Floral tributes were paid to three CRPF personnel who were killed in a terror attack in Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district yesterday. A wreath-laying ceremony was held at the force’s Humhama headquarters in Srinagar. Yesterday, militants fired indiscriminately at a CRPF party of 179 battalion in Sopore, leaving a head constable and two constables dead. Two others, including a head constable and a constable (driver) were injured.
Will soon avenge the killing of 3 security personnel in J&K’s Sopore: IG CRPF
Abid Bashir
Srinagar, April 19 (NVI): The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) today said that security agencies will very soon track down those behind yesterday’s militant attack in north Kashmir’s Sopore, in which three of their personnel were killed and two others were left seriously injured.
Talking to media after wreath-laying ceremony at the force’s Humhama headquarters here, Inspector General, CRPF Kashmir zone (Operations) Rajesh Yadav said that CRPF has been enforcing strict lockdown across Kashmir amid the coronavirus pandemic, and on Saturday, personnel from 179 battalion were on ground to do the same job.
“Our boys are busy in enforcing strict lockdown across Kashmir and yesterday, they were doing the same thing at Sopore when militants attacked them. Our men are busy on multiple fronts which includes fighting militancy and facing Covid-19 challenges,” the officer said. He said that yesterday, he along with the IGP Kashmir (Vijay Kumar) went to the site of incident at Sopore to take stock of the situation.
IG CRPF said that security agencies are jointly working on some leads about those behind the attack and the force “will avenge their killings soon.”
“Those responsible for the attack will be taken to task soon,” he said. “I along with IGP Kashmir were at Sopore till late evening yesterday,” he added.
To a query whether enforcing lockdown and fighting Covid-19 pandemic was affecting the anti-militancy operations, the IG said that in the recent days, many successful operations were conducted including one at Pulwama and Shopian as well. “These are our responsibilities and we are capable of dealing with our all responsibilities professionally,” he said.
After the wreath-laying ceremony, the mortal remains of slain CRPF jawans were flown to their respective States for the last rites.
IF CRPF further stated that militancy has been going on in Kashmir for the past 30 years and all the security agencies including CRPF are dealing with it professionally.
Last evening, militants fired indiscriminately at CRPF men of 179 battalion at Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, leaving three of them dead including a head constable and two constables. Two others, including a head constable and a constable (driver) were injured. They are being treated at the 92-base hospital Srinagar.
Covid-19: Kejriwal says no relaxation of lockdown in Delhi, will review after a week
New Delhi (NVI): Expressing concern over the rising number of coronavirus cases in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said that there will be no relaxation of lockdown in the National Capital as of now.
He said that the Delhi government will again sit with experts after a week on April 27 and decide on a further roadmap to tackle the spread of the virus.
As per the Central Government’s order issued on April 15, there will be some relaxations from April 20 onwards in non-hotspot zones.
“Delhi has 11 districts and all of them have been declared hotspots. So as per the Central government, there can be no relaxations in hotspot zones,” he said.
After assessing the prevailing situation in Delhi, we have decided not to permit any relaxation of the lockdown, as of now. https://t.co/mPIOpuF2KR
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 19, 2020
Kejriwal said that for the last few days, the number of coronavirus cases is surging in Delhi. “We have also increased our testing in the last few days,” he said.
“Yesterday we received test reports of 736 cases, out of which 186 turned out to be coronavirus cases, that means 25 per cent,” he said.
He said that all these 186 patients are asymptomatic, i.e., they didn’t show signs of fever, cough, etc. “They were not even aware that they have the infection,” he said.
The Chief Minister further informed that there are 77 containment zones in Delhi.
There are 1,893 cases, out of which 26 are in ICU and 6 are on ventilator, he said adding that 43 have died of the disease so far.
“2 per cent of country’s population lives in Delhi, but 12 per cent of corona cases are here,” Kejriwal said adding the number of cases have surged as a lot of people travelled to the capital from foreign countries, besides the Tablighi Jammat incident, that also contributed to the situation.
Non-essential goods sale by E-commerce firms remains prohibited during lockdown
New Delhi (NVI): The Government today decided to keep the supply of non-essential goods by E-commerce companies prohibited during the extended lockdown, as it revised its April 15 guidelines issued in this regard.
