News Analysis India

Tag: Delhi police

  • Delhi Police seizes laptop, hard disks from Altnews co-founder Zubair’s Bengaluru house

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A four-member Delhi Police team on Thursday seized a laptop and hard disks belonging to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair from his residence in Bengaluru, officials said.

    Zubair was arrested on Monday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of Hindus through an “objectionable” tweet he posted in 2018. On Tuesday, a Delhi court extended his custodial interrogation by four days.

    The Delhi Police team reached Zubair’s residence at RT Nagar area in Bengaluru at around 11:30 am and collected electronic evidence, including his laptop and hard disks, a senior police officer said.

    Zubair has been brought back to Delhi where he will be further questioned about the case, he said.

    On Wednesday, the police had written to multiple banks seeking information about Zubair’s account details and other financial transactions.

    ALSO READ | Mohammed Zubair moves HC; cops examining financial transactions of arrested Alt News co-founder

    The officer also said the mobile phone being used by the co-founder of the fact-checking website had been formatted and did not have information related to the case.

    According to police, Zubair said he had lost the phone which was allegedly used in posting the objectionable tweet.

    Meanwhile, the anonymous Twitter handle which flagged the tweet and raised a complaint, does not exist on the microblogging site anymore, sources in the Delhi Police said.

    Zubair has been booked under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language etc.) and 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code, according to police.

  • Twitter handle that flagged Zubair’s 2018 tweet deleted: Police sources

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The anonymous Twitter handle, a complaint from which led to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair’s arrest, does not exist on the microblogging website anymore.

    Sources in the Delhi Police said the Twitter handle that had raised the issue of Zubair’s tweet has been deleted. “We are trying to identify and trace the user of the Twitter account to ascertain the reason behind him or her deleting the account. However, we suspect that the person must be scared after the matter came to limelight,” a source said.

    The number of followers of the Twitter handle, which had flagged a 2018 tweet by Zubair against a Hindu deity, went past 1,200 in a night.

    “The Twitter handle namely Hanuman Bhakt @balajikijaiiin had shared a tweet against another Twitter handle in the name of Mohammed Zubair@zoo_bear, in which it has been tweeted by Zubair that ‘Before 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel’ and has shown a picture of a signboard of a hotel named “Honeymoon Hotel” changed to “Hanuman Hotel,” the FIR read.

    ALSO READ | Journalists should not be jailed for ‘what they write, tweet and say’: UN spokesperson on Zubair’s arrest

    According to the first information report, @balajikijaiiin tweeted: “Linking our God Hanuman ji with Honey Moon is direct insult of Hindus because he is brahmchari. Kindly take action against this guy. ”

    A Delhi court on Tuesday extended Zubair’s custodial interrogation by four days.

    The co-founder of the fact-checking website was arrested by the Delhi Police on Monday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through one of his tweets posted in 2018.

    On June 20, a case against Zubair was registered under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, language etc.) and 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), KPS Malhotra, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations), had said.

    According to the DCP, Zubair was arrested in connection with one of his tweets that had a questionable image with a purpose to deliberately insult the god of a particular religion.

  • Delhi Police enter Congress HQ, beat up cadre? Cops deny

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: The Congress headquarters here witnessed high drama on Wednesday as the party continued its protest over the questioning of its leader Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald case for the third consecutive day.

    Party leaders alleged that Delhi Police personnel forcibly entered its headquarters at Akbar Road and thrashed them, posting a video of the incident on Twitter to substantiate their claims. However, the police denied their allegations.

    “In an act of absolute goondaism perpetuated by the Delhi Police at the instance of the Modi government, the police today forcibly entered the national headquarters of the Congress here and beat up party workers and leaders. This is patently criminal trespass,” Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

    Other senior leaders alleged that security personnel misbehaved with women parliamentarians and treated them like ‘criminals’. Jothimani Sennimalai, Tamil Nadu MP, released a video in which she appealed to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to initiate action against the security personnel who mistreated women MPs. “We were brutally beaten up and assaulted on Tuesday and today as well.

