Rajya Sabha MP and Congress leader Ripun Bora tested positive for COVID-19. He has been admitted to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital on Friday night and is undergoing treatment. Ripun Bora, while confirming the news has also asked those who came in contact with him in the last few days should get themselves tested. "After being tested Covid19 positive, I am under treatment in Gauhati Medical College Hospital from today. I request to all those, who came in my contact in the last few days, to get themselves tested," Bora wrote on his Facebook page. The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has prayed for speedy recovery of Bora. "Rajya Sabha MP & Assam Congress President @ripunbora has been tested positive for COVID-19. We pray for his speedy recovery," the APCC wrote on its official Twitter handle.
In an operation launched by Darrang police, a huge consignment of Burmese Supari has been seized from various locations of Kharupetia. The supari (dry betel nuts from Myanmar) has been seized as they failed to produce any valid documents. The police have also detained three traders associated with the illegal smuggling. A team from Kharupetia police station under the leadership of Darrang SP Mamoni Hazarika raided the godowns on Friday and residential campuses of three local supari traders at Hopsital Road, Jayantipur and Gopal Nagar. The police team seized illegal consignments of Burmese supari weighing 6,635 kilograms during the raid. The market value of the supari brought from Silchar is estimated to be Rs 25.21 lakh. "We have seized a total of 6, 635 kilogram Burmese supari, of which the market value will be around Rs 25.21 lakh." deputy commissioner Mamoni Hazarika told media persons on Friday night. "Three traders, namely Abdul Hakim, Prakash Saha and Sankar Saha have been apprehended for interrogation and investigations are still on," Hazarika added.
Within a month of being elected, two MLA died of COVID-19 complications with Tamulpur MLA Lehoram Boro who passed away on Saturday at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). A few days ago, Gossaigaon MLA Majendra Narzary also succumbed to the disease post complications. Lehoram Boro was under treatment at GMCH since two days. He was admitted to ICU after being infected with the virus. The Tamulpur MLA also took oath on May 21 at Assam Legislative Assembly. Chief Executive Member of BTR, Pramod Boro condoled the death of the Tamulpur MLA. In a Facebook Post, he wrote, "We have lost our dearly Shri Lehoram Boro, MLA of Tamulpur LAC, today. His sudden demise is a significant loss to the Tamulpur region and the entire UPPL family. He devoted most of his life to the development and upliftment of the region.
Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday announced that the state government will provide a relief package to children who lost their parents to COVID-19. CM Sarma said an amount of Rs 3,500 per month will be given to affected children in the state. The relief is part of Mukhyamantri Sishu Sewa Achoni initiative. "If the sole bread-earner of the family dies, we will provide Rs 3,500 per month to their family. It will be provided till they attain the level of employment," CM Sarma said while addressing the media at Assam Administrative Staff College in Guwahati. The chief minister however stated that orphans who have no immediate relative or place to live in will be shifted to hostels for their education and will not be entitled to the amount.
In a shocker from Assam's Kampur in Nagaon district, a 13-year-old minor girl was raped and impregnated by her own grandfather. As per a report, the girl is now seven months pregnant. The accused, 60-year-old Abdul Hamid, is the maternal grandfather of the girl. The incident came to light when the girl's parents noticed some physical changes in her body and when enquired, she revealed the incident to them. The girl's family then lodged an FIR at Kampur police station on Friday. Hamid was nabbed soon after and a case (66/21) has been registered under section 376(lll) RW/Sec 6 of POCSO Act against Hamid.
Assam on Saturday logged 5,613 new cases of COVID-19, taking the active caseload in the state to 54,948. Today's positivity rate is 4.82 per cent. The new cases were reported out of 1,16,562 tests conducted in the last 24 hours. The state also registered 3,905 discharges and 77 deaths today. Of the new cases, Kamrup metro recorded 580 cases, 516 in Cachar, 352 in Dibrugarh and 338 in Kamrup Rural. The total deaths count district-wise are: Tinsukia (11), Cachar (7), Barpeta (5), Kamrup Metro (5), Nagaon (5), Dibrugarh (4), Karbi Anglong (4), Baksa (3), Darrang (3), Dhubri (3), Jorhat (3), Sivasagar (3), Sonitpur (3), Hailakandi (2), Hojai (2), Kamrup Rural (2), Karimganj (2), Lakhimpur (2), Morigaon (2), Biswanath (1), Bongaigaon (1), Charaideo (1), Dima Hasao (1), Golaghat (1) and South Salmara (1).
The Meghalaya government has extended the total lockdown in the East Khasi Hills district by another week, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said. The lockdown will be effective in the state capital as it is under the administrative control of the district. Tynsong said, "The total lockdown in East Khasi Hills district will continue from May 31 up to 5 am of June 7." The lockdown was first imposed in the district on May 5. Tynsong however informed that there will be some relaxation during the extended lockdown period.
The lockdown-like restrictions in Maharashtra on account of the coronavirus pandemic have been extended by 15 days but a fresh set of guidelines will be issued on June 1, health minister Rajesh Tope said. The Maharashtra state cabinet had taken the decision to extend the curbs on people's movement and businesses in force since mid-April in a meeting on Thursday. Tope while speaking to reporters said, "As far as lockdown is concerned, 15 days" extension has been given, but the guidelines related to it will be issued on June 1." No relaxation will be given in the areas where the number of patients and positivity rate are still high and hospital bed availability is an issue, he said. "But in the areas where the situation has improved, certain guidelines (easing the curbs) can beissued," he added. Asked if shops selling non-essential commodities will be allowed to open, he said all such decisions will be taken on June 1. On Thursday, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had said the restrictions will continue after June 1, and will be relaxed later in a phased manner.
