'Dr Shaukat Ali, a 45-year-old doctor posted in the 108 ambulance service at Malad railway station died of COVID-19 on Sunday. Despite being a frontline warrior, Ali's family ran from pillar to post to get him hospitalised in either a private or government hospital, to no avail. Ali was working with the 108 ambulance service for the last four years. A few days ago, he got his blood tests done after his health deteriorated. The result stated typhoid fever following which he started getting treatment at home in Malwani...'
'A fistful of rice with sugar or salt is a standard meal for 10-year-old Asha Yadav these days. On better days, her mother adds some potatoes or dal (lentils) to her plate. A resident of eastern Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district--among the most backward and poorest in the state’s agricultural belt--Asha is among the 95.1 million children whom the lockdown has deprived of midday meals at school. On school days, Asha would get at least one wholesome meal--rice, vegetables, milk and fruit--under the Indian government’s Midday Meal Scheme.
'The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has held the use of phrases like ‘lal salam’ and ‘comrade’ are proof that Bittu Sonowal, a close aide of Assam farmers’ leader Akhil Gogoi, is a Maoist. Sonowal was arrested earlier this year and (along with Gogoi and two of this other aides) charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, by the NIA. These arrests were made in the wake of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests across Assam in December, 2019...'
'A case has been registered against the former executive director of human rights advocacy group Amnesty International Aakar Patel on June 5 for posting “offensive” content on social media, which allegedly sought to instigate a section of people against the government.
'Rural parts of India have begun to see a surge in novel coronavirus infections, as millions of migrant workers returning from big cities and industrial hubs bring the virus home with them, according to data collected from seven Indian states. Officials said the spike in cases was a fresh challenge for the country’s health authorities, even as they struggle to check the outbreak in cities amid the easing of a months-long lockdown. Confirmed cases in India crossed the 200,000 mark on Wednesday. Some experts say that a peak remains weeks away...'
'National Dalit Movement for Justice (NDMJ), headquartered in New Delhi, has released a detailed report on increasing human rights violation cases against Dalits, Adivasis and other marginalized communities of India during COVID-19 lockdown. In April and May alone during the nationwide lockdown, NDMJ and SASY intervened in 67 cases of caste and gender-based violence, the nature of these cases revealing layered untouchability through socio-economic boycott and physical assault as the main cause.
'After controversy erupted last week over the teaser of the Tamil show Godman on Zee5, the streaming platform has said that it has suspended the release of the show at the moment. The statement also said that the platform and producers of the show did not intend to offend anyone or hurt anyone’s personal or religious beliefs of any community... The show, which is fictional and starred actors Jayapakash and ‘Daniel’ Balaji, came under fire last week after the two minute teaser of the show faced a lot of backlash on social media and was eventually pulled down.
'...A full 222 out of 293 (76%) of Chandigarh’s COVID-19 cases have surfaced in the congested Bapudham alone. The colony is located in Sector 26 in east Chandigarh, close to two of the city’s iconic attractions – Sukhna Lake and Rock Garden. Bapudham has emerged as the biggest hotspot not only in the Union territory of Chandigarh but also in the region, including the three neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Murmurs among the city’s elite blame the people of Bapudham for discrediting their posh city.
'The woman booked for a social media post questioning the lack of transparency in the government’s response to the gas leak which killed 12 people in Visakhapatnam earlier this month says that she is being targeted for raising basic humanitarian concerns. In a move that is being seen as a blatant attack by the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy government on the right to free speech, the Andhra Pradesh police registered a case against the 60-year-old resident of Guntur on May 19, calling her Facebook post ‘objectionable’...'
'In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28 constituted a brand-new trust fund for public contributions – the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund, bearing the catchy acronym of the PM CARES Fund. On Friday, the Prime Minister’s Office refused to provide details about the Fund under the Right to Information Act, stating that PM CARES was not a “public authority” under the definition of the legislation.