    Our clothes were torn and shoes were removed. They are taking us to an unknown location. We needed water but the police didn’t allow us to purchase water. The security personnel bundled 7-8 women in the bus and treated them like criminals,” she alleged. Detained party leaders and functionaries such as Sachin Pilot, Amrita Dhawan, Ajay Yadav, Vivek Bansal, Lalji Desai and Srinivas B V were taken to different police stations in Alipur, Narela, Vasant Kunj, Najafgarh, and Burari.

    The Congress demanded that an FIR for criminal trespass be filed, erring police personnel suspended and disciplinary action initiated against them. However, the police rejected the charges. “The allegations are totally false and we strongly denied them,” a senior police officer said.

  • Delhi Police again detained senior Congress leaders, claims MP Manickam Tagore

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Tuesday claimed that Delhi Police has again detained senior Congress leaders ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s second appearance before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the National Herald case.

    Tagore along with PL Punia, Qazi Muhammad Nizamuddin and other Congress leaders was seen in the video posted by Congress MP.

    In a video taken by Tagore in a moving bus with other leaders, he said, “Today we came to the AICC, myself, Punia ji, Qazi Nizamuddin and we are all there. We were not allowed inside the AICC office. The police misbehaved with us and we are being taken to an unknown destination. We feel that the force of Amit Shah cannot stop us.”

    “Today.. morning again we are detained … Lok Sabha Speaker what’s happening in Delhi? Why home minister doing this? #RahulGandhi” Tagore tweeted along with the video. Rahul Gandhi will appear before the central probe agency again on Tuesday.

    Earlier on Monday, Rahul Gandhi was questioned for over 10 hours by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering probe linked to the National Herald Case.

    Delhi | Congress leader Randeep Surjewala and others detained as they protest over ED probe against party leader Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case pic.twitter.com/S8nBWXEQqh
    — ANI (@ANI) June 14, 2022
    Former Congress President appeared before ED for the first time for questioning on Monday. He left the ED office around 11 pm after questioning on Monday.

    The interrogation began at 11 am on Monday morning. The first round of questioning concluded at around 2.15 pm for a lunch break. The Congress leader returned to his residence followed by his visit to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Covid-related issues.

    Rahul Gandhi’s questioning resumed the probe for the second round at around 3.45 pm on Monday.

    On Monday, Gandhi arrived at the ED’s office in the national capital with his sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, amid a huge march by the party workers along with him to the office.

    Congress leaders and workers have staged protests holding placards at AICC headquarters in New Delhi over the summons. Various leaders including Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot took part in the party’s Satyagraha march.

    Following the day-long protest, the Congress party said that senior leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram suffered a fracture in his left rib after he was pushed away by Delhi Police during the party’s protest in support of Rahul Gandhi. 

  • ‘Didn’t use force’: Delhi cops dismiss claims of ‘atrocities’ against Congress leaders, workers

    By Online Desk

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Monday detained 459 Congress workers and senior leaders, including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, K C Venugopal and Mallikarjun Kharge, for not following police directions for the maintenance of law and order in the national capital, officials said.

    They also said that allegations of manhandling, injuries to protesting Congress leaders during police action will be diligently looked into.

    Hundreds of Congress workers in Delhi took to the streets and several senior leaders were detained amid a massive show of strength by the party which had called for the Satyagraha march against the ED’s questioning of Rahul Gandhi in a money-laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper.

    The opposition party alleged that some of its leaders were manhandled by the police and lashed out at the government for “not allowing” peaceful protests.

    Despite being denied permission, Congress gathered for the protest in different parts of Delhi on Monday.

    They were detained from the Akbar Road, where the Congress headquarter is situated, Q Point APJ Kalam Road and Man Sing Road and taken to the Mandir Marg, Tughlak Road and Fatehpur Beri police stations respectively.

