Uttarakhand CM, three other ministers in self-quarantine after colleague tests positive
Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat and three cabinet colleagues were in self-quarantine Monday following a meeting last week with Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj, who has tested positive for coronavirus.
Satpal Maharaj, his wife and 21 other people family members, staff and his followers staying in the same household have tested positive, an official said on Sunday.
On Friday, Satpal Maharaj had attended a meeting of the state cabinet.
The state health department said there was no need for the ministers and officials who attended Friday's meeting to isolate themselves, going by the Centre's guidelines.
"The ministers and officials fall into the category of low risk contacts as they were not in close contact with Satpal Maharaj. They can function in a normal way and there is no need to quarantine them," state Health Secretary Amit Negi said.
But the CM and the three other ministers -- Harak Singh Rawat, Madan Kaushik and Subodh Uniyal -- decided to remain in self- quarantine as a precautionary measure, an official at the Chief Minister's Office said.
"They will remain in self- quarantine at least for the next few days during which they will be tested for COVID-19," he said.
"Whether or not they resume normal day-to-day functions in a few days will depend on what their test reports say," he said.
Satpal Maharaj's wife Amrita Rawat tested positive for the infection on Saturday.
Their two sons, daughters-in-law and a one-and-a-half-year-old grandson were among the others found infected with the virus on Sunday.
Amrita Rawat, a former state minister, was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh on Sunday morning.
The minister and some other members of the family too are kept there, an AIIMS official told PTI.
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Nashik court sends ‘godman’ Kharat to 3-day police custody in 7th sexual exploitation case
Nashik (PTI): A court in Maharashtra's Nashik has remanded self-styled astrologer-cum-godman Ashok Kharat to police custody till April 29 in the seventh case of sexual exploitation registered against him.
Kharat, a former Merchant Navy officer arrested on March 18, is accused of sexually exploiting several women and indulging in large-scale financial fraud by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic.
In the seventh case, Kharat sexually exploited a married woman who had approached him in search of solutions to her family problems.
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The accused allegedly gave the woman something to drink, sexually assaulted her while her husband sat outside his office and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing into 12 cases of sexual exploitation and financial fraud registered against Kharat in Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts, on Sunday filed a request application in the court demanding his custody in the seventh case.
Kharat was produced in court for a virtual hearing in the seventh case on Monday.
The prosecution demanded six-day police custody for Kharat, citing the discovery of a locker in Kharat's house during the investigation, from which the police recovered two blank cheques and other documents, all of which have to be probed.
The court agreed to the prosecution's demand and remanded Kharat to three-day police custody till April 29 in the case.
Kharat has been at the centre of a political firestorm, as he was well-connected, and photographs of him with political leaders and other important members of society have been surfacing in mainstream and social media since his arrest.
