Obama accepts PM Modi's Republic Day invitation

Visakhapatnam, May 7: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday announced an ex- gratia payment of Rs one crore each to the kin of those killed in the styrene gas leak incident at LG Polymers Limited near here.

The NDRF had put the death toll from the leak at 11.

The chief minister announced a committee to probe into the mishap and also said the government would talk to the LG Polymers management seeking job for the kin of the deceased in any of its businesses.

Speaking to reporters after conducting a review meeting, Reddy also announced Rs 10 lakh each to those undergoing treatment on ventilator support and Rs 25,000 to those who took treatment as out-patients after developing health complications due to inhalation of the styrene vapour.

Earlier, he held a review meeting at the Andhra Medical College with District Collector Vinay Chand and others.

The gas leak victims undergoing treatment in various hospitals would be paid Rs one lakh each. The 15,000-odd population in the five villages that were affected by the gas leak would be paid Rs 10,000 each, the chief minister added.

Reddy further announced constitution of a high-level committee, headed by the Special Chief Secretary (Environment and Forests), to probe into the mishap and make recommendations to prevent such tragedies in the future.

Earlier, he visited the King George Hospital and consoled the victims of the gas leak.

Accompanied by his Deputy holding the health portfolio A K K Srinivas and Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney, Reddy flew down to the port city and went straight to the KGH.

He met the gas leak victims undergoing treatment and enquired about their well-being.

At the review meeting, the Collector informed the Chief Minister that the gas spread was limited to a 1.5 to 2 km area from the epicentre of the leak and that the locals were evacuated to safety.

Of the two styrene tanks in the plant, the leak occurred from one that was holding about 1,800 kilo litres of the chemical.

Aurangabad, Feb 21: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) will seek an explanation from its leader Waris Pathan over his alleged '15 crore Muslims can be heavy on 100 crore' remark he recently made in Karnataka, a party leader said here on Friday.

Pathan had made the purported remarks while addressing an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) rally at Kalaburagi in North Karnataka on February 16.

"We have to move together. We have to take Azadi (freedom), things that we don't get by asking, we have to take it by force, remember it...(We maybe) 15 crore, but are heavy on 100 (crore), remember it," Pathan can be heard purportedly saying in a video of his speech that has gone viral.

Talking to reporters here, AIMIM's Maharashtra unit chief and Aurangabad MP Imtiyaz Jaleel said, "Our party does not support the statement made by Waris Pathan. The party will seek an explanation from him over the remarks."

"If needed, we will come out with a set of dos and don'ts for the party workers to be while giving speech," he said.

"BJP leaders Anurag Thakur and Yogi Adityanath had also given some hateful statements, but none questioned them about it," Jaleel added.

On Thursday, a young woman had raised "Pakistan Zindabad" slogan in Bengaluru during a protest against CAA, NRC and NPR, where AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi was also present. Owaisi had denounced her action.

Talking about the incident, Jaleel said, "That event was not organised by the AIMIM. It was organised by JD(S) and leaders of all parties were there. Asaduddin Owaisi stopped the woman and also condemned her act. But it is being projected that it was AIMIM's stage."

Meanwhile, the BJP and the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) held protests in Aurangabad against Pathan, seeking stern action against him.

The BJP protested in Gulmandi area and burnt an effigy of Pathan.

"Waris Pathan has hurt the feelings of 100 crore people. He has tried to divide the people of the country. The state government should take action against him and send him out of Mumbai," BJP MLA Atul Save said.

The MNS took out a symbolic funeral procession of Pathan and raised slogans against the AIMIM.

"The language of Waris Pathan was disgusting. He should be banned from giving public speeches in the state and also be arrested," MNS lader Prakash Mahajan said.

Jodhpur, Jun 5: A video has gone viral on social media showing what could be called Jodhpur's George Floyd moment with a twist, showing cops throwing a person on the ground and pressing his neck with their knees for roaming around without a mask.

However, unlike the unfortunate incident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the cops in Jodhpur reportedly acted after the person, said to be mentally challenged, turned violent after being confronted by the police.

Dumb TV media is playing the initial part of this video as 'India's George Flyod moment'. Doesn't matter to them that the same video shows the man beating the cops back badly pic.twitter.com/vGSaON6oii

— Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) June 5, 2020

George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died after being arrested by the police outside a shop in Minneapolis in the US on May 25. Footage showed a white officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Floyd's neck for several minutes while he was pinned to the floor. He was pronounced dead later in the hospital, triggering widespread protests across the US.

However, in the Jodhpur incident, the man, identifed as Mukesh Kumar Prajapat, did not die but instead started fighting with the policemen.

Jodhpur police officers confirmed that the video was shot in the city on Thursday after the police wanted to issue a challan against the man for roaming on the streets without wearing a mask before he started manhandling the police.

The video shows a cop pressing his neck with his knee while two other cops held the young man's legs. A huge crowd gathered when the scuffle broke out.

Meanwhile, the SHO of Dev Nagar police station, Somkaran, said that the police were issuing a challan to Prajapat when he attacked them and tore their uniform. An FIR has been lodged against Prajapat on a complaint lodged by the Pratap Nagar police station. He will be produced in the court later in the day.

Prajapat is said to be mentally challenged and had damaged his father's eye earlier for which a case was registered against him, the poice said. Action is being initiated against Prajapat under the Epidemic Act, they added.