    However, police said that entry of 100 senior leaders and staff of the All India Congress Committee was allowed into the party headquarters through the Akbar Road and Maulana Azad Road roundabout whose list was to be provided in advance.

    ALSO READ | National Herald case: Top Congress leaders, workers march in solidarity with Rahul Gandhi

    The Delhi Police said 15 Lok Sabha MPs, including Leader of Opposition Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, 11 Rajya Sabha members, including K C Venugopal and Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, five MLAs of different states and party functionaries were among the 459 people detained in the New Delhi district for not following lawful directions of police for maintenance of law and order.

    All woman workers and functionaries of the Congress detained by the police have been released and suitable legal action is being taken against those who violated orders promulgated under CrPC section 144, a senior police official said.

    “Complaints have been received about injuries to Congress leaders and workers during police action. But no such incident of use of force by police took place as per our knowledge and no MLC case has been reported so far,” said Sagar Preet Hooda, the Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, Zone -II Delhi).

    “Still, if there are allegations of some manhandling during the detention the same will diligently be looked into for appropriate action,” he said.

    According to the police statement, adequate arrangements were made over apprehensions that a huge gathering of Congress leaders and workers may disturb the security and safety of the VIPs, ED office its officers, neighbouring offices, residences and the public, etc.

    “CrPC section 144 is already in force with effect from May 24 this year in the area thereby prohibiting the holding of any public meeting, processions and demonstration,” it said.

    The AICC secretary, in a letter to the police, had assured that a crowd will not accompany Rahul Gandhi to the ED office.

    But as soon as Gandhi left 24 Akbar Road for the ED office, Congress leaders, functionaries and workers accompanied him in the form of a procession, the statement said.

    Rahul Gandhi was questioned for over nine hours by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering probe linked to the National Herald newspaper and was called to depose again on Tuesday, as his party protested across the country, alleging that the Centre was targeting the Opposition by misusing agencies.

    Gandhi, who appeared before a central probe agency for the first time for questioning, arrived at the ED office at 11.10 am on Monday accompanied by a battery of leaders including sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and escorted by armed CRPF personnel.

    He was given an 80-minute break in the afternoon and was at the ED office till past 10 pm.

    Hundreds of Congress workers in Delhi and state capitals took to the streets and several senior leaders, including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Randeep Surjewala and K C Venugopal, were detained here amid a massive show of strength by the party which had called for the Satyagraha march against the ED summons.

    The principal opposition party alleged that the Delhi police made a “murderous attack” on its leader Venugopal and others, with former home minister P Chidambaram and Pramod Tiwari sustaining hairline rib fracture.

    ALSO READ | ‘Congress welcomed ED grilling of Abhishek Banerjee, it should do so for Rahul’: Trinamool

    Lashing out at the government for “not allowing”‘ peaceful protest, Congress leaders said they would not kowtow to the Modi government and vowed to continue their agitation.

    The BJP hit back at the Congress, accusing its leaders of putting pressure on the ED, supporting corruption and protecting the alleged assets worth Rs 2,000 crore of the Gandhi family.

    Noting that nobody is above the law “not even Rahul Gandhi”, BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani claimed that never before such a blatant attempt was made by a political family to hold a probe agency to ransom to protect its “ill-gotten” assets.

    Gandhi, 51, went from the party headquarters on Akbar Road to the ED office in central Delhi a few kilometres away in a convoy of seven cars after walking for some distance with his supporters.

    After about two-and-a-half hours, he left the ED office for a lunch break during which he met his mother Sonia Gandhi at the Gangaram Hospital, where she has been admitted, and returned at 3.30 pm.

    Officials said the questioning on Monday continued well past 9 pm and he has been asked to appear before the ED again on Tuesday.

    The former Congress president, a Z+ category protectee of the CRPF after the Union government withdrew the Gandhi family’s SPG cover in 2019, is expected to write down his statement, official sources said.

    Prohibitory orders were imposed in parts of central Delhi that were heavily barricaded.