India sees a dip in COVID-19 cases in the last 45 days with 1.73 lakh fresh cases and 3617 deaths. Active caseload further declined to 22,28,724 with active cases decreased by 1,14,428 in last 24 hours, said the Union Health Ministry. With 2,84,601 patients recovered during the last 24 hours, a total of 2,51,78,011 recoveries were reported across the country so far. The recovery rate increased to 90.80 per cent while the weekly positivity rate is currently at 9.84 per cent. There are a total of 2,77,29,247 cases in the country while 2,51,78,011 people have been discharged. The death toll is at 3,22,512 and 20,89,02,445 people have been vaccinated. As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 34,11,19,909 samples tested up to 28 May of which, 20,80,048 samples were tested yesterday.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) challenged Yoga guru Baba Ramdev for an open debate on a public platform over his defamatory statements against allopathy and defaming scientific medicine. In a letter to the spiritual leader, the IMA Uttarakhand President Dr. Ajay Khanna called his statement rash, irresponsible and selfish. The IMA letter to Baba Ramdev reads, "This is to inform you that IMA UA State through its state office request you to constitute a team of qualified and duly registered Ayurvedacharyas from Patanjali Yogpeeth to have a one-to-one discussion with a team of doctors of IMA UA State which has already been constituted by the state office. This one-to-one panel discussion shall be closely supervised and recorded by the electronic and print media which shall also be invited in this panel discussion." The letter further stated that Ramdev and his aide Balkrishna can also join the team of Ayurvedacharyas but only as spectators because they have not sent the qualification to the state office of the IMA.
The death toll in the Aligarh hooch tragedy went up to 22 on Saturday, while 28 more people are still in critical condition, an official said. The official said that seven people have died in the hooch tragedy since Friday night, and added that the condition of 28 people undergoing treatment at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital, AMU, and the Malkhan Singh District Hospital are critical. Locals fear the death toll can rise further as reports from several villages are still trickling in. On Friday, Additional District Magistrate (Finance) Vidhan Jaiswal said 15 people had died in villages falling under three separate police stations — Lodha, Khair, and Jawan. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithani told newspersons on Saturday that five people have been arrested so far, including Anil Chaudhary, the alleged kingpin of the spurious liquor racket. The police have booked 12 people in three different cases till now. Several raids were carried out in various parts of the district throughout the night and are still continuing.
Two active militants of the United Kuki Liberation Army (Military Council) have been arrested by troopers of Assam Rifles from Manipur's Churachandpur district. As per a report, the militants were involved in extortion activities in the region. Security forces, based on specific inputs, conducted an operation and nabbed the duo. During the operation, a printed and signed "demand" letter being used for illegal extortion was recovered along with 11 SP tablets. UKLA (MC) is a newly formed "non-Suspension of Operation (SoO)" insurgent group. The arrested UKLA (MC) militants have been identified as Letjakai Touthang, self-styled "finance secretary" of the outfit, and Sominhao Touthang, self-styled "home secretary". Both hail from Churachandpur district.
Nitika Kaul, the widow of Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal who was martyred in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, was commissioned in the Indian Army on Saturday. The ceremony was held at the Officers Training Academy in Tamil Nadu's Chennai. Kaul can be seen donning the olive green army uniform as she was commissioned into the Indian Army with commander of the Army's northern command Lt Gen Y K Joshi piping stars on her shoulders. The PRO Udhampur, Ministry of Defence shared the video of the same on Twitter. "#MajVibhutiShankarDhoundiyal, made the Supreme Sacrifice at #Pulwama in 2019, was awarded SC (P). Today his wife @Nitikakaul dons #IndianArmy uniform; paying him a befitting tribute. A proud moment for her as Lt Gen Y K Joshi, #ArmyCdrNC himself pips the Stars on her shoulders!," the PRO Udhampur wrote on twitter.
Former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla Mahanta has been admitted to a hospital in Guwahati for his deteriorating health. He was admitted to Guwahati's Downtown hospital today afternoon (Saturday). The former CM was discharged from All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) in Delhi just two day ago. As per a previous report, Mahanta was undergoing treatment for a health ailment. Notably, Mahanta suffered from a brain stroke last year in September. He was later released from the hospital after being recovered.
Defending champion Amit Panghal (52kg) and Shiva Thapa (64kg) stormed into the Asian Boxing Championship finals with resounding victories in the last-four stage in Dubai on Friday. While Panghal out-punched familiar foe Saken Bibossinov of Kazakhstan 5-0, Thapa, the first Indian boxer in the tournament history to secure five medals, dominated top-seeded defending champion Bakhodur Usmonov of Tajikistan to make the finals with a 4-0 verdict, reported Outlook India. However, tournament debutant and national champion Varinder Singh (60kg) settled for the bronze medal after a high-intensity clash against Iran's Daniyal Shahbakhsh. The Indian lost 2-3 after fighting his heart out, the report said. It further stated that Panghal was in top form as he took control with his sharp counter-attacks against the defensively weaker Bibossinov. The Kazakh is a world championship bronze-medallist and had lost to silver-winner Panghal in the semifinals of that event as well. The Indian played the waiting game to perfection as the third-seeded Bibossinov's plan to dazzle him with early aggression fell flat as the bout progressed.
