Month: January 2022

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches in Delhi and Noida in connection with a bribery case filed against ES Ranganathan, Director (Marketing) at Gas Authority of India Limited on Saturday.

Sources informed that CBI team has recovered Rs 1.30 crore cash and other valuables during the raids in premises of Ranganathan. The raid is underway.
A senior CBI officer informed that CBI has registered a case against E S Ranganathan, Director (Marketing) GAIL, and others including Private persons, private companies and unknown others on the allegations/ informations that the Director (Marketing), Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL) at Bhikaji Cama Place in New Delhi ( a central PSU), was indulging into corrupt and illegal activities in conspiracy with other accused who were acting as his middleman, by obtaining bribe from the private companies buying petro chemical products marketed by the GAIL.

It was further alleged that at the direction of representatives of private company, a private person had requested the Public Servant of GAIL for allowing some discount to the buyers on petro chemical products being marketed by GAIL in lieu of illegal gratification. It was also alleged that other private person has also collected Rs 40 lakh from the accused earlier in this matter.

The CBI laid a trap and apprehended a private person and a Director of a Private Company based at Delhi when the alleged bribe of Rs 10 lakh was received by the private person from the said Director of Private Company allegedly on behalf of Director (Marketing) GAIL.

Subsequent, searches were conducted at the premises of accused at Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon, Panchkula, Karnal etc, which led to recovery of Rs 1.30 crore (approximately) cash so far which include recovery of Rs 75 lakh from Gurgaon based private person. Searches are continuing at the premises of public servant.

The CBI has so far arrested five private persons. Investigation is continuing. (ANI)

A Tsunami advisory has been issued for Hawaii and the West Coast of US following volcano eruption near Tonga.

The United States’ Pacific Tsunami Warning Center tweeted on Saturday that Hawaii was issued a tsunami advisory. Other states such as Alaska, Oregon and Washington were also issued tsunami advisories, according to the Washington Post.
“PTWC has issued a Tsunami Advisory for Hawaii. A tsunami is currently being observed by all Islands’ Emergency Management. We are relieved that there is no reported damage and only minor flooding throughout the islands. https://tsunami.gov,” the center tweeted.

The centre had previously issued a warning for American Samoa, but it was later cancelled.

The tsunami, which flooded the capital of Tonga, required the evacuation of its king, Tupou VI, according to the Hill.

Several countries, including New Zealand, Australia and Fiji also issued tsunami warnings or advisories in response.

“We have issued a NATIONAL ADVISORY: TSUNAMI ACTIVITY following the Tongan eruption. We expect New Zealand coastal areas on the north and east coast of the North Island and the Chatham Islands to experience strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore,” New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency tweeted. (ANI)

The Election Commission on Saturday has issued notice to Samajwadi Party for allegedly violating the COVID-19 protocols in the party office at Lucknow’s Vikramaditya Marg.

In the wake of rising COVID cases, the EC, in its order, had forbidden the political parties to hold roadshows, rallies, padayatras till January 15.
After a few media houses reported violation of COVID-19 guidelines to the Commission in a public gathering in the office compound of the Samajwadi Party on Friday, the Chief Electoral Officer was asked to report on the matter. To which he stated that “existing COVID-19 protocols have been violated by organising the public gathering” in the Samajwadi party premises which the party said to be a “virtual rally”.

Following this, on Friday an FIR was also registered against Samajwadi Party (SP). The Election Commission has sought an answer from the SP within 24 hours regarding the violation of the Commission’s guidelines.

Voting for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly will be held in seven phases from February 10 to March 7. The counting of votes will be held on March 10. (ANI)

Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) on Saturday said that it will observe ‘Virodh Diwas’ on January 31 if the Central Government does not respond to its demands.

Addressing a press conference at the Singhu border today, Yudhvir Singh, Bhartiya Kisan Union leader said, “Till now, Centre has neither formed a committee on MSP nor approached us on it. The Government hasn’t removed the MoS whose son is involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.”
“If the Central Government doesn’t respond to our demands, then we will celebrate ‘Virodh Diwas’ on January 31,” he said.

Reminding the Government about postponing the farmers’ movement, he said, “Our movement was postponed on December 11. The Government has not responded to our demands yet, We will burn effigies on the Government across the country on January 31.”

He further informed that the union will again begin the agitation in Uttar Pradesh from February 1.

“We will visit Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri for 3-4 days from January 21 and meet the affected farmers’ families. We will discuss and form a strategy on the further course of action of our agitation,” BKU leader, Rakesh Tikait said.

Earlier in December last year, the SKM had announced the suspension of their year-long agitation after they received a letter from the Central government, with promises of forming a committee on Minimum Support Price (MSP) and withdrawing cases against them immediately.

Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed the Farm Laws Repeal Bill on the first day of the Winter session on November 29. President Ram Nath Kovind had also given his assent to the Bill that completed the process of repealing the three farm laws.

Farmers had been protesting against the farm laws on various borders of Delhi since November 26, 2020. (ANI)

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday announced that those who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will not be allowed to enter public places like district courts, hotels, markets etc. from Sunday.

“Those not fully vaccinated will not be allowed to enter public places like district courts, hotels, markets etc. from tomorrow,” said the Chief Minister while briefing media persons on the prevailing COVID-19 situation.
Sarma further asserted that there is no situation of lockdown in Assam yet, however, wearing a mask is a must.

Meanwhile, the Assam government also revised the timings of night curfew from 10 pm to 6 am with effect from January 8 until further orders. Earlier, the night curfew timings in Assam was from 11.30 am to 6 pm.

As per the Standard operating procedures (SOP) for COVID-19 issued by the Assam Chief Minister earlier this month, the workplace and business establishments shall remain open till 9 pm. The functioning of private and public offices will be also up to 9 pm.

Shops dealing with groceries, fruits and vegetables, dairy and milk booths, animal fodder will remain open till 9 pm. The dine-in restaurants, dhabas and other eateries will be allowed to operate with up to 50 per cent of seating capacity till 9 pm, while the takeaway of food items from restaurants, dhabas and other eateries will be allowed till 10 pm. The opening of sale counters, showrooms, cold storages and warehouses is up to 9 pm.

Auto Rickshaws, cycle rickshaws and taxis shall operate for passengers with 100 per cent seating capacity and observance of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour for passengers. Pillion riding on motorcycles should be fully vaccinated and will be allowed only with the proper use of a mask.

In closed venues, the gathering is allowed upto 50 per cent of the seating capacity of the hall, auditorium etc limited to a maximum of 200, while in marriages and religious functions, 200 single vaccinated persons will be allowed and 100 persons will be allowed in funerals.

In cinema halls and theatres, 50 per cent of the seating capacity of fully vaccinated viewers and observance of COVID-19 appropriate behaviour will be allowed. (ANI)

Punjab Congress sitting MLA from Moga, Harjot Kamal, joined the BJP here ahead of the Assembly polls on Saturday as the party denied him an election ticket.

“I was denied election ticket which was insulting for me”, claimed Harjot Kamal after joining BJP. He added that the party leadership had asked him to contest from another place which he refused as he felt insulted by the Congress.
“Even while visiting Moga, Sidhu’ Sahab did not visit my place but directly went to the Sood (Malvika Sood) house”, said Kamal.

While speaking about Malvika Sood contesting from Moga on Congress ticket instead of him, Kamal said, “I don’t have any objection behind Congress selecting Sonu Sood’s sister Malvika Sood, Sonu Sood himself can contest. The problem is Congress not giving me a ticket from Moga.” “Malvika Sood is like my sister but she doesn’t have any political qualification, except being the sister of Sonu Sood.”

According to Harjot Kamal, Congress ignored his contribution to the party. “I have spent 21 years with the Congress, starting as a Youth Congress worker. Moga was a Congress-devoid area and I have worked hard to establish the Congress in Moga by breaking the SAD (Shiromani Akali Dal) wave”, stated the former Congress leader.

Meanwhile, Congress releases a list for candidates on 86 seats in upcoming Punjab polls-CM Charanjit Singh Channi to contest from Chamkaur Sahib SC, state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu to contest from Amritsar East, Pratap Singh Bajwa to contest from Qadian, singer Sidhu Moosewala from Mansa. (ANI)

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday extended the ban on physical rallies and roadshows in the five poll-bound states till January 22.

However, the commission also granted relaxations for the political parties in Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Manipur and Uttarakhand, where assembly elections will be held from February 10 till March 10.
“ECI extends ban on physical rallies and roadshows until 22 January 2022 ECI grants relaxation for the political parties to the extent that indoor meetings of a maximum of 300 persons or 50 per cent of the capacity of the hall or the prescribed limit set by SDMA,” ECI informed in a tweet.

It further directed political parties to adhere to the provisions of MCC and the broad guidelines of COVID.

“ECI directs political parties to adhere to the provisions of MCC and the broad guidelines of COVID ECI direct State/ District Administration to ensure compliance of all instructions related to MCC and COVID,” ECI tweeted.

Earlier on January 8, the commission, while announcing the schedule for upcoming assembly polls in five states, suspended the physical rallies till January 15 in view of rising COVID-19 cases.

Polling in Uttar Pradesh, with 403 constituencies, will take place across all seven phases.

Manipur with 60 constituencies will vote on February 27 and March 3.

