Activist Rehana Fathima’s house ransacked for trying to entre Sabarimala temple

Agencies
October 19, 2018

Pathanamthitta, Oct 19: Unidentified miscreants on Friday allegedly vandalised the house of woman activist Rehana Fatima who had unsuccessfully attempted to enter Sabarimala Temple in the state.

Fatima had gone up to the Lord Ayyappa shrine, along with journalist Kavitha Jakkal, this morning under police protection. Both retreated midway after a meeting with KeralaInspector General of Police (IGP) S. Sreejith.

Fatima, who had to return without going to the shrine, claimed that people who want to disrupt peace, not devotees, had stopped them from visiting the shrine. 
She told reporters here after her return, "People, not the devotees, who want to disrupt peace didn't allow us to enter. I want to know what was the reason (to stop us)? Tell me, in which way one needs to be a devotee? You tell me that first and then I will tell you if I am a devotee or not."

"I don't know what happened to my children. My life is also in danger. But they (police) have said that they will provide protection. That is why I am going back," she added.

Jakkal, who was stopped 500 metres from the holy 18 steps leading to the sanctum sanctorum of the famous shrine, on her return said, "Thank you so much for supporting us. We are feeling proud to come here. You have seen what kind of dangerous situation we have faced." Both Fatima and Jakkal were escorted back to Pamba by the police.

The two women who were en route to the Sabarimala Temple agreed to return after the temple head priest (Tantri) Kandararu Rajeevaru threatened to shut down the temple if they attempted to force their way in.

Meanwhile, Mary Sweety, a 46-year-old woman, returned midway after she was stopped by the protesters at Pamba. She has currently been taken to a police control room.

Two days after the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala opened its doors for the first time for females of all age group, as per the Supreme Court verdict pronounced on September 28, no woman of menstrual age has yet been able to visit the shrine because of continuous protests.

Earlier in the day, a number of devotees had gathered to block the entry of women trekking up to the hill shrine.

Places around the temple such as Pamba, Nilakkal, Sannidhanam and Elavungal have witnessed the majority of the violent protests since the doors of the shrine reopened on Wednesday. Protesters had allegedly vandalised a bus carrying journalists and other passengers at Laka near the Nilakkal base camp. The police were forced to lathi-charge the protesters as they resorted to stone pelting.

Elderly women were seen entering the temple on Wednesday evening, but women between 10 to 50 years of age refrained from visiting the shrine for the sake of their own safety.

Owing to the protests and violence, Section 144 (prohibiting assembly of more than four people) has been imposed in Pamba, Nilakkal and Elavungal.

The temple opened on Wednesday at 5 pm, and it will close on October 22.

Comments

Khasai Khane
 - 
Friday, 19 Oct 2018

Not approving of what the goons did to her, but she kind of deserved it. Why interfere in religious beliefs of others? Why provoke them ? 

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Agencies
February 13,2020

Dubai, Feb 13: An Indian expatriate found to be infected with coronavirus in the UAE on February 10 is in a stable condition, the Indian Embassy told Gulf News.

“The Indian is a 36-year-old male,” an embassy official said, adding “he a resident of the UAE”.

However, the official did not say if the man had any travel history to China and also refused to divulge which state he hailed from.

On February 10, the Ministry of Health said the Indian national was found infected with coronavirus in the latest such case in the UAE. “The Indian national had interacted with a recently diagnosed person,” the ministry had said in a statement.

"All reported cases are in stable condition, except for one case, who is being put under close observation by a team of senior consultants at the Intensive Care Unit," added the statement.

The man is among the eight cases of coronavirus detected in the UAE so far. Others include six Chinese nationals and one from Philippines.

Earlier this week, the UAE announced that one of the infected patients, a 73-year-old Chinese national, Liu Yujia, had recovered.

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News Network
April 19,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 19: The Karnataka government on Saturday ordered 2 lakh Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits from DHB Global and 1 lakh from other major pharmaceuticals, for the healthcare warriors treating coronavirus patients.

According to the State Health Department, these PPEs have 10 components as per global standards like a face mask to prevent healthcare professional from any liquid sprays, goggles for additional safety, N95 masks for protection of nasal and mouth areas, surgical masks, nitrile gloves, coverall suit, shoe cover, waste disposable bag, plastic apron, and protective gear.

Each of the products should have the relevant certificate from the Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) or equivalent certification.

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News Network
February 28,2020

The Karnataka BJP, which faced action on Twitter earlier this month over incendiary tweets, this time has passed the blame of Sangh Parivar sponsored Delhi violence to the victims.

In an insensitive tweet on Friday, it dubbed the protests against the notorious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) as "fake" and added that the violence that followed was "the most well-planned assault on the Idea of India," in an apparent attempt to portray the victims as villains.

The handle, notorious for tweets targeting Muslims, blamed the clashes that erupted in Delhi between people demonstrating for and against the CAA on "so called 'Peacefuls'" - a known right-wing slur for Muslims.

Many people on social media called out the tweet for misleading people and covering up the role of Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra's provocative speech for triggering the violence or the failure of the Delhi Police, which reports to the former BJP chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in controlling the riots.

Earlier this month, the Karnataka BJP had tweeted a video of Muslim women standing in queue to vote in the Delhi elections, showing their voter ID cards, with the snarky caption: "Keep the documents safe, you will need to show them again during NPR (National Population Register) exercise."

Soon after, the party unit's Twitter handle was blocked by the social media platform for 24 hours after many accused it of encouraging Islamophobia.

NPR has been widely criticised by opposition parties as a precursor to the government's planned NRC or National Register of Citizens which intends to make Indians prove their citizenship with documents that many poor or illiterate do not possess.

Many fear that combined with the already imposed CAA - which promises citizenship to only non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh - the NRC can be used to make millions of Muslims stateless.

The government has denied the allegation and said the CAA only intends to help those who have faced religious persecution. In recent weeks, it has gone back on its rhetoric on the NRC which was announced by Amit Shah in parliament as "it will certainly happen".

The CAA, which was cleared by parliament in December, has triggered deadly protests in the country which left at least 25 dead till Sunday. Since then, at least 42 more people have been killed as large-scale violence erupted in northeast Delhi and hundreds of homes and shops have been burned to the ground.

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