Category: National

Financial transactions of over 2,000 Tablighi participants being probed

PTI

The Enforcement Directorate is probing the financial transactions related to over 2,000 foreign nationals who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin here this March. The agency had earlier registered a money laundering case based on an FIR lodged by the Delhi police.

The foreigners had come from more than 40 countries. Most of them were from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia. They face allegations of violating visa rules and the Foreigners Act provisions, besides visiting restricted areas during the lockdown without permission.

The government has blacklisted about 1,000 such foreign nationals, while the police have issued look-out circulars against close to 1,900.

“We are pursuing all the aspects of money-laundering allegations, including financial transactions pertaining to those who came from abroad. Statements of those named in the case and the others involved will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act,” said an ED official.

e-visa loopholes

Another government official raised questions over the manner in which e-tourist visas were granted to so many foreigners who participated in the congregation.

There is no system of verification of e-visa applications, which directly go to the server and are processed automatically. The applicants have to provide correct information about only three things: name, date of birth and place of birth, which are already mentioned in their passports, said the official.

“This exposes the failure in devising a due-diligence process in issuing e-visas. There are specific missionaries visa rules for Tablighi works. All such applications have to be referred to the Union Home Ministry along with the relevant details of applicants,” said the official.

The official said: “However, in this case, the foreign nationals in question applied for, and got, e-tourist visas. We suspect that they were specifically told to apply under this category.”

The trend was detected only after the agencies concerned found that the foreigners who attended the congregation had come on e-tourist visas. “Earlier, in February, it happened in the case of United Kingdom parliamentarian Debbie Abrahams, whose visa was revoked,” the official said.

Explaining the process followed in various categories, the official said for transit and medical visas, applications of Pakistani nationals and those of Pakistani origin have to be referred to the Home Ministry. No tourist visa is granted to Pakistani passport holder, while applications from those of Pakistani origin are also referred.

Prior reference to the Home Ministry is also made in case the employment visa applications by the nationals of Afghanistan, China and foreign nationals of Pakistani origin, and business visa applications by the nationals of Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Pakistan and those of Pakistani origin.

According to government records, more than 25 lakh e-visas were issued in 2018 — an almost five-fold increase from 5.29 lakh in 2015.

(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed)

Agencies

The government authorities have been looking at the positive cases of COVID-19 so that they can stop the virus from spreading further. What’s even more shocking is that the secondary contact persons who came n contact with the infected persons were also infected with the fatal virus.

In one such incident, a lady who hails from Lusadiya of Indore tested positive. The authorities who have been providing treatment for her traced out the details who came in contact with her.

As a result, her family members and her boy friend’s family were also sent to the isolation ward. The authorities have also found out that the lady has three more boyfriends and the family members of the boyfriends were also sent to isolation wards.

What’s even more shocking is that one out of the four boyfriends has two other girlfriends. The authorities were trying to trace out the details of them and those who might come in contact with them.

Let’s hope that the chain of contacts stops here and no further transmission took place. The problem arises is that no one knows the chain of contacts who come in contact with the secondary contact persons.

Earlier, the Haryana government issued a permission certificate to the company saying the “authorised strength” of the company during the lockdown period would be 4,696 persons and 50 vehicles

PTI

Exactly a month after the Maruti Suzuki India Limited shut down its production and office operations across Haryana, the company’s Manesar plant was on April 22 granted the permission to resume operations in a single shift with restricted number of staff and vehicles. But the company’s chairman R.C. Bhargava ruled out actual production unless the vendors and the retail outlets were open.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Bhargava said it was good that the government granted permission and would help them prepare for the future, but there “is no way we can start production”. He said that it was not known as to how long it might take for the production to start as the situation changed every day.

“Cars cannot be produced until all components are produced on a steady and regular basis. And this means thousands of vendors have to start production. It is not likely to happen today because many of them are in red zones or containment zones. We cannot get the complete set of components. The retail outlets have not been opened yet. There is no permission. So you cannot produce unless you can sell,” said Mr. Bhargava.

He said the permission from the government was only one part of the problem, and the company could not start producing cars only because it had the permission to do so.

Earlier, the Haryana government issued a permission certificate to the company saying the “authorised strength” of the company during the lockdown period would be 4,696 persons and 50 vehicles. However, the certificate also said the application was recommended for permission to operate for 600 employees.

Additional Chief Secretary V.S. Kundu, said the company could resume operations after they put in place all measures for social distancing and safe management of the workers.

However, the Maruti Suzuki’s decision to not to start production would be a big blow to the plans of several Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, mostly vendors of the company, to resume operations.

