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TRP racket: Republic TV CEO, COO appear before Mumbai police

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Mumbai: Republic TV on Sunday said it will not succumb to any efforts to curtail editorial freedom, after its CEO and COO were questioned by Mumbai police in connection with a TRP manipulation investigation.

The two senior Republic officials appeared before the Mumbai police on Sunday for questioning in the Television Rating Points (TRP) manipulation racket, an official said.

“If there is an attempt to use state machinery to scrutinise the sources of an independent media network and bring back an Emergency-style editorial control into the media, we will stand strongly against it,” Republic TV said.

Police had issued summons to Republic TV’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vikas Khanchandani and two Chief Operating Officers (COO) for questioning in the case.

Khanchandani and COO Harsh Bhandari, who appeared before the police on Sunday, were questioned for nine and five hours respectively, police said.

Police also recorded the statement of Ghanshyam Singh, a senior member of Republic TV’s distribution team. In a statement, Republic Media Network said it won’t “give in to any endeavours” to curtail editorial freedom.

“Today our CEO, COO and a senior member of our Distribution team were questioned by the Mumbai Police for 20 hours in all. We are shocked to learn that in the course of questioning the Republic Media Networks CEO Vikas Khanchandani, Mumbai Police made multiple attempts to probe in detail as to how the Network accessed the Hansa Research Group Pvt Ltd. (Hansa) complaint.

“Specific, repeated and detailed questioning went on about how Republic accessed the Hansa complaint report which blew the lid off the lies peddled against Republic Media Network,” the statement said.

“As everyone is aware, the Hansa complaint report made multiple mentions of India Today without a single reference to Republic TV, Republic Bharat or any affiliate of the Republic Media Network. The report which was bereft of any mention of Republic was the very basis of the FIR, and was put into the public domain by Republic on 10 October, 2020,” it said.

“We believe that the very fact that the Mumbai Police was continually probing for Republic Media Networks editorial sources stands in complete breach of the freedom of the press in India. We believe that it is inappropriate to probe any media organisation for its sources.

Republic TV claimed that Mumbai police repeatedly asked the CEO how, when and from where the Network accessed the Hansa complaint report and that he informed police that it is an editorial matter.

“Republic stands against any strong arm tactics to try and access the sources of an independent media. We consider the attempt to probe for Republics sources a serious infringement and utter violation of the right to report in a country with a free media,” the statement said.

“Republic Media Network reiterates that, at any cost, we will not disclose our sources to the Mumbai Police, or anyone, and will protect our democratic right as journalists.

Republic will go through endless hours of questioning, but will not reveal its sources in order to uphold our journalistic rights.

“If the Mumbai Police is uncomfortable with the fact that the Hansa complaint report is now in the public domain and, with it, crumbles the false narrative that was built against Republic, that does not give them the right to infringe upon the freedom of the press. We will protect our sources based on principle and editorial integrity, no matter what,” it said.

“What is happening in Maharashtra and in Mumbai specifically today is a shocking case, before the world, of the state trying to muzzle a free press. It is in complete contravention of the Constitutional right of a free press under Article 19 (1)(a) and serves as a terrible blot on the tenets of our great democracy.

Republic alleged that Mumbai police seem to be turning the freedom of the press “in this great democracy upside down and we stand firmly against any such attempts.”

“The Republic Media Network will not give in to any endeavours to curtail editorial freedom, no matter who and how hard the attempt is on the other side,” the statement said.

Four persons, including owners of two Marathi channels, have been arrested in connection with the case so far, police said.

Republic TV’s Chief Finance Officer Shiva Subramaniyam Sundaram and Singh earlier chose not to appear before police, saying the TV channel has approached Supreme Court for relief.

Two employees of Box Cinema and Fakt Marathi channels were also summoned by the crime branch of Mumbai police. Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh had claimed that Republic TV and the two Marathi channels had manipulated TRPs.

The TRP racket was unearthed after a police complaint by Hansa Research Group Pvt Ltd, the agency contracted by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to place audience meters to monitor TV channels watched by households. 