    The ED is recording the statement of the Lok Sabha member from Wayanad in Kerala under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

    The probe is related to alleged financial irregularities in the party-promoted Young Indian that owns the National Herald newspaper, published by the Associated Journals Limited (AJL).

    Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are among the promoters and shareholders of Young Indian.

    Rahul Gandhi is expected to be grilled about the incorporation of the Young Indian company, the operations of the National Herald and the fund transfer within the news media establishment.

    “We are not scared. The Modi government should be ashamed that they have turned central Delhi into a fortress just because our leader is going to the ED with his supporters,” Indian Youth Congress President Srinivas BV told PTI near the ED office just before he was detained by the police.

    Tempers rose as the day progressed with scenes of slogan shouting and Congress workers jumping barricades and resisting attempts by police to detain them.

    Slogans such as “down down BJP”, and “we want justice” rang out in cities such as Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Guwahati, Jammu, Dehradun and Jaipur.

    The party claimed it was starting Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘Satyagraha’, peaceful resistance, again with the march against the Modi government.

    A host of Congress leaders spoke out on the alleged harassment.

    In a statement, the Delhi Police said that 15 members of Lok Sabha including Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, 11 members of Rajya Sabha including KC Venugopal and leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, five MLAs of different state assemblies and other functionaries were among the total of 459 detained in the New Delhi district for not following lawful directions of police for maintenance of law and order.

    All woman workers and functionaries detained by police have been released, it said.

    “Some complaints have been received at Tughlak Road police station of New Delhi regarding injuries to congress leaders and workers during police action but no such incident of use of force by police took place as per our knowledge and no MLC case has been reported so far,” said Sagar Preet Hooda, Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, Zone -II Delhi).

    “Still, if there are allegations of some manhandling or so during the detention, the same will diligently be looked into for appropriate action,” he said.

    Rajasthan Chief Minister Gehlot alleged that the government was misusing central probe agencies and this was nothing but “political vendetta”.

    “All leaders from Kerala to Kashmir are being targeted. Democracy is being throttled and we oppose it strongly,” Baghel said.

    Asked whether the party would stage a similar show of strength on June 23 when Sonia Gandhi has been asked to appear before ED, Gehlot said, “The Congress is competent to deal with the situation”.

    “This is a fight for democracy. The government is trying to muzzle the voices of opposition leaders,” added former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat.

    “Now, a satyagraha will take place at every corner,”” he added.

    Surjewala said Congress leaders had done nothing wrong and alleged that “Godse’s descendants fear from the truth and they will not be able to suppress the truth”.

    Ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s appearance before the ED, brother-in-law Robert Vadra came out in his support and expressed confidence that he would be exonerated from all “baseless accusations”.

    “I believe the truth will prevail and this harassment of the prevailing dispensation will not have the effect they desire,” he added.

    The Congress party said in a press conference in the morning that all fund movements in this case were legitimate.

    In April, the agency questioned senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Pawan Bansal as part of the investigation.

    ALSO READ | ‘ED’s questioning of Rahul Gandhi is political vendetta’: Top Congress leaders hit out at Centre

    The questioning of the senior Congress leaders and the Gandhis is part of the investigation to understand the shareholding pattern, financial transactions and role of the promoters of Young Indian and AJL, officials had said.

    The ED recently registered a fresh case under the criminal provisions of the PMLA after a trial court here took cognisance of an Income Tax Department probe against Young Indian Pvt Ltd on the basis of a private criminal complaint filed by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy in 2013.

    Swamy had accused Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds with Young Indian Pvt Ltd paying only Rs 50 lakh to obtain the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that Associate Journals Ltd owed to the Congress.

    The Delhi High Court in February last year issued a notice to the Gandhis for their response to Swamy’s plea seeking to lead evidence in the matter before the trial court.

    The Gandhis had secured separate bails from the court in 2015 after they furnished personal bonds of Rs 50,000 and one surety.

    They contended in the Delhi High Court that the plea by Swamy was “misconceived and premature”.

