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After FIR in toolkit case, Raman Singh, BJP leaders hold protest outside police station in Raipur

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An FIR has been registered against Raman Singh and BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra in the alleged toolkit case. They were summoned in the case today.

Raman Singh

RAIPUR: After FIR was registered against him in the alleged toolkit case, BJP National Vice President and former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh along with other party leaders on Monday held a protest outside Civil Lines Police Station here.

“An FIR has been registered against BJP’s National Vice President Raman Singh and BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra. They both have been summoned for further investigation,” Raipur Civil Lines Police SHO RK Mishra had said.

“Today, we have asked Sambit Patra to be present here in person or via video conference. The complaint was registered by Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress NSUI president,” he added.

This comes after an FIR was filed on May 19 against Patra and BJP Vice President Raman Singh after a complaint was registered by Chhattisgarh National Students’ Union of India president Akash Sharma, the student wing of the Congress.

the NSUI president said that he had filed the complaint regarding the ‘toolkit’ that BJP leaders had shared online.

“The police investigated and an FIR has been filed. In this, Singh and Patra have shared a fake document to defame the Congress party. They have made several false allegations,” Sharma.

He further alleged that members of the BJP were spreading rumours to hide their failure in managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BJP had alleged that the Congress party has come out with a toolkit to tarnish Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image and his government’s handling of the pandemic. 

Pleas in SC seek Rs 4 lakh ex-gratia to kin of those who died of COVID-19

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Monday sought the Centre’s reply on pleas seeking ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the families of those who have died from COVID-19 and said that there should be a uniform policy for issuing death certificates to those succumbing to the deadly virus.

The apex court was hearing two separate pleas seeking directions to the Centre and states to provide Rs 4 lakh compensation to the families of coronavirus victims as provisioned under the Disaster Management Act of 2005, and a uniform policy for issuing death certificates.

The bench said unless there was a uniform policy for issuance of any official document or death certificate stating that the cause of death was COVID, the kin of the victims would not be able to claim benefits of any compensation scheme, if given.

Justice Shah asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Centre in the matter, whether there is any uniform policy on death certificates as there are many situations of death, where reason is not given as COVID.

The bench said that State government authorities are saying that they are following ICMR guidelines.

“So you (Centre) place the ICMR guidelines before us and tell us about any uniform policy on issuance of death certificates to the COVID-19 victims”, the bench added.

Justice Shah pointed out that in many cases deaths are due to lung infection or heart problem but it may have happened due to COVID-19 and it is not mentioned in the death certificates.

“People will have to run from pillar to post, if any compensation is to be given to kin of COVID-19 victims. It is not fair for the family as the reason for death is often a different one when the death has actually occurred due to COVID,” the bench said.

The bench posted the matter on June 11 and asked the Centre to file its reply by then.

At the outset, advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, who appeared in-person, said that under section 12(iii) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, every family whose member died due to disaster is entitled for ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh.

He said that the Ministry of Home Affairs, keeping in mind section 12 (iii) of the Act has issued an order April 8, 2015, by which a revised list of norms and assistance from the State Disaster Response Fund and National Disaster Response Fund was given.

Bansal said that since COVID-19 has been declared as a disaster and as per the order dated April 8, 2015, every family whose member dies due to disaster is entitled for ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh.

He said that hundreds of persons (like personnel providing services in healthcare departments, police department, municipal department) who were involved in relief operations or were associated to combat COVID-19 virus have also lost their lives and in many cases, these persons were the “sole bread earner” for the entire family.

He further argued that after the demise of a person due to COVID-19, their family members are running from pillar to post for all kinds of help.

Senior advocate S B Upadhyay, appearing for petitioner Reepak Kansal, who have also field a similar petition said that large number of deaths are taking place due to COVID-19 and death certificates needs to be issued and after that they can claim compensation under section 12 (iii) of the Act.

The bench asked Upadhyay whether any payment had been made by any of the States.

Upadhyay replied that it has not been paid as the scheme for compensation ended last year and a similar scheme needs to be implemented, as a lot of families have suffered a loss due to the pandemic.

