Category: National

A criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been filed, a senior official said

PTI

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money laundering case against Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, trusts liked to the Jamaat and others, officials said on Thursday.

They said an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) has been filed by the agency based on a Delhi Police FIR.

A criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has been filed, a senior official said.

The Delhi Police’s crime branch had, on March 31, lodged an FIR against seven people, including the cleric, on a complaint by Station House Officer of Nizamuddin police station for holding a congregation of Tablighi Jamaat followers in alleged violation of the orders against large gatherings to contain the spread of coronavirus.

It has also sought a direction to the Health Ministry to take appropriate steps to deal with psychological pressure mounting on individuals due to the lockdown

PTI

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Centre to ensure that free unlimited calling, data usage and DTH facilities are provided to subscribers to ease “psychological stress” during the lockdown till May 3 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It has also sought a direction to the Health Ministry to take appropriate steps to deal with psychological pressure mounting on individuals due to the lockdown or being kept in quarantine.

The plea sought directions to the government and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to invoke relevant terms of agreement of licenses granted to DTH service providers and ask them to provide completely free and unlimited viewing facility of their channels and contents during the lockdown period.

It said they also be directed to exercise powers under appropriate provisions of law so that content of video streaming websites could be provided free of cost during lockdown.

The petition, filed by advocate Manohar Pratap, has said that social interactions by way of talking over phone, video calling and other modes of digital entertainment like watching TV channels on DTH platforms or contents on video streaming websites could be helpful in “lowering the psychological stress” caused by confinement during the lockdown.

It claimed that the Centre and State governments have taken various measures to help the citizens during lockdown by providing food and shelter and other means for survival but no steps have been taken to answer the psychological pressure which is mounting day by day on the citizens.

“Mental and psychological health are as important as physical health and less has been done in this regard by the government during lockdown. Most of the persons who got stranded away from their family and friends are living in deep psychological stress and there has been even two-three instances of suicides due to fear of isolation during treatment of coronavirus disease,” the plea said.

The petitioner has further said that unlimited free audio and video communication means would allow the stranded persons, who are away from their family, to contact them and it would help in dealing with present situation.

It said that free and unlimited access to internet and satellite TV channels would offer better and wide mode of entertainment to individuals who are confined in home or in quarantine facilities.

IANS

US scientists warn social distancing may have to remain till 2022
Washington, April 16 (IANS) Social distancing measures such as restrictions on public gatherings may have to remain in place intermittently for at least a couple of more years to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the absence of vaccine against the virus or dramatic increase in critical care capacities, researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have warned.

These tough measures which have already pushed the world economy into recession may be necessary because the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may occur again in winter, according to the projections made by the researchers who used data from the US for creating a model of transmission.

The study comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has said that America has “passed the peak” of new COVID-19 cases and predicted some states would reopen this month, even as the country currently accounted for the highest number of coronavirus deaths and infections in the world.

The US has reported a total of 639,628 coronavirus cases, while the death toll stands at 30,925, according to the latest update by the Washington-based Johns Hopkins University.

According to the study published in the journal Science, resurgence in contagion could be possible as late as 2024.

For the study, the researchers examined a range of likely SARS-CoV-2 transmission scenarios through 2025 and assessed non-pharmaceutical interventions that could mitigate the intensity of the current outbreak.

They used what is known about the pandemic and different coronaviruses to create different transmission scenarios.

“We projected that recurrent wintertime outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 will probably occur after the initial, most severe pandemic wave. Absent other interventions, a key metric for the success of social distancing is whether critical care capacities are exceeded,” said the study.

“To avoid this, prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary into 2022. Additional interventions, including expanded critical care capacity and an effective therapeutic, would improve the success of intermittent distancing and hasten the acquisition of herd immunity,” it added.

The researchers cautioned that their model will have to be tailored to local conditions and updated as more accurate data become available.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, COVID-19 has so far infected over 2 million people and led to the deaths of over 137,000 in the world.

– IANS

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

Claiming that lockdown is only a “pause button” and not a “solution”, Mr. Gandhi warned that the virus would spread again once the lockdown is removed

PTI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday, urged the government to ramp up the testing for coronavirus. In a virtual press conference, the former Congress president offered various suggestions to the government to tackle the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“India’s testing rate is very low at 199 per million so far,” Mr. Gandhi noted urging the government to scale up the testing. “Our average testing has been roughly 350 tests per district. We should be able to ramp up testing. Also, random testing to get a good idea where the virus is moving. I am proposing to scale up testing and do a mapping of how the virus is moving,” he said adding that testing is our main weapon against the virus.