    The other accused in the case filed by Swamy are close Gandhi aides Suman Dubey and technocrat Sam Pitroda.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Delhi Police gets Lawrence Bishnoi’s custody in Arms Act case, to question him again in Sidhu Moose Wala’s killing

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Delhi Police’s Special Cell on Tuesday got three-day custody of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi after arresting him from Tihar in a case of Arms Act and will question him again in connection with the killing of famous Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, officials said.

    On Monday also, a team of Special Cell had interrogated Bishnoi, who is facing nearly 60 cases, in Tihar.

    Sangster Kala Jathedi and his aide Kala Rana, who were in police custody in a different case, were also questioned in connection with the killing of Moosewala.

    According to officials, after questioning him in Tihar prisons where he was lodged in Central Jail no 8, Bishnoi was produced at the Patiala House court and was remanded in three days of police custody for questioning in connection with the case where three criminals were arrested after a brief encounter with the Special Cell’s unit last month.

    During interrogation, the arrested criminals had disclosed that the weapons recovered from them were supplied by Bishnoi, a senior police official said.

    Bishnoi faces charges under the Arms Act and other sections related to assault on a public servant in the case.

    “Since Bishnoi has been taken into police custody, we will also be questioning him in connection with the killing of Moosewala in Punjab,” he added.

    The development comes a day after a Delhi court refused to entertain a plea filed by Bishnoi seeking a direction to the jail authorities not to give his custody to Punjab police, which suspects that he had plotted the singer’s killing.

    Bishnoi has moved the Delhi High Court which will hear on Wednesday his plea claiming apprehension of a fake encounter by the Punjab Police.

    The plea has sought direction to the Tihar Jail authority and the Delhi Police to ensure necessary safeguards are taken for his safety before giving his custody to any other state police, including the Punjab Police.

    The petition has been listed before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma for hearing on Wednesday.

    Punjab Police had on Sunday said the killing of Moosewala seemed to be the result of an inter-gang rivalry and that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was involved in it.

    “On Tuesday, gangster Bishnoi was questioned for a few hours by the Special cell unit and then was arrested in a different case. He was then taken to a Delhi Court to get his police custody,” a jail official said.

    When contacted, Bishnoi’s advocate Vishal Chopra told PTI that “Lawrence Bishnoi has been taken into three days of police remand in a different case. It has nothing to do with the Moosewala killing case.”

    Bishnoi has been taken into police custody in connection with an old case of firing and Arms Act wherein the arrested criminal cited that he had sourced the weapon from Bishnoi.

    He would be next produced before the court on June 4, he added.

    Moosewala was shot dead on Sunday by unidentified assailants in Punjab’s Mansa district, a day after the state government curtailed his security cover.

    Moosewala’s cousin and a friend, who were travelling in a Mahindra Thar jeep with him, were also injured in the attack.

    According to police, Bishnoi has been arrested in FIR NO.83/22 in which three prime sharpshooters of the dreaded ‘Gogi Gang’ – Mukesh (32), Harvinder (29) and Shakti (22) – were involved in different incidents of firing on rival gang members, their family members, the house of Assistant Superintendent of TiharJail and killing prime eyewitness of a murder case.

    Three sophisticated pistols and 11 live cartridges along with one motorcycle, were recovered from their possession, police said.

  • Will launch ‘battle’ against Delhi Police if any action is taken against our activists: VHP  

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday threatened to launch “a battle” against the Delhi Police if any action is taken against its activists in connection with the violence during a Hanuman Jayanti procession in Jahangirpuri.

    This came after police said it has registered an FIR against the organisers for taking out the procession without permission, and arrested a person, identified as Prem Sharma, who is a local VHP leader.

    However, the statement was later withdrawn by the police, citing that Indian Penal Code section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) is a bailable offence and the person who had joined the investigation was let off after questioning. The revised statement issued by the police did not name the VHP and the Bajrang Dal.

