Army man-turned-Bajrang Dal leader held for blackmail along with associates

Dubai, May 18: An Indian working in a mining company in the UAE has become the latest expatriate to have lost his job for hate-filled social media posts targeting Islam and Muslims.

Brajkishore Gupta was fired without notice for calling Indian Muslims 'coronavirus spreaders' and hailing the Delhi violence as 'divine justice' in his Facebook posts.

Gupta, who is from Chapra, Bihar, was employed by Stevin Rock, a mining company headquartered in Ras Al Khaimah city.

"This isolated incident involving a junior employee was investigated and dealt with immediately resulting in the termination without notice of this person's employment with Stevin Rock," said the company's business development and exploration manager Jean-Francois Milian.

"Our company policy supports the direction of the UAE government in promoting tolerance and equality and strongly renouncing racism and discrimination and we have sent communications to all of our employees irrespective of their religious or ethnic background reminding them that any such behaviour is unacceptable and will lead to immediate dismissal," Milian was quoted as saying in the report.

Three Indians based in the UAE were either fired or suspended from their jobs for "Islamophobic" posts on social media early this month.

On April 20, India's ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor had warned Indian expatriates against such behaviour.

"India and UAE share the value of non-discrimination on any grounds. Discrimination is against our moral fabric and the Rule of law. Indian nationals in the UAE should always remember this," he said in a tweet.

Last month, Sharjah-based businessman Sohan Roy had to apologise for "unintentionally hurting religious sentiments" through his poem, which alluded to a Muslim religious group.

In March, chef Trilok Singh was fired from a restaurant in Dubai for an online threat against a student in Delhi over her views on the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Mangaluru, Feb 3: After neighbouring reported the second confirmed case of dreaded Coronavirus, the government of Karnataka today ordered high alert across border districts including Dakshina Kannada.

Apart from Dakshina Kannada, district administrations in Kodagu, Chamarajanagar and Mysuru that share boundary with Kerala have been put on high alert over the movement of people with suspected cases.

In a statement released on Monday, the Health and Family welfare department said that these districts have been directed to immediately report to the State Surveillance Unit (SSU) if they come across any suspected cases of people infected with Coronavirus.

Currently, about 51 people who returned from Coronavirus-affected regions have been identified and 46 are under home isolation across Karnataka.

So far, 44 samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune for analysis and out of which 29 samples have revealed negative results. Yet, the state government has put in all possible measures to check the spread of the virus in any part of the state.

New Delhi, Jun 6: With the coronavirus pandemic showing no signs of abating, it seems unlikely that Muslims from India will be able to undertake the Hajj pilgrimage this year.

However, the government will take a final decision on the matter only after Saudi Arabia makes its position on hosting the pilgrimage clear.

A circular issued by the Hajj Committee of India on Friday said only a few weeks are left for the preparatory work in India for Hajj 2020, yet the Saudi authorities have not communicated any further development regarding the pilgrimage.

"In view of the several inquiries received and concerns expressed over uncertainty over Hajj 2020, it has been decided by the Hajj Committee of India that, those pilgrims who desire to cancel their Hajj journey this year, their 100 per cent amount paid so far will be refunded without any deductions," the circular issued by Hajj Committee of India CEO Maqsood Ahmed Khan said.

"Coronavirus cases are increasing in Saudi Arabia and two lakh people have to go from here. We had made preparations, but now there is very little time left. We are waiting for an official word from Saudi Arabia," a top source said.

In response to a question, the source said, "This time, it is unlikely that people will be able to undertake Hajj from India."

Uncertainty has been looming large over this year's Hajj in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and though Saudi Arabia has not made a decision on whether the annual pilgrimage will be held or not, it did ask Muslims to delay their bookings till there is more clarity.

The bilateral annual Hajj 2020 agreement between India and Saudi Arabia was signed last December. In 2020, a total of 2 lakh Indian Muslims were expected to perform Hajj.

Over 95,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 600 deaths have been reported in Saudi Arabia due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Some countries have decided not to send their people for Hajj this time. The most prominent among these is Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

The Hajj 2020 is proposed in the period between late July and early August.

The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam which every Muslim is required to complete at least once in their lifetime if they are healthy enough and have the means to do so.