Jain couple to leave minor daughter, Rs 100-cr property for monkhood

New Delhi, May 14: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing the Al-Hind Islamic State (IS) Bengaluru module case has announced a cash reward of Rs three lakh for wanted absconder Abdul Mateen Taahaa.

An NIA spokesperson in Delhi said, "We have declared a cash reward of Rs three lakh for providing any information leading to arrest of Taahaa." The spokesperson said that Taahaa, 26, a resident of Shimoga in Karnataka is wanted in Al-Hind ISIS Bengaluru module case that the agency registered this year. The NIA had taken over the probe from the Karnataka Police.

According to the NIA officials, the case relates to ISIS-linked terror group formed by arrested accused Mehboob Pasha, along with accused Khaja Moideen aka Jalal and his associates involved in the murder of a Hindu leader in Tamil Nadu. The official said that Pasha conducted several meetings in 2019 at his residence in Bengaluru to hatch the conspiracy, by radicalising and recruiting other co-accused to carry out terror activities and join ISIS in Afghanistan or Syria.

The NIA has arrested 12 accused namely Pasha, Imran aka Imran Khan, Mohammed Haneef Khan, Mohammed Mansoor Ali Khan, Saleem Khan aka Kolar Saleem, Hussain Sharieff, Ejaz Pasha aka Azaz Pasha, Zabiulla, Syed Azmathulla, Syed Fasiur Rehman, Mohammed Zaid and Sadiq Basha.

The official said that Taahaa is a friend of arrested accused Saleem and Zaid, through whom he contacted arrested accused Pasha of Al-Hind Trust and was also associated with his online foreign handler.

Beijing, Feb 21: A 29-year-old Chinese doctor, who postponed his wedding to treat patients infected with the deadly coronavirus, has died treating them after being infected by the virus, the ninth fatality among the healthcare providers working to contain the outbreak.

Dr Peng Yinhua, doctor of a Wuhan hospital who treated patients infected with the coronavirus, died on Thursday night, according to the health bureau.

Peng, a respiratory acute care medical professional, became infected while working to combat the novel coronavirus at the First People's Hospital of Jiangxia District of Wuhan. He was hospitalised on January 25 and transferred to the Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital for treatment on January 30.

"Peng Yinhua, a frontline doctor at Jiangxia First Hospital in virus epicenter #Wuhan, died of #COVID19 on Thursday night. He had earlier delayed his wedding as he wanted to treat patients with the disease at hospital," state-run Global Times tweeted on Friday.

He died from the virus despite doctors' all-out efforts to save his life.

Chinese health authorities have asked health agencies to apply for the honour of martyr for deceased medical staff to the veteran's affairs authorities, comfort the families of the deceased and help solve their difficulties, as well as publicise stories of those who sacrificed their lives during the epidemic, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Li Wenliang, the 34-year-old Chinese doctor, who was one of the first people to sound the alarm about the new outbreak died on February 7.

Li sent a message to his medical-school alumni group on December 30, warning that seven patients had been quarantined at Wuhan Central Hospital after coming down with a respiratory illness that seemed like the SARS coronavirus. But Wuhan police reprimanded and silenced Li.

Earlier, Dr Liu Zhiming, head of the Wuchang Hospital died due to the virus. On the same day Liu Fan, senior nurse of the hospital, died along with her parents and brother due to the virus.

China’s National Health Commission earlier said that a total of 1,716 medical workers had contracted the infection as of February 11.

Peng's death takes the death toll among the medical staff to nine.

Bengaluru, Mar 7: As a precautionary measure to control the spread of coronavirus in Karnataka, the state government has planned to suspend biometric attendance for the time-being at its offices, also in corporate and IT companies, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Saturday.

He said the government has taken all precautionary measures to control the spread of the virus in the state.

"Our Additional Chief Secretary has already spoken to IT companies yesterday on behalf of the government regarding guidelines that need to be followed, it is part of it...we will do it in the government also in the days to come," Sudhakar told reporters here.

He was responding to a question about suspending biometric attendance at offices in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Asked about suspending biometric attendanceat government offices, he said, "we have planned to do it yesterday."

Sudhakar said so far in Karnataka not even one case has been identified, to that extent we have been taking precautionary measures effectively.

He said from villages to state capital Bengaluru at all levels the health department officials have been activated as part of the precautionary measures.

Also, committees headed by Deputy Commissioners have been formed in all district, he added.

"We have given certain guidelines to people. We have also included private hospitals. We have taken all precautionary measures to stop the virus from entering the state," he added.

In response to a question regarding masks, the Minister clarified that those who have the symptoms of the disease only should use them.

He said, "N95 masks are required only for those who have tested positive, there is not even a single positive case in the state so far...surgical masks that will have three layers can be used by those who have symptoms like cough, cold, fever."

In the state as a precautionary measure 2,500 beds have been kept ready if the situation arises, despite not having a single case.