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Indian may be among Sydney hostages: minister

December 15, 2014

sydney-cafe1New Delhi, Dec 15: An Indian origin IT professional may be among the hostages held by a gunman in a cafe in Australia, according to Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu who later said the reports were unconfirmed.

"We don't want to discuss it because there is some information that one of our IT persons is also there. So the External Affairs Ministry is keeping in touch with concerned people there-- both our embassy as well as our counterpart also," Naidu told reporters outside Parliament House.

Later, Naidu added that there were no confirmed reports and it was only preliminary information.

"There is some initial information that some people were taken hostage in Sydney by some person. What is the purpose, what is the motive, (it is) not known and our External Affairs Ministry is keeping in touch with our embassy there in Australia.

"So far information says that people who were held hostages are safe, no harm is done to them. All these information here and there-- nothing has been confirmed about any citizens of our country is in that or not. It is a sensitive matter. I request all people to show restraint till the issue is resolved," he said.

The Minister said whatever steps need to be taken are being taken.

Several people were taken hostage at a popular cafe in the heart of Sydney city in south-east Australia by one gunman this morning, leading to evacuation of important buildings, including the Indian consulate which is located 300-400 metres from the cafe. An Islamic flag was also reportedly seen hanging from the window of the cafe.

The Indian Consulate in Sydney was evacuated in view of the hostage situation in a cafe near its premises and all the staff members are safe, the External Affairs Ministry today said.

In Sydney, Consul General Sunjay Sudhir said that due to security concerns "we locked down our office at 12:00 PM and asked all our officers to go to places of safety".

He said that the Central Business District (CBD) where the cafe is located is the area where many Indian establishments including the SBI, Bank of Baroda and Indian tourism office are located.

"We are in touch with the security agencies and have asked them specifically if any Indians were present inside the cafe...they have not told us about the nationality," Sudhir said.

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News Network
January 17,2020

Mumbai, Jan 17: A 68-year-old convict of the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, Jalees Ansari, went missing on Thursday morning while being on parole, officials said.

Ansari, a resident of Mominpura in Agripada here who is serving a life term, is suspected to be involved in many bomb blast cases across the country, an official said.

He was on parole for 21 days from the Ajmer Central Prison, Rajasthan, and was expected to surrender before prison authorities on Friday, he said.

During the parole period, he was ordered to visit the Agripada Police Station everyday between 10.30 am and 12 pm to mark his attendance, he said.

However, Ansari did not visit the police station on Thursday during the designated time, the official said.

In the afternoon, his 35-year-old son Jaid Ansari approached the police station with a complaint about his “missing” father, he said.

According to the complaint, Jalees Ansari woke up in the early hoursand told family members he is going to offer namaz, but did not return home.

On his complaint, the Agripada Police registered a missing case, he said.

The Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police and the Maharashtra ATS have launched a massive manhunt to trace him, he said.

Jalees, who is known as Doctor Bomb, was allegedly connected with terror outfits like SIMI and Indian Mujahidin and taught terror groups how to make bombs, he said.

He was also questioned by the NIA in 2011 in connection with the 2008 bomb blast in Mumbai, he said.

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News Network
June 22,2020

New Delhi, Jun 22: With an increase of 14,821 new cases and 445 deaths, India's COVID-19 count reached 4,25,282 on Monday.

According to the latest update by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), 13,699 deaths have been recorded due to the infection so far in the country.

The rise in confirmed cases today is lower than the highest spike of 15 thousand plus cases registered on Sunday.

The count includes 1,74,387 active cases, and 2,37,196 cured/discharged/migrated patients.

Maharashtra with 1,32,075 confirmed cases remains the worst-affected by the infection so far in the country. The state's count includes 60,161 active, 65,744 cured, discharged patients while 6,170 deaths have been reported due to the infection so far.

Meanwhile, the national capital today became the second-worst affected region in the country with the number of confirmed cases in Delhi reaching 59,746 as opposed to Tamil Nadu's 59,377 cases.

While 2,175 deaths have been reported in Delhi due to the infection so far, the toll in Tamil Nadu stands at 757.

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News Network
July 17,2020
New Delhi, Jul 17:  Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that as India's COVID-19 tally has crossed 10,00,000 mark and issued a warning that by August 10, more than 20,00,000 people may be infected in the country. He called on the government to take concrete steps to control the pandemic.
 
Taking to Twitter, Gandhi marked his earlier tweet from July 14 that stated: "This week the figure will cross 10,00,000 in our country."
"The tally has crossed 10,00,000 mark. If COVID-19 continues to spread at the same speed, by August 10, more than 20,00,000 people will be infected in the country.
 
The government must take concrete, planned steps to stop the epidemic," he tweeted today.
With the highest single-day spike of 32,695 cases and 606 deaths, India's COVID-19 tally on Thursday reached 9,68,876, informed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.
 
The total number of COVID-19 cases includes 3,31,146 active cases, 6,12,815 cured/discharged/migrated and 24,915 deaths. 

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