14 AMU students charged with ‘sedition’ after Republic TV crew, saffron activists trigger unrest on campus

coastaldigest.com news network
February 13, 2019

Aligarh, Feb 13: In a shocking development, 14 students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Uttar Pradesh were charged with sedition after a group of aggressive journalists belonging to Republic TV entered the campus without permission and fought with students under the pretext of reporting last evening.

The journalists were backed by the activists of Sangh Parivar who not only thrashed the students but also lodged complaint against them accusing them of pro-Pakistan slogans.  The local police did not delay in filing a First Information Report against the students based on a complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha district leader Mukesh Lodhi.

The police were earlier called by the AMU administration after they alleged that the Republic TV crew entered the campus without prior permission to shoot an event in the varsity.

It is learnt that a clash broke out when a few students raised objection to Republic TV crew’s alleged attempt to defame the university and referring to it as a “university of terrorists” in an attempt to elicit a reaction.

False and Fabricated

Rubbishing the allegation of raising pro-Pakistan slogans, the university’s students union called the FIR “false and fabricated” and claimed that the Republic TV team and “some associates of RSS and BJP entered the campus with malafide intention”.

“They were asking farcical questions and labelling AMU with terror and anti-national activities,” the union’s president, Salman Imtiaz, said. “When the AMU students challenged the said media reporters on its manner of questions and asked them to seek permission from relevant authorities, the reporters heckled the students and the female reporter threatened to frame false sexual harassment charges against the students.”

According to Imtiaz, the university staff asked the crew to stop the reporting but they “continued with the aggression”. “This led to the disruption in the campus,” he said. It was followed by a reaction from a well-armed gang of BJP terrorists who started beating AMU students and were beaten in defence.”

The person who filed the FIR against the 14 students was allegedly part of the crowd. His FIR claimed that “hundreds of AMU students” surrounded his vehicle and assaulted him and fired at him. The FIR accused the AMU students of shouting pro-Pakistan and anti-India slogans.

Following the incident, the university administration filed two separate complaints with the police – one against the journalists for entering the campus without permission and the other against unidentified miscreants for indulging in arson and unlawful activities, sources said.

Hamza Sufyan, the vice president of the students’ union, was quoted as saying by a news paper that fracas had erupted during a student event about oppressed sections of the society. “The reporters from Republic TV did not have permission to cover the event or enter the university premises,” Sufyan alleged. “When they were stopped by the proctor, they misbehaved with university officials and got into a confrontation, raising objectionable slogans calling AMU a ‘university of terrorists’.”

Comments

desh bakth
 - 
Thursday, 14 Feb 2019

kill all hindutva b@sterd... they are the real anti nationilist... in mangalore we can find many... eveny my friend also same catagory

 

in mangalore hindu & muslim cannot become friend,..poison already filled it will stop only blood is spilled from all corner

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News Network
April 5,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 5: An elderly couple from Bengaluru

with a travel history to Dubai joined the list of coronavirus patients in the state, taking the total number of cases to 146, the health department said on Sunday.

The list includes four deaths and 11 discharges.

The 68-year old man and his 62-year old wife, hailing from Madiwala in the city, had returned from Dubai on March 22.

They were quarantined at a private hospital and have been asymptomatic.

Meanwhile, the government appealed to people who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat Congregation in New Delhi to contact 080-29711171 Arogya Sahayavani, the medical helpline number.

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News Network
May 5,2020

Dubai, May 5: Tickets on repatriation flights from UAE to India, which start on May 7, could be costlier than regular airfare, and adding to the financial woes of those flying back. Nearly 200,000 Indians in the UAE have registered on the website seeking to return home.

“A one-way repatriation ticket to Delhi will cost approximately Dh1,400-Dh1,650 - this would earlier have cost between Dh600-Dh700 [during these months],” said Jamal Abdulnazar, CEO of Cozmo Travel. “A one-way repatriation flight ticket to Kerala would cost approximately Dh1,900-Dh2,300.”

This can be quite a burden, as a majority of those taking these flights have either lost their jobs or are sending back their families because of uncertainty on the work front. To now have to pay airfare that is nearly on par with those during peak summer months is quite a blow.

Sources said that officials in Indian diplomatic missions have already initiated calls to some expats, telling them about likely ticket fares and enquiring about their willingness to travel.

Although many believed repatriation would be government-sponsored, Indian authorities have clarified that customers would have to pay for the tickets themselves. Those who thought they were entitled to free repatriation might back out of travel plans for now.

