"He was forced to take them": Warne's son says COVID vaccines caused legend's death
Sydney, Apr 13 (PTI): Four years after Shane Warne's death left the cricketing world in shock, his son Jackson has asserted that the spin legend's demise was probably caused by the "three or four" COVID vaccines that he was "forced to take for work."
Speaking on '2 Worlds Collide podcast', Jackson, however, also acknowledged that his father had underlying health issues. Warne was 52 when he died in Thailand in 2022 after suffering a heart attack.
"I definitely think that it (COVID vaccine) was involved. I don't even think saying that is controversial anymore. Even if dad had underlying health issues, I think this brought it out right to the surface and that's one thing that I've always struggled with," Jackson said.
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"My first impression, as soon as I hung up the phone (after receiving the news of Warne's death), I instantly blamed the government. I instantly blamed COVID and the vaccine."
Jackson said he barely managed to stop himself from vocalising his exact thoughts at the memorial service.
"It was probably smart I didn't, I would be in a very different position if I did. But that was how I felt," Jackson said.
"Yes, a lot of people were dying of heart attacks before. But dad was okay, I think he might have got three or four (vaccine doses), he didn't want to get them, he was forced to get them for work. He was forced to get them like everybody else," he asserted.
"...I try not to think about it too much because all that does is fester into anger. That anger is not good for anybody," he added.
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Giving an insight into the lifestyle of his father, who was known to be indulgent, Jackson said it was relatively healthy despite the smoking and drinking.
"Dad, at the time, was healthy, he was happy. He looked the best he had in a while. Yes, he smoked and drank, but so many more people in their 80s and 90s still smoke and drink a lot more than dad," he said.
Warne had contracted COVID a few months before his death during his 2021 coaching stint with The Hundred event in England.
However, he was not known to have any major ailment at the time of his stunning demise.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
