'The Uttar Pradesh state government is preparing to fell 63,799 trees in Lucknow along the Gomti river for the Defence Expo, to be held in February next year, according to a report in IANS. In a letter, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) has asked the Lucknow Nagar Nigam to cut trees from Hanuman Setu to the Nishatganj bridge as several events for the Defence Expo, in which guests from several countries will be invited to witness the country’s defence power, will be held there.
'Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath knew about the case involving real estate giant Ansal Developers and there were "orders from above" to close the case, Uttar Pradesh Minister Swati Singh has purportedly told a state police officer, demanding that she close the case. The audio clip of the conversation, which was widely circulated, had landed the minister in hot water, with the Chief Minister asking the state police chief to submit a report on the matter within 24 hours. Yogi Adityanath had also summoned the minister...'
'In August 2017, the deaths of about 60 children at BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, due to oxygen supply running out, had sparked country-wide outrage, more so because the tragedy had taken place in a constituency said to be nurtured by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath. It appears now that on the same day – August 10-11, 2017 – 18 more deaths of adults reportedly took place in the hospital but went largely unnoticed.
'Two years after the deaths of 63 children in Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College, a state government probe has absolved Dr Kafeel Khan of all charges against him as well as commended him for doing everything in his power to help save lives. The deaths had taken place in August 2017 after an alleged shortage of oxygen in the government-run hospital. Khan, a paediatrician in the hospital, had been suspended soon after. He was jailed for nine months after a criminal case of medical negligence, corruption and dereliction of duty was filed against him.
'As members of the UP police were seen visiting schools across the town of Barabanki recently, one of the superintendent of police gave a long lecture to students of a school on women safety, and on need ‘to raise their voice against crimes’ for justice. From the audience, as reported, a Class XI girl in turn schooled the superintendent, asking, how can the UP police promise to assure safety for women if the ‘accused’ is a ‘powerful minister’, and the police administration remains complicit in protecting them.
'UK-based Taran Kaur Dhillon – popularly known by her rapper name ‘Hard Kaur’ – has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including sedition for posts on social media sharply critical of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat... Kaur’s Facebook and Instagram pages feature posts referring to Adityanath as ‘rapeman’ and blaming the RSS for Hemant Karkare’s death.
'At least 200 cows have died in a cow shelter in Greater Noida in the past two months due to hunger, overcrowding and fodder. This is despite Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's much-professed love for cows and his direction to the authorities to shift all stray animals to shelter houses. According to media reports, between January 1 and March 7, at least 200 stray animals died at Gau-Lok, a shelter in Jalpura village in Ecotech 3 area of Greater Noida...'
'The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has suspended a senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer — who had booked Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in 2002, when Adityanath was the Member of Parliament (MP) from Gorakhpur, under the National Security Act (NSA). The suspension came more than a fortnight after the IPS officer, Jasvir Singh, said in an interview with Huffington Post that he had been sidelined ever since he had booked Adityanath.
'“The death of a cow has more significance than that of a police officer,” said actor Naseeruddin Shah in an interview released on December 17. He was referring to the December 3 tumult in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, in which violence by cow vigilantes from the Bajrang Dal left a policeman dead. Shah highlighted these events as an example of India’s fraught communal climate and the impunity enjoyed by people who commit such acts of violence. To all reasonable people, there was nothing wrong in what Shah said.
'The brother of the doctor accused in the Gorakhpur hospital tragedy last year was shot at three times on Sunday night. Gorakhpur is the constituency of Adityanath, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Kashif Jameel, Khan’s 34-year-old brother, has survived the shooting and is in Star Hospital in Gorakhpur...'
