Togadia escapes unhurt as truck hits SUV in Surat, blames weakened security

Mar 26: As Kashmir reported its first COVID-19 death on Thursday, Islamic scholars urged people to follow the Ministry of Home Affairs guidelines on funeral and burial of those who die due to coronavirus pandemic.

“Medical science can’t be ignored and whatever directions there are in the (MHA) guidelines should be followed. As far as the funeral of the person, only family members should participate in the funeral and burial after wearing the protection kits,” the scholars said.

The MHA has stressed that there should be no bathing, kissing, hugging and reciting of verses while the body should be transported in a secured bag. Health experts have stressed that the grave for the person should be dug eight feet deep instead of normal six feet.

“The body of the person should be transported in a secured bag and the vehicle in which he is transported has to be decontaminated by the trained staff who should be wearing N-95 masks and protection equipment,” read the MHA guidelines.

Kashmir witnessed the first death of a COVID-19 patient from uptown city Hyderpora, who had a travel history of outside J&K as he was part of a ‘Tableegi Jamaat’.

Dr Naveed, Head of Department, at Chest Diseases Hospital Srinagar, said that no one from the family should go closer to the body and if someone from the family wants to see the face, he/she has to wear a complete protective gear.

“Burial bath is not recommended for the body. Grave for him should be dug eight feet deep instead of normal six feet,” he said.

As far as funeral prayers, he said, those intending to offer funeral should wear protective gear and maintain sufficient distance between the body and people.

New Delhi, May 28: With 6,566 more coronavirus cases and 194 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, India's COVID-19 tally reached 1,58,333 on Thursday, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Affairs.

The number of active coronavirus cases stands at 86,110, while 67,692 people have recovered and one patient has migrated, it said. The death toll due to the infection has reached 4,531 in the country.

Maharashtra is the worst affected state with 56,948 cases. Tamil Nadu has recorded as many as 18,545 cases while Gujarat and Delhi have recorded 15,195 and 15,257 coronavirus cases respectively.

New Delhi, Jan 19: Reacting to a tweet by ace lawyer Indira Jaising urging her to forgive the four men on death row for brutally raping that finally took her life, Nirbhaya's mother said on Saturday: "Even if God asks me, I won't forgive them."

Speaking to news agency, over the phone, the mother who had been fighting for seven long years to send her daughter's killers to the gallows, said, "...even if god comes and asks me to forgive them, I will not. People like these (Jaising) are a blot on the society."

Commenting on Jaising's tweet, she said: "Who is she to tell or suggest to me to forgive them. What relation does she have with me. I have nothing to do with such people. She can be a relative of those (the convicts) that she is having a soft corner for."

"She is an insult to women. She is running a business in the name of human rights. She is a veteran, she should give a message to the society. But she instead will go against her own kind," she added.

Earlier in the day, Jaising had requested Nirbhaya's mother to follow the example of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who had moved for the clemency of a woman, Nalini Murugan convicted for the assassination of her husband and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"While I fully identify with the pain of Nirbhaya's mother I urge her to follow the example of Sonia Gandhi who forgave Nalini and said she didn't want the death penalty for her. We are with you but against death penalty," Jaising tweeted on Friday.

A Delhi Court on Friday issued fresh death warrants against the four convicts -- Akshay, Pawan, Mukesh and Vinay in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Satish Kumar Arora fixed 1 February as the date of execution of the four death row convicts. They will be hanged at 6am.

The move came after the prosecution moved an application seeking issuance of fresh death warrants following the rejection of the mercy plea of one of the convicts Mukesh by President Ram Nath Kovind.

The 23-year-old victim was brutally gang-raped and tortured on December 16, 2012, which later led to her death.

All the six accused were arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder. One of the accused was a minor and appeared before a juvenile justice court, while another accused committed suicide in Tihar Jail.

Four of the convicts were sentenced to death by a trial court in September 2013, and the verdict was confirmed by the Delhi High Court in March 2014 and upheld by the Supreme Court in May 2017, which also dismissed their review petitions.