    DCP (Northwest) Usha Rangnani said that an FIR was registered against organisers for carrying out a procession on Saturday evening in the area without permission and one accused person has joined the investigation.

    Reacting sharply to the police action, VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal told PTI, “We have learnt that an FIR has been registered against VHP and Bajrang Dal activists, and one of the activists has been arrested as well. They (police) have done a big blunder.”

    He rejected as “absurd” the police claim that the procession was taken out by the organisers without permission and said it seems police have bowed down before “Islamic jihadis”. “If there was no permission, how police personnel in such a large number were accompanying the yatra (procession)?” he asked.

    ALSO READ| Jahangirpuri clashes: Scrap dealer who supplied bottles for pelting arrested, says Delhi Police

    Bansal said the VHP is “a law-abiding organisation” and levelling such an allegation against it and its activists raises many questions on the functioning of the police. The VHP will not “tolerate such things” he said “VHP will launch a battle if they (police) try to lodge a false case or pick any of its activists,” Bansal warned.

    Bansal accused the Delhi Police of “high handedness”, saying “all of a sudden, it withdrew a permission granted to a procession which was scheduled to be taken out on Monday”.

    “Also, yesterday in the morning, police forcefully stopped a yatra (procession), taken out from Bhalsawa village, about 100 metres before the point where it was scheduled to conclude,” he alleged and asked, “What is this?”.

  • Over 2000 cops in Maharashtra, Delhi contract COVID; more than 9000 CISF personnel take booster jabs

    By PTI

    MUMBAI/DELHI: At least 370 police personnel tested positive for coronavirus infection in Maharashtra in the last 24 hours, an official said on Wednesday evening.

    Those infected included 60 officers and 310 constables, he said.

    At present, a total of 504 officers and 1,678 constables are undergoing treatment for coronavirus infection across the state.

    Since the start of the pandemic, a total of 48,611 staff of Maharashtra Police (6,204 officers and 42,407 constables) have caught the viral infection.

    As many as 46 officers and 458 constables died due to COVID-19.

    Maharashtra recorded 46,723 fresh coronavirus cases on Wednesday, up more than 27 per cent from a day ago.

    A whopping 1,700 Delhi Police personnel have tested positive for the coronavirus infection since January 1, officials said on Wednesday, adding that a special camp has been organised to administer booster doses to staffers of the police headquarters.

    The Delhi Police force comprises over 80,000 personnel, police said.

    “A total of 1,700 personnel of the force have tested positive for the infection from January 1 to January 12. All of them are doing fine and are under quarantine. They will be joining duty after recovery,” a senior police officer said.

    A special camp was organised for administering booster shots to frontline workers of the Delhi Police, the staffers working at its headquarters on Jai Singh Marg, they said.

    “Special arrangements for administering precaution dose (booster) of Covid vaccine was organised from 11:30 am onwards at officers’ lounge on the ground floor of the PHQ.

    This initiative was taken so that staffers like guards among others deployed at our headquarters do not have to go outside during their duty hours to get booster shots.

    “But only those eligible police personnel, who have completed nine months after taking their second dose of vaccine, would be eligible for the booster shots,” Special Commissioner of Police (Welfare) Shalini Singh said.

    According to police, total 396 personnel were given the booster dose, including a number of senior officers.

    The special camp will continue on Thursday as well.

    Similarly, vaccination camps will be organised at all the Delhi Police Wellness Centres and Covid Care Centres across Delhi to ensure full coverage of all eligible Delhi Police personnel at the earliest, police added.

    In a meeting held on Tuesday with senior officers of districts and other units, the officers were strictly instructed to brief their personnel to take care of themselves and follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to prevent coronavirus amid rising cases among the force, police said.

    “We have issued detailed SOPs in this regard and have listed the preventive measures to be taken. In Tuesday’s meeting, all the officers were asked to take care of themselves and the force to conduct briefings of staffers regularly and instruct them to follow the issued SOP strictly.”

    “Being frontline workers, they are bound to perform their duties so they should do it with full precautions,” Singh asserted.

