Eight more COVID-19 cases from IIT-Madras, tally now 191
Tamil Nadu govt orders Covid testing in all colleges
Chennai, Dec 15: Eight more people have tested positive for coronavirus on the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras campus here, taking the tally in the institution to 191, a senior health official said on Tuesday.
Out of the 978 samples lifted from the IIT-M since December 1, a total of 191 people have tested positive till date and results for 25 specimens alone were yet to be received, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary, J Radhakrishnan said.
From 104 on Monday, with the addition of 87 more positive cases, the IIT-M's COVID-19 tally stood at 191.
Six students have tested positive for the virus at Anna University too.
The Tamil Nadu government has intensified Covid testing on campuses and has ordered testing at all colleges and universities after the IIT-Madras break out.
For testing, as many as 539 samples were taken on Monday alone which includes workers in addition to students and from this batch, 79 tested positive, he said.
The overall positivity rate vis-a-vis the institution has however gone down to 15 per cent from about 20 per cent seen earlier, he said.
A majority of those affected were students and the rest being people like workers in canteens. All of them are being treated at the government-run King's Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research here.
Following the outbreak, the institute shut all its departments and classes were being held online.
Allaying fears over further spread of the virus in the area, the official told reporters that IIT-M was only a localised cluster.
Earlier, similar localised outbreaks were witnessed elsewhere like in a large textile store and in a gathering for a feast and hence, people should wear masks always without fail and follow all other norms to help prevent the virus spread, he said.
Testing would be done for those associated with facilities like canteens in educational institutions and mansions for early identification of positive cases and treatment, he said.
Media statement from #IITMadras - 14th December 2020 pic.twitter.com/atJSrxP1sR
— IIT Madras (@iitmadras) December 14, 2020
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
UP: Wrong spelling in ransom note help police crack staged kidnapping in Hardoi
Hardoi (UP) (PTI): Wrong spelling in a ransom note helped police crack a staged kidnapping in which a man tried to con his elder brother with a Rs 50,000 demand, officials said on Wednesday.
The incident came to light on January 5 when Sanjay Kumar, a contractor from Bandaraha village in Hardoi district, told police that he received a ransom note from an unknown number demanding Rs 5,000 for releasing his brother Sandeep (27) who was "kidnapped".
The note said if he failed to pay the amount, it would result in "deth" of his brother. Kumar also received a 13-second video clip in which his brother could be seen tied with a rope.
Superintendent of Police (SP), Neeraj Kumar Jadaun, said the wrong spelling of death in the ransom note -- spelled as "deth" -- gave clue that the person behind the act was not much educated.
Suspicion grew as Kumar did not have enmity with anyone, nor was the ransom amount that big, the SP said.
Tracking his mobile phone location, police traced Sandeep to Rupapur. During interrogation, police asked him to jot down a ransom note of his kidnapping, in which he again spelt death as "deth", the officer said.
Later, he confessed to staging his own abduction, saying he got the idea of extracting money from his brother after watching 'CID', a popular crime serial, the SP said.
Sandeep worked at cane purchase centre in Mirzapur, and recently his bike hit an elderly person in Sahabad on December 30, fracturing his leg. He was in need of money as the other party was demanding compensation from him, the officer said, adding that the accused has been arrested.
