitis, which indicates that the government was taking this problem seriously as late as last year.

It is still unclear as to what led to the sudden resurgence in cases this year, with over 340 cases and over a hundred deaths already reported, and whether the surveillance and prevention mechanisms put in place became complacent due to the drop in the number of cases from 2015 onwards.

It has been speculated that several victims were suffering from heat stroke due to the unprecedented heat wave this summer. It is unclear at this point whether the heat wave played the role of an aggravating factor that led to a much higher incidence of cases by causing dehydration in the children who, already being malnourished, were pushed over the edge by the toxins in the fruit. Detailed epidemiological studies will be needed and one hopes adequate blood samples are being collected for later study by the authorities.

Malnutrition in Bihar

Bihar is one of the worst performing states with regard to childhood and adult malnutrition. According to official data, 49.3% of children are stunted, 44.6% are underweight, and the incidence of anaemia is as high as 64%, which though a significant improvement from the situation a decade earlier, is still extremely high.

However, Muzaffarpur is one of the relatively prosperous districts of Bihar and is in the top 3 GDP districts of the state as per the Economic Survey 2019 Report. Studies of the average level of food intake in rural Bihar have shown that with respect to cereals, the average monthly per capita intake was 12.13 kg, which is on par with the required dietary allowance (RDA) of 12 kg per month, per person. However, the average per capita consumption of pulses and milk in rural Bihar was found to be lower than the national average as well as the daily recommended allowances. Also, as per the economic survey data, the output of pulses has fallen over the past few years while that of sugarcane has sharply increased.

This clearly indicates that poverty and hunger are not the cause of malnutrition as is commonly believed. The imbalance in the diet with over-intake of cereals and deficiency of pulses and milk is most likely responsible for the high incidence of malnutrition in Bihar.

The author of this article works in tribal rural areas of Maharashtra and has observed a similar dietary pattern in children of these villages, and a similarly high incidence of malnutrition.

Conclusion

Though the causes of AES are many, the cause cannot be identified in about 50% of all cases. In the present outbreak, the most likely cause seems to be due to malnourished children consuming litchis that naturally contain a toxin causing severe and acute fall in blood sugar levels, resulting in convulsions, vomiting, unconsciousness and death. It is also probable but not yet studied or proven that the unprecedented heat wave across the country may have played the role of an aggravating factor by causing dehydration.

The sudden increase in the incidence of AES in children of the litchi-belt of Bihar after a consistent decline over the past few years needs to be investigated. Any lacunae in the monitoring mechanism that was put in place to prevent this disease should be rectified immediately to avoid a similar situation from occurring in future.

Malnutrition is an ongoing problem across the country and Bihar has one of the worst records on this front. The cause of malnutrition seems to be imbalanced diet rather than poverty and hunger. A massive program for the education of parents is needed to bring about a change in dietary habits from carbohydrate-overloaded to a balanced meal. This will admittedly be a challenge that will require long-term vision and commitment as behavioural and dietary changes are very difficult to inculcate in the community.

Simultaneously, a litchi-belt-specific program must be conducted in schools and community warning children and adults of the dangers associated with consumption of litchis in undernourished children, and parents must be encouraged to ensure a proper dinner to all children consuming this fruit.

After being slammed by Metro Man E Sreedharan, AAP resorts to the usual tactics: Calls him a BJP stooge

For AAP, anyone who dares to question their proposals and policies is a BJP stooge and all their failures are because of the BJP. Such is the blind arrogance of the party that now it has branded E Sreedharan, India’s ‘Metro Man’, the brain behind stellar engineering projects like Delhi Metro, Konkan Railways and many more, as a BJP stooge.

After the AAP government proposed the idea of free metro travel for women, E Sreedharan had written a letter to PM Modi, requesting him to not support the proposal because it will be a disaster for the already cash strapped Delhi Metro. Later, Delhi’s deputy CM Manish Sisodia had penned a letter to Sreedharan, who is the principal adviser to DMRC, asking him to support the proposal. Sreedharan, in his reply, had severely criticised the Delhi government and had asked them not to destroy an efficient public transport system like Delhi Metro for electoral gains.

AAP, in response, had organised a press conference yesterday, where they called E Sreedharan a ‘BJP stooge’.


AAP’s Atishi Marlena even went so far as to say that Sreedharan is being used by the BJP as a weapon. She even said that seeing Sreedharan speak, they feel as if it is the BJP speaking.

Instead of addressing Sreedharan’s concerns and answering why their government has failed to complete linking bus services so far when they are bragging so much about ‘women’s safety’, AAP’s hurry to brand Sreedharan as a ‘BJP stooge’ only exposes their real intentions behind the proposal. Political grandstanding, where they get to make promises they can never fulfil and also blame the BJP for the failures.