    She further stressed that officers have been instructed to strictly convey to their personnel the importance of following social distancing, wearing masks and maintaining hand hygiene while on duty.

    “We have also told the personnel that social distancing should be maintained while they are in their respective barracks and mess. They have been asked to sanitise their keys after their shift while they handover vehicles to the next shift incharge,” the officer said.

    In another welfare initiative and to provide assistance to the Delhi Police personnel and their families, all personnel were informed about Delhi Police Wellness Centres functioning in places like Hauz Khas, Dwarka, Model Town, Shalimar Bagh, Kondli and Security Section in Vinay Marg, police said.

    All the personnel were also directed to contact the respective in-charge of their unit for uploading the date of second dose of vaccination as mentioned in Covid vaccine certificate, they said.

    “All police personnel are also informed about the counsellors available for providing Covid-related counselling and for uplifting mental health of the personnel and their families. They have been provided with names and contact details of the counsellors who would be available for them,” Singh said.

    Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Chinmoy Biswal, who is also the spokesperson of the force, tested positive for the infection.

    He is currently doing fine and under quarantine.

    Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana had on January 5 issued the SOPs for the force to follow to tackle the pandemic.

    According to this order, all police personnel and their eligible family members who have not been vaccinated, may be motivated to complete the vaccination process.

    “Those who have not been vaccinated due to medical reasons may be encouraged to seek medical opinion again for vaccination,” the order had said.

    All police personnel may be motivated to take the precaution dose of the Covid vaccine and install and use the Aarogya Setu mobile app mandatorily, it saod.

    Self-monitoring to be adopted by police personnel and any kind of illness may be reported without fail, to daily health monitoring officer, the order added.

    The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that guards the country’s major civil airports and other vital installations has provided the precautionary or booster Covid vaccine jabs to more than 9,000 personnel since these doses were launched countrywide on January 10, a senior officer said on Wednesday.

    Out of these, 2,500 personnel belong to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) security wing, its largest unit in the country in terms of number of personnel deployed.

    The about 1.62 lakh personnel strength central force that functions under the Union home ministry has deployed more than 12,000 male and female personnel in the DMRC unit.

    The force, according to official data recorded till Tuesday, has the highest number of active coronavirus cases, at 1,550, among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) that includes the CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB apart from the NSG and the NDRF.

    The total active cases in these forces are 4,539 with the CRPF having 1,198 infections, BSF 729, SSB 555, ITBP 311, NDRF 157 and NSG 39.

    “The CISF has already vaccinated over 9,000 of its personnel with the booster dose across the country to enhance protection against coronavirus infection.”

    “The vaccination drive is running across all the 353 CISF units including 64 airports and we will ensure that 100 per cent of our eligible personnel are inoculated at the earliest with the precautionary dose,” an official spokesperson said.

    He said that “CISF warriors have being dealing with the COVID-19 menace, particularly at the Delhi Metro and airports, as front liners and have highest vulnerability due to exposure and contacts with the passengers”.

    “More than 12,000 personnel are deployed in the DMRC unit of CISF to ensure safety of passengers and property of Delhi Metro that connects the national capital to neighbouring districts of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana and provides mass rapid transit to more than 35 lakh passengers daily,” he added.

    It is expected, the officer said, that all eligible personnel of DMRC unit will get their booster vaccine by January, 20.

    India began administering the precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine to healthcare workers, frontline workers including personnel deployed for election duty and those aged 60 and above with co-morbidities from January 10 as a spike in coronavirus infections fuelled by the Omicron variant of the virus is being witnessed.

  • Scribe files complaint after her doctored picture uploaded on website to insult Muslim women

    By Online Desk

    NEW DELHI:  Hours after the shocking incident in which photographs of hundreds of Muslim women were uploaded on a website, a female journalist on Saturday filed a complaint with the Delhi Police against unknown persons demanding action against the people behind the shameless deed.