Fact of life

But aviation and travel industry sources say higher rates cannot be escaped since social distancing norms have to be strictly enforced at all times. That would limit the number of passengers on each of these flights.

“One airline can carry only limited passengers - therefore, multiple airlines are likely to get the approval to operate repatriation flights,” said Abdulnazar. “Also, airports will have to maintain safe distance for passengers to queue up at immigration and security counters.

“Therefore, it is recommended that multiple carriers fly into multiple Indian airports for repatriation to be expedited.”

The Indian authorities, so far, have not taken the easy decision to get its private domestic airlines into the rescue act. Gulf News tried speaking to the leading players, but they declined to provide any official statements. So far, only Air India, the national airline, has been commissioned to operate the flights.

Air India finds itself in the driver's seat when it comes to operating India's repatriation flights. To date, there is no confirmation India's private airlines will be allowed to join in.

UAE carriers ready to help out

UAE’s Emirates airline, Etihad, flydubai and Air Arabia are likely to also operate repatriation flights to India after Air India implements the first phase of services.

“We are fully supporting governments and authorities across the flydubai network with their repatriation efforts, helping them to make arrangements for their citizens to return home,” said a flydubai spokesperson.

“We will announce repatriation flights as and when they are confirmed, recognising this is an evolving situation whilst the flight restrictions remain in place.”

An AirArabia spokesperson said the airline is ready to operate repatriation flights when the government tells them to.

Travel agencies likely to benefit

Apart from operating non-scheduled commercial flights, the Indian government is also deploying naval ships to bring expat Indians back. Sources claim the ships are to ferry passengers who cannot afford the repatriation airfares.

Even then, considering the sheer numbers who will want to get on the flights, travel agencies are likely to see a surge in bookings since airline websites alone may not cope with the demand set off in such a short span.

Learn from Gulf governments

In instances when they carried out their own repatriation flights, some GCC governments paid the ticket fares to fly in their citizens. Those citizens who did not have the ready funds could approach their diplomatic mission and aid would be given on a case-to-case basis.

Should Indians wait for normal services to resume?

Industry sources say that those Indians wanting to fly back and cannot afford the repatriation flights should wait for full services to resume once the COVID-19 pandemic settles.

But can those who lost their jobs or seen steep salary cuts stay on without adding to their costs? And is there any guarantee that when flight services resume, ticket rates would be lower than on the repatriation trips.

As such, normal travel is expected to pick up only after the repatriation exercise to several countries is completed. UAE-based travel agencies are not seeing any bookings for summer, which is traditionally the peak holiday season.

“Majority want to stay put unless full confidence is restored,” said Abdulnazar. “I expect full normalcy to be restored not until March 2021.

“People have also taken a hit to their income. Without disposable income, you will curtail your travel.”

What constitutes normalcy?

Airfares are expected to remain high, given the need to keep the middle seats empty to practise safe distance onboard.

“We expect holiday travel to resume by October or November - but, the travel sentiment will not go back to pre-COVID-19 levels anytime soon,” said Manvendra Roy, Vice-President – Commercial at holidayme, an online travel agency. “The need to keep the middle seat vacant will add 30-40 per cent pricing pressure per seat from an airline perspective.

“This will make holidays more expensive.”

As for business travel, it will take some time to recover. Corporate staff are now used to getting work done via conference calls. “Companies will also curtail their travel expenditure since their income has taken a hit,” said Abdulnazar.

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News Network
May 15,2020

Bengaluru, May 15: The novel coronavirus infection tally in Karnataka state on Friday crossed the 1,000-mark with 45 new positive cases.

The tally has risen to 1032 with 35 deaths.

At present, there are 520 active cases, while 476 have been discharged following recovery

A maximum of 16 new cases are from Dakshina Kannada, followed by 13 in Bengaluru Urban.

Five cases are from Udupi, three each from Hassan and Bidar, two from Chitradurga and one each from Bagalakote, Shivamoga and Kolara, respectively.

A three-year-old is among the six minor infected by the virus.

Among the new cases, nearly 20 have a travel history to Dubai, four to Mumbai, and three to Chennai.

The rest of the patients are contacts in the Containment zone and those who tested positive earlier.

Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said that there is no community transmission as yet.

New cases reported: 45

Total active cases: 520

Total discharges: 476

Total covid deaths: 35

Death of covid +ve patient due to Non-Covid cause: 1

Total positive cases: 1032

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