Mr. Gandhi also urged the Prime Minister to empower the chief ministers and district-level authorities. “The approach should be bottom-up,” he said. He also wanted the Centre to disburse more cash to the States at the earliest.

Mr. Gandhi also pitched for the NYAY scheme that was part of Congress manifesto in the 2019 general elections. “Put money in the accounts of the 20% poorest families,” he suggested and sought expansion of dry ration scheme even to those who do not possess ration cards.

Mr. Gandhi also asked the government to form a plan for the MSMEs, which have been shut down due to lockdown. He also urged the government to focus on the public healthcare infrastructure.

“The government should prepare an action plan to ramp up healthcare system including Public Health Centres,” he further suggested.

Claiming that lockdown is only a “pause button” and not a “solution”, Mr. Gandhi warned that the virus would spread again once the lockdown is removed. He also said the Chief Ministers should decide when to relax or remove the lockdown. “We are a decentralised country. The response in Kerala is different from, say, in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

When asked where the Prime Minister went wrong, Mr. Gandhi replied: “I will give the answer the day we have beaten the coronavirus.”

They include 72 people in houses of South Delhi where he made deliveries

PTI

A 19-year-old pizza delivery man has tested positive for novel coronavirus in Delhi, prompting authorities to quarantine a total of 89 people, including 72 people in houses of South Delhi where he made deliveries.

“A total of 17 people, including the owner of the shop and other delivery boys, have been put under institutional quarantine. The shop has been shut,” said B.M. Mishra, District Magistrate (South Delhi).

“72 people in houses where he made the delivery have been put under home quarantine. All these houses are within a 5-km radius of Malviya Nagar,” he added.

Mr. Mishra said the delivery man used a mask and a pair of gloves while working and was currently under treatment in Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital. “We are yet to ascertain how he got infected with the virus,” he said.

The delivery man is a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh.

Bench puts on record the promise from the Solicitor-General

PTI

The Supreme Court on Wednesday recorded in its order the government’s undertaking that farmers and agricultural workers would not be harassed by the police and the authorities during the lockdown.

A Bench, led by Justice N.V. Ramana, was hearing a petition filed by activist Swami Agnivesh, represented by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, that the authorities were tormenting farm workers and blocking transport of agricultural produce, despite the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Agriculture on March 24 and 25 and then on March 28, exempting agriculture from the lockdown.

Agnivesh said this would lead to food shortage, sky-rocketing of prices and hoarding, especially in the wake of the harvesting of Rabi crops.

The Bench took note of the submission of Mr. Gonsalves that the government’s order of exemption was “not being fully implemented by the police”.

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta assured the Bench that there was “full monitoring and implementation of the guidelines” issued by the Ministry. Mr. Mehta said steps would be taken to ensure that the police followed the guidelines. The court recorded his assurances, on behalf of the government, before disposing of Agnivesh’s plea.

The guidelines issued by the government, especially on March 28, exempted agricultural operations, transport of food produce and the functioning of mandis from the lockdown.

However, the petition accused the police of mercilessly beating up farmers and farm workers. “If this continues, the harvesting will severely be affected, farm produce will rot on the fields — as indeed is the case for vegetables and tea — and food shortage may begin. Similarly, in tribal areas, the governments are grossly interfering with the rights of tribal and non-tribal forest-dwellers to access forest produce in accordance with the Forest Rights Act,” the petition said.

An FIR was registered against Maulana Muhammad Saad Khandalvi on March 31 on a complaint of the Station House Officer of Nizamuddin.

PTI

The Delhi Police on Wednesday said they have charged the chief of the Delhi-based Tablighi Jamaat centre Maulana Muhammad Saad Khandalvi, under the Section for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

IPC Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) has been added to the FIR that was registered against Mr. Saad and six other office-bearers of the centre, after people who attended the religious gathering in Nizamuddin, died due to COVID-19.

The quarantine period of Mr. Saad has ended and he should join the investigation. Police would again sent notice to all persons named in the FIR, an officer said.

The Nizamuddin centre, attended by thousands, turned out to be a hotspot for the spread of Coronavirus not only in the national capital but the entire country.

More than 2,000 foreign nationals, who attended the religious congregation in Nizamuddin in Delhi and have completed their quarantine period, would undergo investigation, a senior police officer said on Wednesday.