Ashok Gehlot directs for CID-CB probe into priest’s killing in Karauli; second arrest made in case

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He also condemned the BJP’s ‘attempt to give a communal colour’ to a land dispute between two families, which led to the death of the priest.

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot

JAIPUR:Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday directed officials to get the killing of a temple priest in Karauli district probed by the CID-CB.

He also condemned the BJP’s “attempt to give a communal colour” to a land dispute between two families, which led to the death of the priest.

“It is condemnable that the BJP gave a communal colour to the tragic incident between the Meena and Vaishnav communities of a land dispute case between two families in Bikna village of Sapotara.

This has undermined the image of Rajasthan unnecessarily,” Gehlot said in a statement.

He said the priest’s death was not the result of a caste conflict, neither a pre-planned incident.

The dispute between the two families over taking the possession of a piece of land resulted in the tragic incident.

On October 6, a day before the incident, the panchayat had agreed in favour of priest Babu Lal Vaishnav, in which a majority of people of the Meena community were present.

Directions have been issued to get the case investigated by the CID-CB.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikas Sharma has been assigned the task, the statement said.

Gehlot said the Congress government has always been striving to give protection to priests and the land that comes under various temples.

A second arrest was made on Sunday in connection with the Karauli incident where a priest died after allegedly being set afire by landgrabbers.

Police arrested Dilkhush alias Dillu in the priest murder case, Hindaun Deputy Superintendent of Police Kishori Lal Mehrania said.

On Saturday, accused Kailash Meena was taken into custody.

He said that both the accused were arrested under IPC Section 302 (murder).

Meanwhile, Controversial BJP leader Kapil Mishra met the family members of the victim at Bukana village and offered them Rs 25 lakh as assistance collected from the public.

Mishra, who has been mired in a controversy over his speeches made in the days before the Northeast Delhi riots in February, consoled the family members of priest Babu Lal Vaishnav and promised them all possible help.

“It is a very painful incident, and I feel that no one should see such kind of suffering,” Mishra told the reporters after meeting the priest’s family. He said Rs 25 lakh would be transferred to the account of the priest’s kin.

“We will not only give financial help to the family but have also given a promise to hold their hand and make them stand on their feet again so that they can move forward,” the former AAP MLA said.

Vaishnav was attacked on Wednesday and died at the SMS Hospital a day later.

It is alleged that five people, who were trying to occupy cultivated land near the temple, set him ablaze after spraying petrol.

The priest was cremated on Saturday after his family relented following an assurance from the administration on their demands.

Second Cabinet minister in Nepal tests positive for coronavirus

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Pokharel, who was admitted to Patan Hospital on Saturday evening after developing mild fever, tested positive for the virus on Sunday afternoon during a PCR test, MyRepublica reported on Sunday.

KATHMANDU: Nepal’s education minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel has tested positive for COVID-19 — the second Cabinet minister to have contracted the deadly viral infection.

Pokharel, who was admitted to Patan Hospital on Saturday evening after developing mild fever, tested positive for the virus on Sunday afternoon during a PCR test, MyRepublica reported on Sunday.

His health is stable, according to a member of the minister’s secretariat.

Pokharel is the second minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli to have contracted the contagion, which has so far infected over 107,750 people and claimed 636 lives in the Himalayan nation.

On Saturday, Nepal’s tourism minister Yogesh Bhattarai announced on social media that he has tested positive for the COVID-19 and requested all those who came in his contact to be on alert.

According to a report in The Himalayan Times, both Bhattarai and Pokharel had attended a meeting of the Council of Ministers on Thursday.

Bhattarai had also met India’s Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Friday to discuss ways to promote tourism in both countries.

Kwatra has quarantined himself.

However, his health is good and he has not developed any symptoms of infection, Indian Embassy spokesperson Abhishek Dubey said on Sunday.

Reopening lifts up air traffic, number of flyers

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With the gradual re-opening of the economy, the number of air passengers has witnessed continuous growth.

NEW DELHI:  With the gradual re-opening of the economy, the number of air passengers has witnessed continuous growth. The number grew by nearly 43 per cent between June and August, while aircraft movement has recorded a growth of nearly 28 per cent. 

