Mandaviya directs high alertness, aggressive genome sequencing as Covid cases spike in Asia, Europe
New Delhi, Mar 16: Amid a rise in Covid cases in some European and East Asian countries, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday directed officials to maintain a high level of alertness and surveillance, and carry out genomic sequencing aggressively.
At a high-level meeting, chaired by the minister, the government's decision of resuming scheduled international flights from March 27, the vaccination situation and the level of genomic surveillance were reviewed.
"Given the rising cases in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam and some European countries, a high-level meeting was held by the Union health minister with senior government officials and experts.
"The minister has directed aggressive genomic sequencing, heightened surveillance and a high level of alertness," an official source said.
Senior government officials including Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, Department of Biotechnology secretary Dr Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals S Aparna, NITI Aayog member (Health) V K Paul, ICMR Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava and AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria and Dr N K Arora, the chairman of the COVID-19 working group of NTAGI, attended the meeting.
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Chhattisgarh: Couple, two grandchildren killed over 'property' dispute; two relatives held
Janjgir (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): An elderly couple and their two grandchildren were allegedly murdered by two close relatives to grab family property in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district, police said on Thursday.
The couple’s one son, who had earlier spent 15 years in jail for killing his own brother, and his son have been taken into custody in connection with the murders, an official said.
The bodies were found inside their under-construction house in Bhanvtara village under the jurisdiction of the Shivrinarayan police station after labourers reached the site for work in the morning, a senior police official said.
The deceased were identified as Medani Prasad Kashyap (70), his wife Kanti Bai (65), their grandchildren Pitambar Kashyap (17) and Mogra (25).
The deceased couple’s son, Sonsai, and his son Dakeshwar have been taken into custody in connection with the murders, the official said.
According to the preliminary investigation, Medani Prasad had three sons, including Sonsai. Police said Sonsai had murdered one of his brothers in the past and had served a 15-year jail term in the case, while the couple’s third son had reportedly died by suicide.
Sonsai and his son Dakeshwar, alias Golu, allegedly killed his parents and the children of his two deceased brothers with an axe while they were asleep in the under-construction house, he said.
Pitambar was the only son of one deceased brother, while Mogra was the only daughter of another, the official said.
The accused allegedly wanted sole ownership of the family property and are suspected of having committed the crime to eliminate other claimants, police said.
A case has been registered, and further investigation is underway, the official added.