In its earlier order, MHA had said that e-commerce websites like Amazon and Flipkart will be allowed to deliver all kinds of goods, including phones, laptops, TV, fridge, etc in non-hotspot areas. The April 15 order had said that deliveries must follow the Centre’s guidelines and other norms by states.
However, the latest MHA order by Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that sub-clause (v) under Clause 14 on Commercial and private establishments stating that- “E-commerce companies. Vehicles used by e-commerce operators will be allowed to ply with necessary permissions” – is excluded from consolidated revised guidelines.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), has welcomed the latest move by the Government. CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal lauded the MHA notification for withdrawing permission to E-Commerce companies for supplying non-essential goods during the lockdown.
CAIT Secretary General @praveendel applauding Home Ministry Notification for withdrawing permission to E Commerce for deal in non essential goods @BCBHARTIA @sumitagarwal_82 @narendramodi @PiyushGoyal @AmitShah @rajnathsingh @HardeepSPuri @AimraIndia @AICPDF @aitwaho pic.twitter.com/PmSrKnPZSi
— CAIT (@TEAMCAIT) April 19, 2020
Earlier, the Government had announced a 21-day lockdown from March 25 to April 14. The nationwide lockdown was further extended by 19 days till May 3 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to effectively fight COVID-19 which has claimed more than 500 lives in the country so far.
2 doctors, 6 nurses test positive at Delhi’s Lady Hardinge hospital
New Delhi (NVI): As the coronavirus cases keep on increasing in the National Capital, at least six health care workers were found positive at Lady Hardinge Medical College in Delhi, according to media reports.
The cases include two doctors and six nurses at paediatric intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital.
With this, more than 60 health care workers have been tested positive for Covid-19 in Delhi.
Apart from Lady Hardinge, healthcare workers including doctors and nurses have been found infected by the virus Lok Nayak hospital, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, Safdarjung hospital, Max hospital, Sir Ganga Ram, and Maharaja Agrasen Hospital.
Meanwhile, Delhi has 1,893 cases of coronavirus, including 42 deaths so far, according to the Ministry of Health.
J&K: 1200 social media accounts on cyber police radar
Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir’s cyber police wing has identified 1200 suspected social media accounts that are being used to foment trouble, instigate violence, spread fake messages and eulogising militancy.
The move comes at a time when J&K police is playing a vital role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic in the Union Territory as the entire police force is on roads to implement strict lockdown to prevent spread of the virus. The deadly virus has already claimed five lives including a woman and affected 328 people so far in the UT.
While the fight against coronavirus is in a full-swing in J&K, the cyber wing of police claims that there are hundreds of fake accounts on social media that are fomenting trouble by spreading fake messages, fake government orders, uploading pictures of militants to instigate violence while some are glorifying militancy.
“Kashmir has become a breeding ground for rumors and social media is playing a big role through some 1200 accounts that we have identified,” Superintendent of Police, Cyber wing, Tahir Ashraf told NVI. “For the last few weeks, Cyber Police Kashmir has registered at least nine cases for uploading fake news, orders, and pictures.”
He said that social media is being misused by many people which has thrown up a big challenge for the Cyber police in Kashmir. “We have identified 1200 Facebook pages, Twitter and Instagram which are on our radar,” Ashraf said, adding that some may be operating from across the LoC.
He said Cyber Police was also monitoring all the profiles and the content being shared by the users. “Some posts are to destabilise the social fabric and create law and order in the valley. We are closely monitoring the social media and take appropriate action accordingly,” he said.
The SP said that cyber police was making people aware how to secure their social media accounts and what kind of stuff they should share. “We also noticed that certain users who misuse social media are quite young and are student of primary classes. There is nothing against them in police records,” he said. “We have contacted their parents and are counselling them so they don’t misuse social media. We have already counseled over 25 youth so far,” he said.
For those, who spread fake messages and paste fake government orders on social media, there can be two years of punishment under section 505 of Indian Penal Code (IPC). “And for those who are trying to glorify militants, there can be punishment up to 10 or 15 years,” he said.
Recently, a fake news was uploaded on Facebook wherein a morphed picture of Lalchowk, Ghantaghar (clock tower) Srinagar was shown with a flag of Pakistan occupied Kashmir. A police official said that they immediately registered an FIR. “Those involved were identified and arrested under the provisions of law,” he said. Interestingly, a fake government order was also uploaded on the Facebook, a week ago, which said that 4-G internet services have been restored in J&K.