Manesar Industries Welfare Association vice-president Manmohan Gaind said in case the Maruti Suzuki and the Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Limited didn’t start production the other factories down the chain would have no reason to resume production because they are dedicated suppliers to them. He said it would defeat the whole idea of starting things in a small way that the Union government wanted.

Mr. Gaind demanded that the local administration grant generous permission to open the ecosystem so that all industries, except those in containment zone or those not allowed under the Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines, can resume their operations.

Total number of cases climbs to 2,407

PTI

Gujarat’s death toll due to COVID-19 infections has climbed to 103, with 13 new deaths reported on Wednesday, while the number of positive cases have jumped to 2,407, with 229 new cases added on the same day.

The State continues to see a higher number of cases and casualties, a trend that began a week ago.

On Wednesday, as many as 30 patients were discharged after full recovery, bringing the number of patients who have recovered to 179 so far. Of 13 deaths recorded, nine were from Ahmedabad, three were from Vadodara and and one from Surat.

In Ahmedabad, the total number of cases have climbed to 1,501, and 62 deaths, the highest tally in the State. On Wednesday, besides nine deaths, Ahmedabad also reported 128 new positive cases, continuing the trend of over 100 cases per day since a week. So far, 86 patients have recovered and have been discharged in the city. In Surat, the total cases have jumped to 415, with 12 deaths and 13 recoveries, while in Vadodara, the total number of cases has reached 208, and ten patients have succumbed to the infection.

Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has decided to set up another COVID-19 care centre with a 4,000-bed capacity.

An employee of the Ministry who had attended office on 15 April 2020 has tested positive for COVID19 on 21st April, says the Ministry in a tweet

PTI

Some employees of the Ministry of Civil Aviation have been asked to go into self-isolation after a colleague tested positive for COVID-19.

“An employee of the Ministry who had attended office on 15 April 2020 has tested positive for COVID19 on 21st April. All necessary protocols are being stringently followed on the premises. All colleagues who came in contact are being asked to go into self-isolation as a precaution,” the Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Twitter.

It added that the Delhi government was seized of the matter and was taking appropriate steps to conduct contact tracing and risk profiling.

“I wish him strength & speedy recovery,” Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted. “We stand by our colleague at Ministry of Civil Aviation who has tested positive for COVID-19 and have extended all possible medical help and support.”

PTI

New Delhi: The Union Home Ministry allowed shops selling school books to be opened during the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown.

The ministry also allowed shops selling public utilities including recharge facilities for prepaid mobile phones and those selling services of bedside attendants of senior citizens to open during lockdown.

The home ministry also said bread factories and flour mills located in urban areas can restart operations during the ongoing lockdown to combat the novel coronavirus outbreak.
In separate orders, the home ministry said the decision has been taken after receiving some queries with regard to exemptions of specific services and activities allowed through the guidelines issued so far.

Educational book stores to be allowed to operate in lockdown

Shops of educational books for students, shops of electric fans will be allowed to open during the lockdown, which is scheduled to end on May 3.
Bedside attendants and care givers of senior citizens residing in their homes and public utilities including recharge facilities for prepaid mobile connection will be allowed to offer services, the ministry said in its order.
Food processing units such as bread factories, milk processing plants, flour mills, dal mills etc., located in urban areas will be allowed to function during the lockdown.

However, the ministry made it clear that social distancing for offices, workshops, factories and establishments must be ensured.

For housing such persons, 23 temporary jails have been set up in the State, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said.

PTI

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday ordered to keep the arrested Tablighi Jamaat meet participants and others, suspected of being corona-positive, in temporary jails and not in regular ones.

For housing such persons, 23 temporary jails have been set up in the State, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi said here in a statement.

He said the Chief Minister has also instructed authorities to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential items to people during the holy month of Ramzan.

In view of the arrests of Tablighi Jamaat members and others for security reasons amid the coronavirus-led lockdown, the Chief Minister has instructed to keep them in temporary jail and not in regular ones, said Awasthi.

He said the instructions regarding this have been sent to all divisional commissioners, District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police of all districts, besides the police commissioners of Lucknow and Gautam Buddh Nagar.

Mr. Awasthi also said if any person from the State dies outside it, the administration will make arrangements to bring his body back.

On the basis of the eligibility of the family, the administration will also arrange for the maintenance allowance, ration card and a house under any particular scheme, he said.

He also said through construction activities in Purvanchal Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway and Gorakhpur Link Expressway, around 8,500 people have been provided jobs.

Pass on benefit of global oil price crash, says CPI (M)

PTI

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took to Twitter to target the Union government over reports that surplus rice stocks would be used to make ethanol for hand sanitisers and also took on the Centre for not passing on the benefits of the sharp fall in international crude prices.

“After all, when will India’s poor wake up? You are dying of hunger and they are busy cleaning the hands of the rich by making sanitizers from your portion of rice,” Mr. Gandhi tweeted and tagged a news clipping about the government move.

