COVID infections in Karnataka breach seven lakh mark with 10,517 fresh cases
Bengaluru:The coronavirus infections in Karnataka breached the seven lakh mark with 10,517 fresh cases on Saturday whereas 102 fatalities took the death toll to 9,891.
The cumulative count in the state now stood at 7,00,786 comprising 5,69,947 discharges including 8,337 today. Active cases stood at 1,20,929 including 892 in the ICU.
There were as many as 1,12,770 tests done on Saturday including 48,403 Rapid Antigen Detection Tests taking the total tests done so far to 58.52 lakh, the health department said.
Bengaluru led the spike in cases with 4,563 fresh cases and 30 deaths.
Cumulatively, the city has reported 2,76,934 infections, 3,320 deaths, 2,08,702 discharges including 1,726 on Saturday and 64,911 active cases comprising 349 in ICU.
According to the health department bulletin, Belagavi district in North Karnataka bordering Maharashtra emerged as a second major contributor today with 515 fresh infections.
The department said 465 cases were reported in Mysuru, 455 in Hassan, 447 in Chitradurga, 374 in Tumakuru, 345 in Davangere, 316 in Dakshina Kannada, 259 in Shivamogga, 248 in Mandya, 241 in Chikkamagaluru, 237 in Udupi, 225 in Ballari, 224 in Bengaluru Rural and 216 in Kodagu.
Cases were also reported, in Bagalkote, Bidar, Chamarajanagar, Chikkaballapura, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Kalaburagi, Kolar, Koppal, Raichur, Ramanagara, Uttara Kannada, Vijayapura and Yadgir districts. In terms of fatalities, Mysuru stood next to Bengaluru with 13 deaths.
Seven deaths were reported in Koppal, six in Hassan, four each in Haveri, Kalaburagi and Dakshina Kannada, three each in Ballari, Chamarajanagara, Chitradurga, Dharwad and Kolar.
The bulletin said five deaths occurred in Koppal, four each in Shivamogga and Kodagu, three each in Ballari, Hassan and Tumakuru and two each in Mandya, Kalaburagi and Dakshina Kannada.
One fatality each was reported in Bagalkote, Chamarajanagara, Dharwad, Haveri and Vijayapura.
While a majority of those who died of coronavirus were above 50 years, there were people in their thirties and forties too who succumbed to the infection.
Most of those who died of coronavirus had Severe Acute Respiratory Illness, or Influenza Like Illness.
The health department said as of Saturday over 1.22 lakh people were home quarantined in the last one week whereas in the past 14 days, 5.44 lakh primary contacts and 3.38 lakh secondary contacts were traced.
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BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
