| Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day's biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. We hope you are staying safe.
Delhi riots case: Police submit 20,000-page charge sheet
Nearly seven months after communal violence gripped the north-eastern parts of the capital city, the Delhi Police have filed a 20,000-page charge sheet. Fifteen persons have reportedly been named as accused in the charge sheet, a Delhi police officer said on Wednesday evening. A team of the special cell of the Delhi Police submitted the charge sheet in a Delhi court. A total of 20 persons have been arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. A supplementary charge sheet will reportedly be filed against student leader Umar Khalid, who was arrested on Sunday, and against activist Sharjeel Imam. The 15 named accused are Taahir Hussain, Mohd Parvez Ahmed, Mohd Illyas, Saifi Khalid, Ishrat Jahan, Miran Haider, Safoora Zargar, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Shahdab Ahmed, Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, Tasleem Ahmed, Salem Malik, Mohd Saleem Khan and Athar Khan. A total of 745 witnesses have recorded their statement. Civil rights groups have been critical of the Delhi police for a biased investigation, a charge that the Delhi police has denied. MSPs will stay, assures BJP president J.P. Nadda With long-term ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) opposing three Bills related to agriculture, including the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill cleared by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, BJP president J.P. Nadda hastened to dispel misgivings, saying the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) will remain, notwithstanding the fact that the Bills seek to deregulate the sector. "The three Bills related to agriculture introduced by the Modi government in Parliament will boost production and help farmers get better prices for the produce," said Nadda in New Delhi on Wednesday.  BJP president J.P. Nadda. File Underscoring that farmers were at the core of the government's policies, he said all the three farm sector Bills were far-sighted and would boost agriculture production. When asked about the MSP, he asserted that it would continue to be in operation. Farmers' groups in Punjab and Haryana have been protesting against the Bills, which they fear will deregulate the sector without an adequate safety net for small and marginal farmers. Meanwhile, Punjab CM warns of unrest if Agri Bills passed Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday led a Congress delegation to submit a memorandum to Governor V.P. Singh Badnore, seeking his intervention for non-pursuance of the agriculture-related Bills by the Centre in Parliament. He cautioned that the enactment of the legislations would lead to unrest in Punjab, which was already at the receiving end of Pakistan's concerted efforts to foment trouble. Singh said he told the Governor that any move to tinker with the present procurement system, and that too at a time of nation-wide crisis, may deepen social unrest among the farmers of the State. "It may not be conducive for the peace and development of the region, which faces serious challenges of public order due to a live international border," he said. "These Bills, one of which has already been passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, are against the national interest, and particularly detrimental to Punjab where the majority of the farmers tilled less than five acres and would be the worst hit," he said. Hoping that the Centre will not get the other two passed in Parliament, he said the Centre had failed to take the interest of the farmers into account and instead took a stand in favour of corporate houses. CBI court to pronounce verdict on Babri Masjid demolition case on Sept 30 A special CBI court is scheduled to pronounce its verdict on the Babri mosque demolition case on September 30. All the accused, including senior BJP leaders L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi, Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharti have been asked to be present in court. The 16th century mosque in Ayodhya was demolished by kar sevaks on December 6, 1992.  Kar sevaks bring down the Babri Masjid in 1992. | File The Special CBI court framed charges of criminal conspiracy in the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya against Advani and several others, most of them linked to the Sangh Parivar, in 2017. The Supreme Court had used its extraordinary constitutional powers under Article 142 to restore the criminal conspiracy charges framed against Advani and others in 2017, overruling the Allahabad High Court judgment dropping the charges. In 2010, the Allahabad HC had upheld a special CBI court's decision in 2001 to drop the conspiracy charges against Advani and others. Vaccine Watch Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) V.G. Somani has given permission to Serum Institute of India (SII) to resume clinical trials of the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine candidate in the country. He revoked the earlier order suspending any new recruitment for Phase two and Phase three trials.  A research scientist works inside a laboratory of India's Serum Institute, the world's largest maker of vaccines, which is working on vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Pune. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has tied up with pharma major Dr. Reddy's Laboratories for clinical trials as well as distribution of its Sputnik V vaccine in India. It intends to supply 100 million doses of the vaccine to Dr. Reddy's. Deliveries could potentially begin in late 2020, subject to successful completion of trials and registration of the vaccine by regulatory authorities in the country. The Sputnik V vaccine, according to the RDIF, is based on the human adenoviral vector platform. RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said the platform of human adenoviral vectors, which is the core of the Russian vaccine, has been tested in more than 250 clinical studies over decades, and has been found safe with no potential negative long-term consequences. Dr. Reddy's managing director G.V.Prasad said the Phase I and II clinical trials of the vaccine have shown promising results. "We will be conducting Phase-III trials in India to meet the requirements of the Indian regulators. Sputnik V vaccine could provide a credible option in our fight against Covid-19 in India."
Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 50,97,030 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 83,072. Thirty five military personnel have died due to Covid-19 so far, including 32 from the Army and three from the Air Force, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday. The number of Covid-19 cases in Army, Navy and Air Force are 16,758, 1,365 and 1,716 respectively, the Government said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. The Delhi High Court on Wednesday suggested that the AAP government increase the RT-PCR test capacity to the maximum possible in order to detect Covid-19 infections, as Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) were only 60% accurate. The High Court asked an expert committee to convene a meeting on priority basis to consider the extent to which capacity of testing by RT-PCR should be ramped up. At present, the sanctioned strength is 14,000 per day in Delhi. The High Court expressed concern over the continuous rise in Covid-19 cases, with nearly 4,500 new infections reported on Tuesday. "Having regard to the fact that results of RAT are 60% accurate, leaving grave doubt about infections in those who are asymptomatic, we are of the firm view that RT-PCR should be the way forward," said a Bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. | 
Post a Comment