He said that was a letter issued on March 14, 2020, which said that to give benefit under NDMA Act, the disaster has to be a natural one and COVID has been notified as a disaster.

The bench said that the government has to come up with a scheme in this regard.

Kansal in his plea has said that states should be directed to fulfil their obligation to take care of victims of COVID-19 and also their family members.

The plea alleged that hospitals are not conducting post-mortem of those who are dying due to COVID-19.

“There is a constitutional and legal obligation on the state and its different organs to take care of victims of the calamity and their family members, in the position of a guardian or parent of the people of the society,” it said.

Researchers from Wuhan lab sought hospital care in November 2019 before COVID outbreak

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WASHINGTON: Three researchers from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology sought hospital care after they fell ill in November 2019, a month before Beijing reported the first patient with Covid-like symptoms, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The revelations come amid growing calls for a fuller probe on whether the Covid-19 virus may have escaped from the Chinese laboratory. It also comes on the eve of a meeting of the World Health Organization’s decision-making body, which is expected to discuss the next phase of investigation into the origin of Covid-19.

A US State Department fact sheet released by the Trump administration in January said that the researchers had become sick in autumn 2019 and displayed “symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illness.”.

China reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) that the first patient with Covid-like symptoms was recorded in Wuhan on December 8, 2019.

“The US government has reason to believe that several researchers inside the WIV became sick in autumn 2019, before the first identified case of the outbreak, with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illnesses,” the report read.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the current and former officials familiar with the intelligence about the lab researchers expressed differing views about the strength of the supporting evidence for the assessment.

One person said that it was provided by an international partner and was potentially significant but still in need of further investigation and additional corroboration.

Another person described the intelligence as stronger. “The information that we had coming from the various sources was of exquisite quality. It was very precise. What it didn’t tell you was exactly why they got sick,” he said, referring to the researchers.

Recently, Anthony Fauci, a top adviser to US President Joe Biden on the coronavirus pandemic said he’s “not convinced” the deadly virus developed naturally and has called for further investigations into where it emerged.

Fauci was asked during a Poynter event, “United Facts of America: A Festival of Fact-Checking,” earlier this month about whether he was confident that Covid-19 developed naturally, Fox News reported.

“No actually. I am not convinced about that. I think we should continue to investigate what went on in China until we continue to find out to the best of our ability what happened,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, said.

“Certainly, the people who investigated it say it likely was the emergence from an animal reservoir that then infected individuals, but it could have been something else, and we need to find that out. So, you know, that’s the reason why I said I’m perfectly in favor of any investigation that looks into the origin of the virus,” he added.

It is a reversal from his earlier position in which he dismissed theories that COVID-19 emerged from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Last Thursday, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee released a report claiming there is “significant circumstantial evidence” that the coronavirus originated from a leak at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, and that the US government “may have funded or collaborated” in the research that led to it.

“International efforts to discover the true source of the virus, however, have been stymied by a lack of cooperation from the People’s Republic of China,” the Republicans wrote in the report.

Recently, findings in a report in an Australian daily has yet again reinforced the call that international investigators must dig deeper to rule out whether Covid-19 is a made-in-China bioweapon.

The controversy about Covid-19 origins has resurfaced after the Weekend Australian newspaper revealed that Chinese scientists were thinking about bioweapons, visualising a World War-III scenario.

The daily cited a Chinese government document that discussed the weaponisation of SARS coronavirus. Titled the Unnatural Origin of SARS and New Species of Man-Made Viruses as Genetic Bioweapons, the 2015 paper was authored by Chinese scientists, Chinese public health officials and members of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

China refused to give raw data on early Covid-19 cases to the WHO-led team probing the origins of the pandemic. Beijing has been accused of delaying access to international investigators for months after the initial outbreak, virtually guaranteeing that the lab had been deep-cleaned before any forensic analysis could be done.

Last month, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken launched a scathing attack against China for a lack of transparency during “the early stages” of the coronavirus pandemic and called for a more thorough investigation into the origins of Covid-19.

