At least 60 pregnant women have tested HIV positive in 16 months at a government medical college in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut, according to an India Today report. A health department official added that the situation is being monitored closely and that all affected women are being treated at the Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Centre of Lala Lajpat Rai Medical College of Meerut.
The matter came to the notice of health officials following a report drafted by the ART Centre. The report revealed that HIV was confirmed in 81 women who were admitted to the hospital for delivery. Alarmingly, 35 out of these 81 HIV-positive women have given birth to children. The ART Centre’s nodal officer was quoted as saying by the publication that HIV tests of the newborns will be done once they complete one-and-a-half years and further measures will be taken after that.
Lucknow: Days after a media house received an email threatening to assassinate Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he received another death threat. An unidentified person sent a message on ‘Dial 112’ (a number launched by the Uttar Pradesh government for the emergency services), threatening to kill the Chief Minister. “I will kill CM Yogi soon,” reads the message which was sent at 10. 22 pm on April 23.
A case has been registered against the unidentified person at the Sushant Golf City police station in Lucknow under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 506, 507 and IT Act 66, police said.
“A case has been registered under sections 506 and 507 IPC and 66 IT Act in PS Sushant Golf City against an unknown person after ‘Dial 112’ receives death threat for Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath,” the police said, ANI reported.
The police have identified the sender as Rehan.
Death threat email to Yogi Adityanath
Earlier this month, a 16-year-old schoolboy was held by Noida Police from Lucknow for allegedly sending an email to a media house threatening to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath.
The teenager, a resident of Bihar was apprehended from the Chinhat area of Lucknow and was brought to Noida, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Noida) Rajneesh Verma said. The boy was produced in a juvenile court in Noida and was granted bail later, PTI reported.
Section 144 has been imposed across Uttar Pradesh after the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf on Saturday night. Additional forces have been deployed in Prayagraj district, where the killing took place, and in nearby areas.
Atiq Ahmed murder: Section 144 imposed in all 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh
Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) have been imposed in all districts of Uttar Pradesh after gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother were shot dead by three men on Saturday night.
Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf were shot dead while they were being taken for medical tests. They were killed in full view of people and the murders were caught on cameras of mediapersons.
Prayagraj district, where the killing took place, is on high alert and additional forces, including the Rapid Action Force (RAF), have been deployed in nearby districts.
#WATCH | UP: Police conducts flag march in Lucknow's Husainabad after the incident of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf shot dead pic.twitter.com/PkNQmS24Vi
“Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were brought for medical and while giving media byte, three people came as media persons and shot at them where both of them died. Three people have been arrested, they are being questioned. A journalist was also injured as he fell down and a constable sustained a bullet injury,” Prayagraj Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Before 2017, Atiq Ahmed always managed to get bail and be a free man despite over 100 criminal cases pending against him.
‘Hum Toh Mitti Mein Mil Gaye’ — so said Atiq Ahmed after the death of his son Asad Ahmed in a police encounter. The Yogi Adityanath government has also struck financial blows in the last 50 days to finish off Atiq’s gang.
UP government officials said property and assets worth Rs 1,400 crore of Atiq and his henchmen have been confiscated, and the police had determined these assets were acquired through crime. The Enforcement Directorate has also dealt a severe blow by exposing assets worth over Rs 100 crore and discovering nearly 50 shell companies that Atiq and his gang used to convert their black money earned from extortion into white money.
“Besides a crime empire, the economic empire of Atiq Ahmed has also been demolished in the last 50 days. It is a death-knell for him. He has his brother Ashraf Ahmed will spend their life in jail, his two elder sons are also in jail, his third son Asad is dead and his two minor sons are in a juvenile home while his wife Shaista Parveen is absconding,” an official explained.
Sample this: Besides confiscating Atiq and his gang’s property worth Rs 1,400 crore, 15 teams of the Enforcement Directorate have also expedited their money laundering probe against Atiq and exposed assets worth another Rs 108 crore. The documents recovered during the ED’s raids on Atiq have revealed more than 50 shell companies which are dummy companies owned by someone else in the documents, but they were invested in by Atiq and his gang. All these companies were involved in the black money business network and the ED dragnet has fallen on a lawyer, Atiq’s accountant, a real-estate businessman, a former BSP MLA , a builder and a car showroom owner who have been central to running Atiq’s ‘business’.
ED has summoned all these close aides of Atiq for questioning.
Earlier before 2017, Atiq Ahmed had always managed to get bail and be a free man despite over 100 criminal cases pending against him. The first case in fact was lodged way back in 1979 but no government in UP could get him convicted in any case as either witnesses turned hostile or disappeared.
A girl was found HIV positive in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah when doctors at a medical college used the same syringe on several patients.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said strict action will be taken against those found guilty in the matter. (Image for representation: Reuters)
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Saturday said an explanation has been sought from the principal of Rani Avanti Bai Lodhi Government Medical College in Etah over reports that a child tested HIV positive after a doctor used the same syringe on several patients.
He said that strict action would be taken against those found guilty in the matter.
On Saturday, the parents of the girl admitted to the hospital complained to District Magistrate Ankit Kumar Agarwal that several children were given injections from the same syringe.
Relatives of the girl, admitted to the hospital on February 20, claimed that when the child was found to be HIV-positive health workers forced her out of the hospital in the night.
The district magistrate, who ordered an inquiry into the alleged incident, when asked about it, said that after getting the complaint, an investigation was instituted and handed over to the chief medical officer (CMO).
Etah CMO Umesh Kumar Tripathi said he has come to know about the alleged incident and the district magistrate has ordered an inquiry into it. The report will be sent to the district magistrate after the probe gets over, he said.
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at the CWC meeting in New Delhi on Sunday. (Image: News18)
The four-hour Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting concluded on Sunday with senior members requesting party president Sonia Gandhi to continue to lead from the front. The meeting was held to introspect the Congress’s crushing defeat in five states – Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Manipur – leading to renewed demands from several quarters for a change in the party’s leadership.
One of the demands made at the meeting was more accessibility of Congress leaders, especially Rahul Gandhi, which has been one of the major complaints of party members. Another demand raised by senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was fixing responsibilities. Azad, however, also made it clear that neither he nor any of the dissenting G-23 members are against the Gandhis.
According to sources, Sonia Gandhi, while addressing the meeting, said Gandhis are ready to step down and take responsibility for the election defeat. “I am often told that some of you feel we three are responsible for the state of affairs. If that is how you feel, then we three (Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Priyanka) are willing to sacrifice and step down,” she was quoted by sources as saying at the meeting.