However, there was still an average gap of nearly 76% in the movement of passengers and 64% gap in aircraft movements in August this year compared to the same month last year, domestic air traffic data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India revealed.

Smaller cities like Patna, Lucknow, Kozhikode, Jaipur, Coimbatore etc. have seen larger growth in aircraft movements in last three months —from 1,148 to 1,676 in Patna, 111 to 202 in Kozhikode and from 860 to 1,288 in Lucknow between June and August.

While the government believes that domestic traffic is likely to reach pre-COVID level by the year-end, industry analysts say the recovery is only marginal.

Harsh Vardhan, aviation expert and former CEO of Vayudoot, said while the recovery is a good sign, it may take till end of 2022 for the aviation sector to return to last year’s levels. “Almost 60-70% fleet is still on the ground. I don’t see anything before 24 months when reasonable operations are stablised…There are restrictions. There is very limited international operation,” he said.

“You have to also realise that what you have lost in last 10 months has created a big hole… the problem of the airline industry is how to get over these crises.” 

Kinjal Shah, Vice President, ICRA, informed that the average number of passengers per flight in September this year was 98 against an average of 133 in September 2019.

“It is expected that the domestic aviation industry operated at a passenger load factor of about 63% in the month as against 85.5% last year,” he said.

Earlier this week, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri said he expected the number of daily air passengers to rise to 2,00,000 by October-end, while pre-COVID figures of 3,00,000 passengers per day could be reached between Diwali and New Year.

Aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said, “We are now gearing up to face the challenge of welcoming more people in the airports.”

COVID-19 Update India’s tally crosses 71-lakh mark with 66,732 new cases in last 24 hours

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Total case tally stands at 71,20,539 including 8,61,853 active cases and 61,49,536 discharged.

The Health Ministry on Monday updated that India’s COVID19 tally crosses 71-lakh mark with a spike of 66,732 new cases & 816 deaths reported in the last 24 hours.

Total case tally stands at 71,20,539 including 8,61,853 active cases, 61,49,536 cured/discharged/migrated cases and the death toll stands at 1,09,150 deaths

In metro cities, after inital upswing, the case trajectory is showing changes. While Delhi, Pune and Thane seems to be slowing down, many cities such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kolkata continue to face the heat of infectious disease.

Over the last week, the number of cases reported in Bengaluru every 24 hours stands at over 4,600.

Utilised lockdown period for studies, says 18-year-old Bihar girl who topped CLAT-2020

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Aparajita would soon get admission to the Bengaluru-based National Law School of Indian University.

PATNA: While the Corona-induced lockdown brought a plethora of problems for others, it proved to be a boon for 18-year-old Aprajita. 

While being confined to home, Aparajita, a native of Ara district of Bihar, utilized the time to prepare for the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT)-2020 for the UG course and became the national topper by scoring 127.25 out of total 147 marks.

Earlier this year, she had cleared her class 12 exam (Arts) with 93.25% marks from Patna’s prestigious Notre Dame Academy. 

“I used the six months of lockdown period as an opportunity for preparing for the CLAT. I went through almost all the study materials by devoting 12 to 14 hours every day. And finally, thank God, hard labour paid dividends”, Aprajita, the daughter of an East Central Railway employee SK Upadhayay, said.

“I think India needs a good number of women lawyers. I want to become a lawyer and fight for the rights of the poor and women”, she said, adding more girls should opt for law and civil services in order to be empowered. 

Aparajita would soon get admission to the Bengaluru-based National Law School of Indian University.

Trump free of COVID-19 symptoms since 24 hours, didn’t show fever in four days: Doctor

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The president is confronted by dire polling numbers ahead of the November 3 election, which comes as the economy struggles to recover from COVID shutdowns.

US President Donald Trump removes his mask as he stands on the Blue Room Balcony upon returning to the White House in Washington

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has been free of COVID-19 symptoms for 24 hours and has not had a fever in four days, his doctor said Wednesday. “The president this morning says ‘I feel great,'” doctor Sean Conley said in a brief update.

Trump tested positive last week and was hospitalized at the Walter Reed military medical center late Friday evening, returning to the White House on Monday evening. “His physical exam and vital signs, including oxygen saturation and respiratory rate, all remain stable and in normal range,” the doctor’s statement said.

