News Analysis India

Tag: Indore

  • Cops question two sisters in Indore for suspected ISI links

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: Two young women, both sisters, are reportedly being questioned by police and military intelligence in Mhow town of Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district on Friday for suspected links with Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

    The two women aged between 28 and 32 years were on police and military intelligence’s radar following specific inputs about them being in regular touch with contacts in Pakistan, particularly suspected ISI operatives and possibly retired and present army officers across the LoC.

    According to sources privy to investigation, one of the sisters is a school teacher, while the other woman has worked with an electricity company in the past. They were using fake IDs on social media to regularly communicate with contacts (possibly ISI operatives) in Pakistan, for over a year.

    The two women were in contact with a man hailing from Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. The J&K man also has possibly been picked up by the cops and military intelligence for questioning.

    The two women, who hail from Gawli Palasia area near Mhow town, are daughters of an ex-serviceman, who after retirement had worked as a security guard at a nationalized bank branch in Mhow only.

    While refusing to share details of the entire development, the Inspector General of Indore Zone Harinarayanchari Mishra told The New Indian Express that the local police and intelligence agencies are jointly working in the matter.  

  • Dutch citizen leads way in Indore, takes first dose of Covishield

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: At a time, when many Indians are still hesitant to take the COVID-19 vaccine, a Dutch national has set an example by taking the first jab of the Serum Institute of India’s Covishield vaccine in Indore.

    The 49-year-old Danny Haberer, a Dutch national hailing from the capital city of Amsterdam, took the first jab of the Covishield vaccine at the Shyama Prasad Mukerjee Community Hall in Indore on May 11.

    “I’m a Dutch national, but I have been staying for six months in Indore, where I run a software company. I’ve been coming to India since last six years. I’ve been waiting to get the vaccine jab after registering on the COWIN app and finally got it now,” Danny said on Wednesday.

    The Dutch national said he doesn’t doubt the efficacy of vaccines.

    “Had I been home in the Netherlands, I would have taken the same vaccine as it is essential to break the chain of the deadly viral infection. I have been in India during the first and the second wave as well. But there was no vaccine during the first wave and now there is one. The new strains of the original virus are making the spread more vigorous and deadly, which is why vaccination is inevitable,” he maintained after getting the jab.

    “I appeal to people in India not to hesitate in taking the jabs and don’t believe in any rumours or myths being spread about the vaccines,” he said.

  • Indore health department workers to stop working unless district collector removed from post

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: Unable to take the “rude” behaviour of district collector Manish Singh anymore, the health department staffers in Indore – Madhya Pradesh’s COVID-19 capital – have decided to stay away from work from Friday morning, if the district collector isn’t removed from his post.

    The health department staffers, including senior government doctors and officers on Thursday, submitted to the Indore divisional commissioner, a memorandum addressed to MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, in which they demanded immediate removal of Indore district collector Manish Singh, failing which they would stay away from work, starting at 8 am on Friday.

    In the memorandum, the health department staffers alleged that the Indore district collector has been regularly behaving rudely and using unparliamentary language with its staff, including doctors and senior officers at meetings.

    “At this time when the COVID-19 pandemic’s second wave is at its peak, we’ve been not caring for our lives and working round the clock in service of patients. But instead of acknowledging our efforts, the Indore district collector has been regularly humiliating us publicly at meetings, causing immense mental trauma to us, which has had a debilitating effect on the health department staffers morale,” the health department staffers submitted in the memorandum.

    According to sources associated with the health department staffers in Indore, if the Indore collector isn’t removed from his post by Friday morning, then the 3000-strong health department staffers in Indore, are likely to resign en masse.

    The development came just a day after, senior woman officer of the health department, the Indore District Health Officer-1 Dr Purnima Gadaria resigned from government service, alleging mental harassment by the district collector.

    Also, another health department officer in Indore, the Manpur Community Health Centre Medical Officer Dr RS Tomar resigned from his post, alleging misbehavior by SDM Abhilash Mishra.   