Blinken’s remarks came following the publishing of a joint inquiry by the World Health Organization and China in March.

The inquiry did not conclusively establish how or when the virus began spreading and did little to address Western concerns that the Chinese Communist Party bent the investigation to its advantage.

The WHO report determined that the possibility the virus came from a lab was “extremely unlikely,” noting there was “no record” any lab had closely related viruses.

The probe was criticised by the US, UK, and other governments over its limited access to “complete, original data and samples.”

The organization was also accused of being overly deferential to China throughout the course of the study, which was co-authored by 17 Chinese scientists — several of them from state-run institutions.

Mucormycosis threat hovers over Rajasthan as more than 30 patients under treatment at Kota hospital for black fungus

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KOTA: Over 30 patients suffering from mucormycosis are under treatment at a government hospital here, a doctor said.

Most of the people are Covid survivors, said Rajkumar Jain, who is treating the affected in the MBS Hospital with his team, adding that he did not notice any non-Covid black fungus patient so far.

At least 30 patients suffering from the fungal infection are under treatment in the ward in the MBS Hospital and five-six of them are in critical stage, Jain said on Sunday.

Most of the patients are from Kota and neighbouring districts of Rajasthan, while two are from Madhya Pradesh, a ward official said.

Meanwhile, a 45-year-old coronavirus survivor who was suffering from black fungus died while on the way to a hospital in Kota from Jhalawar, his family said.

Ramswroop Suman had tested coronavirus positive on April 24 and was discharged from a hospital after recovery on May 3, according to his brother Badrilal Suman.

He suffered a paralytic attack on May 6 and underwent treatment for over a week at the MBS Hospital, where he did not get the required injection and was released on May 15 for better treatment somewhere else, Badrilal Suman said.

Ramswroop was then admitted to a hospital in Jaipur where doctors cited unavailability of medicine and suggested home rest, he added.

Ramswroop complained of breathing problems and uneasiness on Sunday morning, following he was rushed by a private vehicle to the hospital in Kota.

He passed away on the way in the afternoon, the kin said.

He was in an advance stage of mucormycosis and the mortality rate of the disease is very high, Jain said.

“It’s 100 per cent mortality after black fungus reaches the brain,” he said, adding that recovery was possible if diagnosed at earlier stage.

Won’t arrest ex-CP Param Bir Singh till June 9 if he cooperates in Atrocities case probe: Maharashtra government to HC

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Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh. (File | PTI)

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Monday said it would not arrest former Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh in a case registered against him under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act till June 9 provided he cooperates with the investigation into the case.

Khambata, however, told the court that Singh should not seek any relief pertaining to this case in the petition filed by him in the Supreme Court.

Singh last week filed a petition in the apex court, alleging that he is being hounded and continuously harassed with multiple cases instituted against him by the Maharashtra government as vendetta, after he complained to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray against former home minister Anil Deshmukh.

He urged the SC to shift all the enquiries set up against him to another state and also sought for the FIRs registered against him to be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Khambata on Monday told the HC that Singh “cannot ride two horses” at a time and seek reliefs from both the high court and the Supreme Court in the same case.

The bench accepted the state government’s statement that it would not arrest Singh till June 9, and directed him to not seek reliefs pertaining to this particular case before the SC.

Singh’s counsel Mahesh Jethmalani agreed to the directive.

The court then posted the petition for further hearing on June 9.

Ghadge’s advocate Satish Talekar opposed the interim protection from arrest granted to Singh.

The court, however, noted that the case dates back to 2016.

“The FIR has been filed after five years. You (complainant) waited for so long…nothing will happen if you wait for two more weeks. He (Singh) has not been arrested for all these years. What purpose will it serve if he is arrested now,” the court said.

The bench also noted that Singh is still in service and is an officer of the government’s police force.

The HC also expressed its displeasure with a statement of Singh in the petition filed by him in the SC that says he was constrained to approach the apex court as the high court was not hearing the matter.

