“Need 10 boxes of cigarettes delivered to my home” man asks journalist helping with oxygen and beds
Bengaluru: At a time when the country is worst affected by the deadly second-wave of Coronavirus activists, NGOs, Journalists and others have stepped in to help people in distress. They are using social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram to take distress call from people and to help them.
On Saturday India witnessed nearly 3.5 lakh cases across the country. With cases piling up the state governments have also resorted to night curfews and weekend curfews in their respective states to curb the spread of the virus.
While many are following the COVID protocols of staying at home, some of them are mocking and trolling people who are out on the ground to cover stories, help people in distress, and others.
In one such incident shared by a journalist working with The News Minute, Prajwal shared a screenshot of his Instagram messages where a person was seen asking him to deliver 10 boxes of cigarettes to his home as nobody was delivering it.
“Need 10 boxes of Malbaro lights. Delivered to my home rn. Nobody is delivering” (SIC) the user wrote in his message. (Marlboro lights is a brand of cigarettes)
Prajwal took to his Twitter account and share the screenshot without naming the person who sent him the message and urged people to not do it.
“Please don't do this. I am working on stories and sending emergency requests for oxygen, hospital beds to volunteer teams. Read the situation outside” Prajwal wrote in the tweet.
People on Twitter asked Prajwal to name the person or to share his account ID.
Please don't do this. I am working on stories and sending emergency requests for oxygen, hospital beds to volunteer teams. Read the situation outside ?? pic.twitter.com/wt3uHoX3g2
— Prajwal (@prajwalmanipal) April 24, 2021
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SC seeks ED's response on journalist's bail plea in money laundering case
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file its response within three days on a bail plea of journalist Mahesh Langa in a money laundering case linked to an alleged financial fraud.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the jailed journalist, to file rejoinder, if needed, to the ED's response within two days of it being filed.
The top court fixed the case for further hearing on December 15.
During the brief hearing on Monday, Sibal said a journalist has been facing as many as six cases.
"The journalist is accused of extortion," the counsel for the ED said and sought a short adjournment on the ground that Solicitor General Tuhar Mehta was unavailable at the moment.
The top court on September 8 sought responses from the Gujarat government and the ED on Langa's bail plea.
While issuing the notices on Langa's bail plea, the bench asked, "What kind of a journalist is he?"
"With due respect, there are some very genuine journalists. But there are also people who on their scooter say we are 'patrakar' (journalists) and what they actually do everybody knows," the bench told Sibal.
Sibal replied that these are all allegations.
"In one FIR, he gets anticipatory bail, then a second FIR is lodged and again anticipatory bail is granted but now he is booked under a third FIR for income tax evasion. There are other things also against him," Sibal submitted.
He added that there is a background to the case also.
On July 31, the Gujarat High Court rejected Langa's bail plea in the money laundering case on the grounds that if released on bail, prejudice would be caused to the prosecution case.
On February 25, the ED said it arrested Langa in a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged financial fraud.
He was first arrested in October 2024 in a GST fraud case.
The money laundering case against Langa stems from two FIRs filed by Ahmedabad police on charges of fraud, criminal misappropriation, criminal breach of trust, cheating and causing wrongful loss of lakhs of rupees to certain people.