    In the recent past, Indore district collector Manish Singh has been in news for misbehaving with health department staffers, including publicly humiliating then Indore chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr Pravin Jadia at an official meeting a few months back.

    Indore with over 12,000 active cases is the state’s COVID-19 capital. Since the last two weeks, Indore has been reporting a four digit spike daily in new positive cases.

    Reacting to the development, BJP national general secretary and ex-MP minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, avoided any direct comment, but added that the strain on doctors’ minds should be addressed.

  • Two Madhya Pradesh govt doctors resign over ‘misbehavior’ by district administration officials

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: Already reeling under the stress of the second wave of COVID-19 cases and associated deaths, Madhya Pradesh’s most populated city Indore is now confronting a novel problem – senior state government doctors alleging misbehaviour by district administration officials.

    Two senior government doctors — Indore District Health Officer Dr Purnima Gadaria and Medical Officer of Manpur Community Health Center, Dr RS Tomar, resigned on Wednesday, alleging misbehavior by the Indore district collector Manish Singh and sub divisional magistrate (SDM) Abhilash Mishra respectively.

    While the Indore District Health Officer-1 Dr Purnima Gadaria sent her resignation from government service, to MP Commissioner Health, the Manpur CHC Medical Officer Dr RS Tomar sent his resignation to Indore district chief medical and health officer (CMHO).

    Later, in the evening, Dr Gadaria leveled serious allegations against the Indore district collector Manish Singh.

    “I’ve been working with utmost dedication throughout the COVID pandemic, but the manner in which the district collector has been behaving with me publicly during meetings has hurt me.

    Despite putting in all hard work, the district collector humiliates me publicly, calls me nikamma (worthless). I’m ready to listen to my shortcomings and will also work to address them, but that doesn’t mean that he’ll humiliate us.

    He only believes in one way communication at meetings and never listens to what we have to say. Many more staff members are feeling hurt by his behaviour,” Dr Gadaria said.

    She said, however, she would reconsider her resignation from government service, if some senior officer or minister assures us that such insulting conduct will not be repeated in future.

    In the resignation letter sent to the Indore CMHO, Dr Tomar mentioned that he has to take four Insulin injections four times daily and has also undergone Heart Angioplasty in the past.

    “But despite all health problems, I’ve worked with utmost dedication and honesty. However, the manner in which the SDM Abhilash Mishra behaved with me on Wednesday has hurt me beyond tolerance. I cannot bear such misconduct anymore and am resigning from my post immediately,” Dr Tomar wrote in his resignation letter.

    While Indore district collector Manish Singh couldn’t be contacted over Dr Gadaria’s resignation and allegations, despite repeated attempts, the SDM Abhilash Mishra said, “Allegations of misbehavior are baseless. I ask officials to work to ensure that all needed facilities are rendered to patients.”

    A few months back also, the Indore district collector Manish Singh was caught on camera, scolding then Indore CMHO Dr Pravin Jadia publicly at a meeting, after which the senior government doctor Dr Jadia was seen in tears outside the meeting hall. After the incident, Dr Jadia had fallen ill and underwent a heart surgery within a few weeks.

  • Indore: Two nephews of late BJP leader Kushabhau Thakre die of COVID within span of three days

    By PTI
    INDORE: Two nephews of late BJP president Kushabhau Thakre died here within a span of three days while undergoing treatment for coronavirus, a family member said.

    While Kushabhau’s one nephew Shirish Thakre (59) died in the city’s Maharaja Tukojirao Hospital (MTH) on Sunday morning, another nephew Shailesh Thakre (62) breathed his last three days ago at another city-based hospital, Prasanna Pradhan of the Thakre family told PTI.

    MTH in-charge Dr Pramendra Thakur said that Shirish Thakre was on oxygen support and his condition had suddenly become critical.

  • Mask-less man thrashed by two police officers in Indore; both suspended

    By PTI
    INDORE: A 35-year-old man was allegedly beaten up by two police constables on the road in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city on Tuesday after a dispute over not wearing a face mask which has been made mandatory in view of the COVID-19 outbreak.

    After a video of the alleged incident went viral on social media, both policemen were suspended, an official said.