Khambata pointed out this statement to the bench on Monday and said on May 13, the high court had heard the matter and adjourned the hearing after the government made a statement that no coercive action would be taken.

“We feel sad. How can you (Singh) say that matters are not heard?” Justice Shinde said.

Jethmalani apologised and said the statement was incorrect.

“We will withdraw the statement from the petition filed in the Supreme Court,” he said. The FIR against Singh is based on a complaint by police inspector Ghadge, now posted at Akola in Maharashtra.

Ghadge made a series of allegations of corruption against Singh and other officers when Singh was posted in Thane.

The FIR, which is now transferred from Akola to Thane, claimed Singh pressured Ghadge to drop the names of some persons from a case and when he refused, the IPS officer framed him up in false cases.

The case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the state CID is conducting a probe into it.

Cyclone Yaas: 99 NDRF teams committed across four states, Andaman and Nicobar

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NEW DELHI: The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has committed 99 teams across Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the view of Cyclone Yaas, NDRF Director General SN Pradhan said on Monday.

As many as 18 teams NDRF teams have been deployed in Odisha alone. Seven teams have been deployed in Balasore, 4 in Bhadrak, 3 in Kendrapada, 2 in Jajpur, one each in Jagatsinghpur and Mayurbhanj. Four teams have also been kept as reserve, as per the NDRF.

According to the Odisha government, 66 Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) teams and 177 fire services teams are being deployed in areas that are likely to be affected by the cyclone.

The Armed Forces too, have commenced preparations to mitigate the impact of the anticipated disaster by airlifting 950 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel across the country, with 26 helicopters in standby for immediate deployment.

Eight flood relief columns and three Engineer Task Forces of the Army are ready for immediate deployment on requisition by the civil administration and the Armed Forces are in constant touch with the civil administration of the affected states.

Umashankar Das, senior scientist of IMD, Bhubaneswar said Cyclonic Yaas is likely to cross the coast between Paradeep and Sagar island on May 26.

“Cyclonic storm Yaas is likely to cross the coast b/w Paradeep and Sagar island on 26 May. Windspeed will be around 150-160kmph & gusting up to 180kmph in Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Balasore and Bhadrak during landfall process,” Das said.

IMD Director General of Meteorology Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra had said that the cyclone is very likely to intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm and will cross West Bengal and north Odisha coasts on the evening of May 26.

India’s Covid-19 death toll crosses 3-lakh mark new cases dip to 2.22 lakh

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NEW DELHI: India recorded 2,22,315 new coronavirus infections in a single day, the lowest in round 38 days, pushing the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 2,67,52,447, while the death toll crossed the 3-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday.

India registered 2,17,353 new infections in a span of 24 hours on April 16.

The active cases have further reduced to 27,20,716 comprising 10.17 per cent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has improved to 88.69 per cent.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 2,37,28,011, while the case fatality rate has increased to 1.14 per cent, the data stated.

India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16.

It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19.

India crossed the grim milestone of 2 crore on May 4.

According to the ICMR, 33,05,36,064 samples have been tested up to May 23 with 19,28,127 samples being tested on Sunday.

SC to hear Karnataka ex-minister Gali Janardhana Reddy’s plea to visit Bellari in summer break

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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Monday agreed to hear during ongoing summer vacation the plea of former Karnataka minister and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy seeking permission to visit his home town Ballari which was prohibited while being granted bail in a mining case.

A vacation bench comprising Ashok Bhushan and M R Shah took note of Reddy’s fresh plea seeking permission to visit Ballari and said the matter would be listed before another bench probably next week by Chief Justice N V Ramana.

On April 5, a bench comprising Justices Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy had reserved verdict on a similar plea by Reddy seeking modification of the bail conditions imposed by the apex court in 2015.

“I have discussed with Justice Reddy. He has also consented to the release of the matter. It will be listed before another bench during the vacation only,” Justice Bhsuhan said on Monday, adding the date of hearing and the bench would be decided by the CJI.

The CBI, represented by Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan, opposed the plea of senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Reddy, that the interim application be listed during the summer break itself, saying, “It looks like a side wind to get into Ballary”.