Karnataka sees biggest single-day spike in Covid cases

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Karnataka recorded the highest single-day Covid cases on Wednesday with 10,947 positives, which brought the tally to 6,68,652.

BENGALURU: Karnataka recorded the highest single-day Covid cases on Wednesday with 10,947 positives, which brought the tally to 6,68,652. Active cases now stand at 1,16,153. With the state crossing one lakh tests in a day, the total cases reported in the state too saw a surge. Meanwhile, 113 new Covid deaths were reported, bringing the toll to 9,574.

Bengaluru Urban, which recorded 5,012 cases on Monday, recorded 5,000 cases again on Tuesday. However, Bengaluru conducted the most numbers of tests at 35,183. As many as 55 Covid fatalities were reported in the district and 2,057 discharges. Total recoveries are 2,00,426 and active cases in the district are 58,624

Munish Moudgil, in charge of State War Room,  said, “Bengaluru is conducting the highest number of daily RT-PCR tests in the state and hence the high number of positive cases. Mumbai and Chennai have been conducting about 13,000 tests daily. If Bengaluru did the same number of tests, our daily cases would be less than 1,500. But the idea is not to reduce tests to falsely claim lesser number of cases.”

Canada to ban single-use plastics such as bags, straws by end of 2021

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According to Ottawa, Canadians throw away three million tonnes of plastic waste each year — including 15 billion bags annually, and 57 million straws daily.

PLastic straws

OTTAWA: Checkout bags, straws and four other single-use plastic items will be banned in Canada by the end of 2021, the environment minister announced Wednesday, while acknowledging the nation is trailing Europe in recycling efforts.

The ban – which also targets stir sticks, six-pack rings, cutlery, and food ware made from hard-to-recycle plastics – is part of a broader plan to eliminate plastics waste by 2030, which is at the heart of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s climate and environmental agenda.

But Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson acknowledged, “We are not leading the world in this. Many countries in Europe, including the United Kingdom, have gone down this path and we’ve certainly learned from the work that they have done.”

According to Ottawa, Canadians throw away three million tonnes of plastic waste each year — including 15 billion bags annually, and 57 million straws daily. Only nine percent of it is recycled. Ottawa, said Wilkinson, aims to hike that to 90 percent, in line with European targets for 2029.

Wilkinson said that of the six plastic items that will be prohibited, there are already “readily available and affordable alternatives”. “There are lots of (plastics) that are going to have to continue to be single use,” he added, “But they need to be the kinds of things that we are able to recycle, that we are able to keep in the economy and not end up in the environment where they cause problems,” he said in a news conference.

Plastic lids on coffee cups was highlighted as the most visible plastic garbage in city dumps. Wilkinson said he’s still working on a fix.

Ottawa proposed as well to establish recycled content requirements in products and packaging, hoping to boost recycling and invite better product design to extend the life of plastic materials. “This could include a minimum requirement of recycled content in new products and greater responsibility for producers and sellers to collect and recycle plastics,” he said.

Brazil’s coronavirus cases top five million

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Coronavirus cases, deaths on rise in Brazil, Mexico

The state of Sao Paulo, the epicentre of the national epidemic with 36,669 deaths and 1,016,755 cases, reopened schools on Wednesday.

SAO PAULO: Brazil on Wednesday said 31,553 COVID-19 cases were reported over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 5,000,694.

And 734 more patients died of the disease, raising the national death toll to 148,228.

On Feb. 26, Brazil reported its first case and also the first in Latin America in the city of Sao Paulo, South America’s largest city.

Brazil has the world’s second-highest death toll, after the United States, and is the third-worst hit by the pandemic after the United States and India.

The state of Sao Paulo, the epicentre of the national epidemic with 36,669 deaths and 1,016,755 cases, reopened schools on Wednesday, with social distancing rules in place.

The state government announced that it will carry out tests starting next week on 19,300 people within the educational system in 20 cities to track the virus as in-person classes begin.

More than 36 million cases were reported worldwide as of 0100 GMT, Oct.8, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

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