    Police claimed the man first assaulted and abused the constables.

    In the video, the two policemen are purportedly seen thrashing the man on the street even as his teenage son and some women beg for mercy.

    Superintendent of Police (East) Ashutosh Bagri said the two constables seen in the video have been suspended and a City Superintendent of Police (CSP) has been asked to investigate the matter.

    Bagri claimed the victim was not wearing a face mask in public and the policemen stopped him to seek explanation for violating the COVID-19 norm.

    The man grabbed the collar of one of the constables and started abusing and assaulting him and his colleagues, the police officer claimed.

    “The video of the incident which is going viral on social media has been edited and cropped to tarnish the image of the police,” Bagri said.

    Another police official said the 35-year-old man seen in the video faces cheating and extortion cases in the city.

  • Madhya Pradesh: 258 people without masks sent to temporary jail in Indore

    By PTI

    INDORE: In a bid to inculcate the pandemic appropriate behaviour among people, more than 250 citizens who were found roaming in public places without wearing masks here in Madhya Pradesh have been sent to a temporary jail in the last five days, an official said on Tuesday.

    On the directives of the local administration, a community guesthouse in Snehlataganj area of Indore with the capacity to accommodate 300 people at a time, was designated as a temporary jail, Rakesh Kumar Bhangre, superintendent of the Central Jail told PTI.

    “During the last five days, a total of 258 people from different areas of the city have been brought to this temporary jail under section 151 (Precautionary arrests made to prevent cognisable offences) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC). These people were roaming in public places without wearing masks,” he said.

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    Bhangre said these inmates at the temporary jail are usually released within three hours of admission.

    Before adopting this measure, people found without wearing masks were asked to give a bond that they will follow all the COVID-19 guidelines.

    Bhangre said 15 personnel have been deployed in the temporary jail and CCTV cameras are also installed.

    Indore remains the most affected district by the pandemic in Madhya Pradesh.

    A total of 805 new COVID-19 cases were found in Indore district in the last 24 hours, which is the highest spike in a day, officials said on Tuesday.

    The district recorded total 74,029 cases so far including 977 fatalities, as per officials.

  • Violators of mask rule lodged in temporary jail in Indore

    By PTI
    INDORE: People roaming in public places without masks despite warnings are being sent to a temporary jail in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city, a jail official said on Thursday.

    On the directives of the local administration, a community guest house in the Snehlataganj area of the city is being designated as a temporary jail, said Rakesh Kumar Bhangre, the superintendent of the central jail.

    As many as 15 personnel have been deputed in the temporary jail to keep a watch on prisoners and CCTV cameras are also installed in it, the official said.

    Initially, 20 persons of Khajrana area, who were roaming without masks, were lodged in the facility under section 151 of the CrPC, the official said.

    Indore, the worst-affected district of the state, has recorded 70,309 coronavirus cases and 962 deaths.

  • Indore to act as model for entire MP on crackdown against mafia, says CM Chouhan

    Express News Service
    BHOPAL: Considered India’s cleanest city, Indore is now set to emerge as the model of the state government’s crackdown against the land mafia in the central Indian state.

    Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister who was in the city on Tuesday evening for a series of events announced that the crackdown against the land mafia in Indore will be used as a model across the entire state.

    “I congratulate the entire administrative and police machinery of Indore, including the commissioner, collector, IG and SP. Don’t worry, I’m the CM, destroy the entire mafia, none should be spared. On Wednesday, there is a conference of commissioners, collectors, IGs and SPs from across the state. You (Indore district collector) have to give a five-minute presentation, how Indore has wiped out the entire mafia. Indore will turn the model for the entire state. I assure all people of the state that all those who’ve been victims of exploitation and injustice in the previous regime (the erstwhile Congress regime) will be rendered justice now,” said Chouhan, who is set to complete the first year of his fourth tenure as MP CM in around two weeks.