S Korea’s new Covid-19 cases fall to a single digit for first time since Feb
New Delhi (NVI): With eight fresh infections, South Korea today reported single digit new Covid-19 cases for the first time in two months.
According to Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), of the new cases, five were imported from overseas.
The death toll due to Covid-19 has risen to 234 in South Korea.
The country was also in news recently for conducting its parliamentary elections amid the pandemic. It became the first country to hold national elections since the outbreak of the disease in Wuhan, China in December last year.
Meanwhile, the total number of global cases has surpassed 2.3 million, including more than 1,59,000 fatalities. More than 5,90,000 patients are reported to have recovered.
Covid-19 cases rise to 15,712 in India, death toll at 507
New Delhi (NVI): The total number of coronavirus cases in India rose to 15, 712 today while 507 people have lost their lives due to the disease, the Union Health Ministry said this morning.
Out of the total, 12,969 are active cases, while 2,230 have been cured or discharged. The novel coronavirus has infected over 2 million people globally and led to the deaths of over 1,60,000 people.
Meanwhile, 45 more COVID-19 cases have been reported from Agra, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the district to 241, District Magistrate Prabhu N Singh said yesterday.
In Gujarat, five more deaths have taken the state toll to 58.
Maharashtra remains the worst affected state with 3,323 coronavirus cases and 201 fatalities.
The other worst affected states are Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
COVID-19: 13 more test positive in Kashmir, J&K tally reaches 341
Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): Jammu and Kashmir continues to witness a surge in the coronavirus positive cases as 13 more people were tested positive today taking the total number of cases to 341 in the Union Territory.
J&K government’s spokesman, Rohit Kansal in his tweet said that 13 more cases have been tested positive in Kashmir. “Of the total cases, 287 are from Kashmir and 54 from Jammu region,” Kansal said.
GH Yatoo, Nodal officer for Covid- 19 at SKIMS, said that 6 samples were tested positive at SKIMS today. Among them 5 are from Bandipora and 1 is from Beerwah Budgam. “Four patients whose repeated tests turned negative were discharged from the hospital,” he said. “Among them 3 are from Srinagar while 1 is from Budgam.”
Srinagar district which was topping the list of districts with 78 cases was today surpassed by Bandipora district of north Kashmir where total number of positive cases mounted to 80.
Officials have said that from March 9 to April 1, 911 samples were tested at SKIMS hospital Soura, while in Chest Diseases hospital, 941 samples were tested alone in the past 48 hours.
As per the officials figures, 78 positive cases including one death and 12 recoveries are from Srinagar, 80 including 11 recoveries and one death are from Bandipora, 42 including 2 deaths are from Baramulla, 13 including 7 recoveries from Budgam, 3 from Pulwama including one recovery, 22 from Shopian including 2 recoveries, 27 from Kupwara, 14 from Ganderbal, 5 from Kulgam and 5 from Anantnag in Kashmir division.
As per the daily media bulletin 60,419 persons in Jammu and Kashmir are under observation while 6,071 persons have been kept under home quarantine besides that 285 persons are in hospital isolation while 252 persons are under hospital quarantine.
According to the bulletin, 23,114 persons have completed surveillance period and 25,692 persons are under home surveillance besides that so far results of 6,937 samples have been made available.
Out of 6,937 the number of samples tested negative stands at 6,596 while 341 have been tested positive, among them 285 are active and 51 persons have recovered and 5 persons have died.
Pak army violates ceasefire on LoC
Jammu (NVI): Pakistan tonight violated ceasefire along the Line of Control in Degwar sector of Poonch district in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the Army officials, Pakistani troops resorted to firing with small arms and mortar shelling along LoC in Degwar sector at around 0830 PM.
The Indian Army is retaliating befittingly, the officials said.
Earlier, yesterday Pakistani troops violated ceasefire along LoC in Qasba and Kirni sectors of Poonch district, drawing strong retaliation from the Indian Army.
“On 17 Apr 2020 at about 1100 hours, Pak initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms & shelling with Mortars along LoC in Qasba & Kirni sectors, District Poonch (J&K). Indian Army retaliating befittingly,” said an Army official.