The law officer said the bench had already reserved its order on the similar plea after the arguments got over.

Earlier also, the CBI had opposed Reddy’s similar plea saying that he should not be allowed to visit district Bellary in Karnataka as he holds considerable influence and might interfere with the investigation “He has led multiple petitions, witnesses under police protection have been threatened and vehicles have been set on fire. Over 40 witnesses are there. We do not know what will happen if this gentleman is allowed to enter the area,” the probe agency had said.

Reddy was granted conditional bail by the apex court in January 2015 after spending more than three years in jail.

Reddy and his brother-in-law B V Srinivas Reddy, managing director of the Obalapuram Mining Company (OMC), were arrested by CBI on September 5, 2011 from Ballari and brought to Hyderabad.

The company is accused of changing mining lease boundary markings and indulging in illegal mining in the Ballari Reserve Forest area, spread over Ballari in Karnataka and Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.

“He shall surrender his passport, if not already surrendered, to the learned Principal Special Judge for CBI Cases, Hyderabad. If he has already surrendered his passport before the learned Principal Special Judge, that fact should also be supported by an affidavit,” the top court had said while granting bail.

Reddy shall not leave the country without the leave of the trial judge, it had said.

Karnataka Education Minister Suresh Kumar pushes for second PUC board exams

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Karnataka Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Suresh Kumar

BENGALURU: In the meeting with the Union Ministers on Sunday, Karnataka minister of primary and secondary education, Suresh Kumar, is said to have backed the idea of holding a second PUC examination and termed it beneficial for the students.

The minister said that to prepare the students for professional courses, it was imperative that examinations for class 12 students be held in any mode. When the COVID-19 situation normalises, exams can be held in a simplified process, he said, adding that it was decided to inform students about the timetable 15-20 days prior to the examinations.

The government has planned to give another chance to students to write the exam at a later date, in case they are unable to attempt the examination due to COVID19 reasons. There are many suggestions to simplify the exam process and if this model is followed, the entire process will complete in 45 days.

It is said that the union education ministry has advised holding exams in a short duration.

The minister, in a note, also added that from the learnings of SSLC exams last year, this year, PUC examinations could be organized efficiently, and a decision in this regard will be taken in the coming days after taking into account the learning of students, the mentality of parents, central government suggestions, and a comprehensive overview of the preparations for the examinations.

The minister said the question papers have already been prepared for the second PUC examinations. Examination centers have been increased in number, and preparations have been made to hold exams in a safe manner. If the examination is held in July, results can be declared by August.

Hence the NEET, JEE, CET, ICAR, and other competitive examinations could be held in August, the minister recommended.

Researcher dies of Covid-19 in Karnataka after getting two doses of vaccine

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BENGALURU: Dr NS Murthy (76), research director at the division of Research and Patents, MS Ramaiah Medical College, who took both doses of the Covishield, passed away due to Covid-19, earlier this month. He took his first dose on January 21 and second dose four weeks later.

​“Initially, his lungs were okay, but his inflammatory markers were high. On April 25, his oxygen levels reduced and he was shifted to the ICU. He was put on non-invasive ventilation. For a week, he was comfortable, but soon his condition deteriorated and his lungs were affected,” said Dr Rooparani, ICU incharge and associate professor, Anesthesiology and Critical Care, MS Ramaiah Medical College Hospital. 

He was intubated for a week and on May 7, he succumbed to the virus.

Dr Rooparani said vaccines are supposed to reduce severity of the infection but efficacy of this vaccine was around 70%. She said that his age and comorbidity (hypertension) could be contributing factors.“There are a lot of people in our Covid- ICU who have taken their first or both doses of the vaccine. It is possible that the antibody response was less despite inoculation,” she added.

Commenting on this, Dr C N Manjunath, director, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research and member of Karnataka Covid-19 Technical Advisory Committee, said that in rare cases, people can succumb, despite vaccination. 

“In some people, immunogenic response can be poor, irrespective of which vaccine they take,” he said.

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