    The complaint was lodged against unknown persons for allegedly uploading her doctored picture on a website “with the intent of embarrassing and insulting Muslim women”.

    Photographs of reportedly hundreds of Muslim women were uploaded by an unidentified group on the app named ‘Bulli bai’ using GitHub. This comes months after pictures of several Muslim women were uploaded without their consent on an app called “Sulli Deals” to imply that these women were “up for sale”. ‘Sulli’ or ‘Sulla’ is a derogatory slang used to refer to Muslims.

    The journalist shared a copy of the complaint, submitted online at south Delhi’s CR Park police station, on her Twitter handle.

    The woman, who works with an online news portal, sought immediate registration of an FIR and investigation against the unknown set of people who are “seeking to harass and insult Muslim women” on social media and the internet.

    “I was shocked to find out this morning that a website/portal (since deleted) had a doctored picture of me in an improper, unacceptable and clearly lewd context. This needs immediate action, as the same is clearly designed to harass me and other similarly situated independent women and journalists,” the complaint stated.

    “I enclose snapshots of the said tweet directed at me herein as well as of other tweets. The term ‘Bulli bai’ itself seems disrespectful and the content of this website/portal (bullibai.github.io) is clearly aimed at insulting Muslim women as the derogatory term ‘Bulli’ is used exclusively for Muslim women and the entire website seems to have been designed with the intent of embarrassing and insulting Muslim women,” she said.

    The Delhi Police has responded on Twitter and said that the matter has been taken cognisance of.

    “Concerned officials have been directed to take appropriate action,” the police said in the tweet.

    Earlier in July, a case was registered by the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police after it received a complaint about an unidentified group uploading photos of Muslim women on an app.

    Delhi Police PRO, Chinmoy Biswal, had said, “Acting on a complaint received on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal regarding ‘Sulli Deals’ mobile application, a case under section 354-A of the Indian Penal Code has been registered on Wednesday and investigation taken up.

    Priyanka Chaturvedi, an MP from Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena, said a probe had also been launched in Mumbai.

    (With PTI inputs.)

  • Doctors strike: Why are resident doctors on the streets?

    By IANS

    NEW DELHI:  Soon after resident doctors protesting in front of the Safdarjung Hospital were allegedly roughed up by Delhi Police, Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) President Dr Rakesh Bagdi tweeted: “Depressed, exhausted, cheated now arrested.

    “Thank you Nation for ur repay for all services we had given in this hard time (sic).”

    That summed up the mood of the doctors protesting since November 27 but became the talking point across India only when they took to the streets. The doctors, under the banner of the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), have been staging protests across India and were soon joined by the FAIMA.

    The resident doctors’ demands are simple: Conduct counseling for NEET-PG examination, the National Eligibility Entrance Test for entrance to post-graduate courses, so that those selected will add to the strength of existing inadequate number of resident doctors across medical institutions in India.

    Since March 2020, it has been the resident doctors that have borne the maximum load of the pandemic with long hours of duties, endless time away from families and, in several cases, facing the wrath of relatives of the patients who succumbed to coronavirus.

    The resident doctors were hoping to get additional hands once the NEET PG admissions were done. The examination that was scheduled in April 2021 was postponed due to the second wave that time. In September, finally the written examination was conducted but the interviews/counseling sessions have been pending.

    The government has been delaying it as it claimed the matter about Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota is sub judice and hence it cannot go ahead with the admissions.

    At a time when India and the whole world is staring at a possible third wave thanks to the Omicron variant, the doctors can always do with additional hands. With the government not relenting, the resident doctors across India started the protests since November 27.

    The events that unfolded on the streets of Delhi when the Delhi Police pushed and shoved them, including female doctors, allegedly baton-charged them, bundled them into buses and arrested them – and also lodged an FIR – the doctors became more restless. Delhi Police, however, denied any usage of “force or lathicharge” on the resident doctors and said they have “highest regard for the doctors”.

    With the government not agreeing to their demands, doctors on Tuesday said they will declare their further course of action soon.