    Addressing a gathering of beneficiaries of 1000 housing societies, who will get back their land which was squatted by the land mafia, the CM used his old Tiger Abhi Zinda Hai remark to draw home his point about the crackdown against mafia elements. “I had said that Tiger is alive and the tiger is on the hunt for prey. The tiger is hunting for the land mafia, agents of chit fund companies, drug mafia and those troubling the women and girls in the state,” said Chouhan.

    Importantly, after losing power to Congress in December 2018, Chouhan — the tallest BJP leader in MP — had taken a cue from Salman Khan-starrer 2017 Bollywood flick Tiger Zinda Hai, to say Tiger Abhi Zinda Hai for assuring the people that he would take care of their interests, despite being out of power.

    On Tuesday, the MP CM didn’t only use his old slogan of Tiger Abhi Zinda Hai to aggressively posture to people of state’s largest and country’s cleanest city Indore, but also took cue from the presently trending social media catchline

    “Ye Mai Hoon” to reiterate his resolve of cracking down against mafia. “Ye mai hoon, ye meri sarkar hai, ye meri prashasnik team hai aur aap dekhoo mafia bhaag rahein hain (This is me, this is my government, this is my administrative team and you yourself can see the land mafia is fleeing),” Chouhan said.

    Just a few weeks back, the CM had started his aggressive posturing against mafia elements, particularly the land mafia in the state, by announcing from the stage of a public event that he won’t spare the mafia, but bury them 10 ft deep under the ground, if they didn’t flee from the state.

    Importantly, Chouhan’s repeated focus on the crackdown against mafia across the state is being seen among political quarters as a well-calculated strategy to make it the prime poll plank in the coming local urban body polls, whose dates are likely to be announced soon by the State Election Commission.

    Making light of CM’s aggressive posturing in Indore on Tuesday evening, state Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja (who hails from Indore only) tweeted, “barring one or two land sharks, no mafia elements are fleeing the state. During the previous BJP regimes that spanned for 15 years, it was the BJP leaders only, who patronised and protected the mafia elements. Whatever action is being publicised by the CM now is merely confined to small fishes, as the big crocodiles are still ruling the roost.”  

  • Night curfew to be imposed in Indore, Bhopal if COVID situation doesn’t improve in 3 days: Chouhan

    By Express News Service
    BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan made it clear on Friday that if the COVID-19 cases continued their upward trend in Indore and Bhopal in the next three days, then night curfew will be imposed in both cities from Monday. 

    The decision was made after the COVID-19 situation review meeting chaired by the CM in Bhopal on Friday. The meeting happened in the wake of six COVID-19 patients in Indore testing positive for the highly contagious UK variant of the killer virus and the novel Coronavirus cases continuing to rise significantly in Indore and Bhopal.

    “Six patients have been detected positive for the UK variant which spreads faster than other strains. Also the cases of the virus are rising rapidly once again in many districts of the state, particularly Indore and Bhopal.  During the last one week, Indore has reported an average 151 cases daily, while state capital Bhopal has reported 78 average cases daily, followed by 16 in Jabalpur, 12 in Betul and 11 cases each in Ujjain and Chhindwara. The cases in Indore have doubled in the last 15 days, owing to which strict measures are a must in both Indore and Bhopal, if the situation doesn’t improve in the next three days,” the CM said.

    In Indore, as many as six samples out of the 103 samples sent from Indore and Burhanpur for genome sequencing at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) in New Delhi, have tested positive for the UK strain. The reports from the NCDC were received in Indore on Thursday late night.

    Confirming the development, Indore Divisional Commissioner Pawan Sharma said on Friday that teams are being sent to these six persons (who have tested positive for the highly infectious UK strain) in Indore to figure out their travel history and also perform their and family members contact tracing.

    “As per state government’s directions, we’ll monitor the COVID-19 situation over the next three days and if the situation isn’t brought under control by then, we might even consider at imposing a night curfew in Indore,” the Indore Divisional Commissioner said.

    As per Indore district chief medical officer (CMHO) Dr Pravin Jadia, “we’re doing the contact tracing of the six persons in whom the UK variant has been detected. None of the six have had any UK or international travel history. Three of them work at the same factory in Indore.”