Punjab with 117 constituencies, Uttarakhand with 70 constituencies and Goa with 40 constituencies will cast their vote in a single-phase on February 14.

The counting of votes for all assembly seats in the five states will be held on March 10. (ANI)

A new study has found that one in 10 people might have clinically relevant levels of potentially infectious SARS-CoV-2 past the 10 day quarantine period.

The study has been published in the ‘International Journal of Infectious Diseases.
The study, led by the University of Exeter and funded by Animal Free Research UK, used a newly adapted test that can detect whether the virus was potentially still active. It was applied to samples from 176 people in Exeter who had tested positive on standard PCR tests.

The study found that 13 per cent of people still exhibited clinically-relevant levels of virus after 10 days, meaning they could potentially still be infectious. Some people retained these levels for up to 68 days. The authors believe this new test should be applied in settings where people are vulnerable, to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Professor Lorna Harries, of the University of Exeter Medical School, oversaw the study. She said, “While this is a relatively small study, our results suggest that potentially active virus may sometimes persist beyond a 10 day period, and could pose a potential risk of onward transmission. Furthermore, there was nothing clinically remarkable about these people, which means we wouldn’t be able to predict who they are”.

Conventional PCR tests work by testing for the presence of viral fragments. While they can tell if someone has recently had the virus, they cannot detect whether it is still active, and the person is infectious. The test used in the latest study however gives a positive result only when the virus is active and potentially capable of onward transmission.

Lead author Merlin Davies, of the University of Exeter Medical School, said, “In some settings, such as people returning to care homes after illness, people continuing to be infectious after ten days could pose a serious public health risk. We may need to ensure people in those setting have a negative active virus test to ensure people are no longer infectious. We now want to conduct larger trials to investigate this further.”

Animal Free Research UK CEO, Carla Owen, said, “The University of Exeter team’s discovery is exciting and potentially very important. Once more, it shows how focusing exclusively on human biology during medical research can produce results that are more reliable and more likely to benefit humans and animals.”

“Pioneering Animal Free work is providing the best chance of not only defeating Covid 19 but also finding better treatments for all human diseases. The results also send a loud and clear message to the Government to better fund modern medical research and make the UK a world leader in cutting edge, kinder science,” Owen added.

The research is a collaboration between the University of Exeter Medical School, the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, and the NIHR Exeter Clinical Research Facility. (ANI)

BJP on Saturday released its first list of 107 candidates for the first and second phase of the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly Polls that are scheduled to be held on February 10 and 14.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will contest from the Gorakhpur Assembly constituency.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya will contest from Sirathu in Prayagraj district.

The list was released by union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and BJP national general secretary Arun Singh at the press conference in New Delhi.

Recently, several party leaders resigned from their posts alleging Uttar Pradesh’s government’s callous attitude towards backward classes.

Keeping the caste arithmetic balance and to gain voters’ appeal, Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded women on 10 seats, OBC candidates on 44 seats and scheduled castes (SC) candidates from 19 seats, accounting for 60 per cent of the total.

In the list released today, 83 are current MLAs of BJP and 21 individuals are new candidates of a list of 107 candidates released today in toto.

Former Uttarakhand governor, Baby Rani Maurya will be contesting from the Agra Rural seat. Pankaj Singh, the son of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will again contest from Noida seat.

Tejendra Singh Nirwal will be contesting from Shamli seat, Umesh Malik will be from Budhana, Sapna Kashyap from Charthawal, Pramod Utwal from Purqazi (SC), Kapidev Aggarwal from Muzaffar Nagar, Vikram Saini from Khatauli will be contesting in the poll-bound state.

Prashant Gurjar from Meerapur, Manendra Pal Singh from Siwalkhas, Sangeet Som from Sardhana, Dinesh Khatik from Hastinapur (SC), Satyavir Tyagi from Kithore, Amit Aggarwal from Meerut Cantt, Sahendra Singh Ramala from Chharprauli, Krishnapal Singh (KP Malik) from Baraut, Yogesh Dhama from Baghpat, Nandkishor Gurjar from Loni, Ajit Pal Tyagi from Muradnagar, Sunil Sharma from Sahibabad and Atul Garg from Ghaziabad will also be contesting in the poll bound state.

Several other candidates will be contesting in the poll-bound state.

Elections for the 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh will be held in seven phases starting February 10, the Election Commission said.

The polling in Uttar Pradesh will be held on February 10, 14, 20, 23, 27 and March 3 and 7 in seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.

In the 2017 Assembly elections, the BJP won a landslide victory winning 312 Assembly seats. The party secured a 39.67 per cent vote share in the elections for 403-member Assembly. Samajwadi Party (SP) bagged 47 seats, BSP won 19 while Congress could manage to win only seven seats. (ANI)