On Monday, at a meeting of the National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC), the government is reported to have given in-principle approval to a policy that will allow surplus rice available with Food Corporation of India (FCI) to be converted into ethanol to manufacture alcohol-based hand sanitizers and for blending with petrol.

At its official online briefing, the Congress claimed that the surplus rice could be used to universalise the public distribution system (PDS) and feed the needy for the next six months.

Addressing the media, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said foodgrains in the FCI warehouses could have come to the aid of lakhs of migrant workers who are facing hunger.

“Let’s assume for a minute that we have to feed 80% of our population for the next six months under universalised PDS, giving them 10 kg of foodgrains per month, do you know we are capable of doing that for the next 6 months?…In a scenario like this, if you come and announce that surplus rice will be used to make sanitizers, it is a cruel joke,” Mr. Khera said.

While Mr. Gandhi also questioned why the government had not passed on the benefit of the crude oil price crash, CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the government should not ‘profit from people’s misery’.

“There is no reason for Modi to continue charging exorbitant rates for cooking gas, diesel and petrol after crude prices have crashed globally. The shutdown has brought the economy to a halt and people need all the relief. It doesn’t befit the Centre to profit from people’s misery,” Mr. Yechury tweeted.

“Prices of crude oil have fallen to unexpected levels in the world, yet why is petrol in our country sold at ₹69, diesel at ₹62. It is good that prices have fallen in this disaster. When will this government listen,” said Mr. Gandhi in another tweet.

Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi’s remarks were in response to a statement by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on what it called “Islamophobia” in the India.

PTI

New Delhi: India is heaven for Muslims and their social, economic and religious rights are secure, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said today, in response to a statement by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on what it called “Islamophobia” in the country.
“India’s Muslims are prosperous. Those trying to vitiate the atmosphere can’t be their friends,” Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi was quoted as telling Press Trust of India.

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) had in a statement on Sunday urged India to take “urgent steps” to protect the rights of Muslims and stop the incidents of “Islamophobia” in the country.

1/2 #OIC-IPHRC condemns the unrelenting vicious #Islamophobic campaign in #India maligning Muslims for spread of #COVID-19 as well as their negative profiling in media subjecting them to discrimination & violence with impunity.

— OIC-IPHRC (@OIC_IPHRC) April 19, 2020

In tweets, OIC’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission also said the Indian media was negatively profiling the Muslims and subjecting them to discrimination.

1/2 #OIC-IPHRC condemns the unrelenting vicious #Islamophobic campaign in #India maligning Muslims for spread of #COVID-19 as well as their negative profiling in media subjecting them to discrimination & violence with impunity.

— OIC-IPHRC (@OIC_IPHRC) April 19, 2020

Asked about the OIC criticism, Mr Naqvi, the only Muslim minister at the centre, said, “We are doing our job with conviction. The prime minister whenever he speaks, he talks about the rights and welfare of 130 crore Indians. If some cannot see this, then it is their problem.”

The minister remarked that “secularism and harmony” was not “political fashion but perfect passion” for India and Indians.

The government had earlier hit out at the 57-member grouping of Muslim majority nations, saying it should not make irresponsible statements.

The row follows posts on social media over a Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Delhi last month, which emerged as a super-spreader of coronavirus with thousands of cases across the country linked to its members.

The Islamic sect was accused of violating social distancing guidelines and ignoring all caution by organizing the gathering of 9,000 at their centre in Delhi, Markaz Nizamuddin. As states tracked down Tablighi members in their fight to control the infection, there was a spurt in hate posts on social media.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday criticized any form of discrimination, saying the COVID-19 pandemic affects everyone equally. “COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or border before striking. Our response and conduct thereafter should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood,” the PM had said in a post on LinkedIn.

Portion where President and his family stay not affected, says official

Over a 100 families went on self-isolation within the President’s Estate, where Rashtrapati Bhavan is located, after one person tested positive for COVID-19, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Confirming the news to The Hindu, the senior official said the main Rashtrapati Bhavan, where President Ram Nath Kovind and his family stay, has not been affected.

In the third week of March, President Kovind too decided to strictly follow the Health Ministry’s protocol after one Lok Sabha member, who was part of a delegation of MPs from Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan invited by President Kovind for a breakfast meeting, announced self-quarantine on March 19.

BJP MP from Dholpur Dushyant Singh went into self-isolation following reports that guests who had earlier attended a private party in Lucknow hotel had tested positive, including playback singer Kanika Kapoor.

In the past one month, said officials, Rashtrapati Bhavan had not only followed strict social distancing norms but also official meetings such as the Governor’s meet were conducted through video conferencing.

With inputs from The Hindu