As the foreign nationals have successfully completed the quarantine period and their COVID-19 reports were negative, the police would record their statements at the quarantine centres. Sections under the Foreigners Act for the violation of visa norms would also be added, the police officer said.

“As most of the foreigners have completed their quarantine period and their test reports are negative, we will connect with other authorities concerned to accommodate them because Look Out Circular has been issued against all of them and no one will be allowed to go out of the country till further orders,” said the officer.

‘Above normal rain likely in in August and September’

PTI

India will likely have a normal monsoon, with a chance of ‘above normal’ rain in August and September, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.

The IMD issues a two-stage forecast: the first in April, followed by a more detailed one in the last week of May, which will also illustrate how the monsoon will spread over the country.

The IMD’s confidence stems largely from global weather models pointing to negligible chances of El Nino, a warming of the central equatorial Pacific that’s associated with the drying up of monsoon rain.

It has also officially redefined the definition of what constitutes ‘normal’ rainfall and reduced it by 1 cm to 88 cm. The June-September rainfall accounts for 75% of the country’s annual rainfall. “Quantitatively, the monsoon seasonal rainfall is likely to be 100% of the Long Period Average (LPA) with a model error of ± 5%. The LPA of the season rainfall over the country as a whole for the period 1961-2010 is 88 cm,” it said.

The expectation of excess rain comes from a forecast by the dynamical model or the Monsoon Mission Coupled Forecast System — that relies on supercomputers, mathematically simulating the physics of the ocean and the atmosphere. According to this forecast, there is a “high probability (70%)” for the rainfall to be “above normal to excess”.

Last year, the IMD said in April that the monsoon would be ‘near normal’ or a tad below normal. India instead ended up with excess rainfall — or the maximum rainfall in a quarter century — largely owing to torrential rain in August and September from the unusual warming in the Indian Ocean.

The dynamical model, while better at forecasting the state of the weather a week or two in advance, isn’t yet considered reliable by meteorologists in forecasting the monsoon.

The statistical models, which the IMD relied on to make its forecasts, had a 41% forecast probability of normal monsoon. In any given year, there is a 33% chance which is why, said Madhavan Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, there was “high confidence” that the monsoon this year would be normal.

The Indian Ocean Dipole, a temperature anomaly in the ocean that can increase monsoon rain, was also expected to be in a “neutral” state during the monsoon, the forecast added.

The odds of excess rain or a drought are 9% each.

AICTE and the University Grants Commission (UGC) will also issue a revised academic calendar soon and Prof. Rajive Kumar directed colleges to continue online classes for the current semester under the extended lockdown

PTI

Colleges should not demand fee payments from students until the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown is lifted, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) said on Wednesday.

“It has come to knowledge of AICTE that certain standalone institutions are insisting that students should pay the fees, including admission fees, during the lockdown,” said a letter to all AICTE institutions from Member Secretary Rajive Kumar. “It is clarified that colleges/institutions should not insist on payment of fees till the ongoing lockdown is lifted and normalcy is restored.”

Prof. Kumar added that AICTE would issue further guidelines on the revised fee payment timelines. All institutions were directed to display this information on their websites and communicate it to students via email as well.

AICTE and the University Grants Commission (UGC) will also issue a revised academic calendar soon and Prof. Kumar directed colleges to continue online classes for the current semester under the extended lockdown. UGC has constituted a committee to make recommendations on the conduct of semester examinations, award of marks and passing criteria, the letter said.

Students who are not able to pursue their summer internship requirements due to the lockdown have been advised to try internships via work from home, but AICTE has also extended the deadline for fulfilling internship requirements until December 2020.

SRINAGAR: Fake news has always been a menace and during these difficult times, it has only added to the difficulties in fighting the coronavirus.

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued guidelines today in which a series of instructions were given about the services to be open and closed. Annexure III on page 11 deals with the Offences and Penalties for violation of lockdown measures.

Fake News Buster

While this Annexure deals with the punishment for obstruction of a government official, it also specifies the punishments for fake news, forwards, claims etc.

Under the subject punishment for false warning, the MHA has said, “whoever makes or circulates a false alarm or warning as to disaster or its severity or magnitude leading to panic, shall on conviction be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year or with fine.”

Further, under the subject punishment for false claim, the MHA has said, “whoever knowingly makes a false claim which he knows or has reason to believe to be false for obtaining any relief, assistance, repair, reconstruction or other benefits consequent to disaster from any officer, shall on conviction be punishable with imprisonment for a term that may extend to two years and also with fine.”