Union Minister Kishan Reddy meets T'gana BJP prez Bandi Sanjay in Karimnagar jail

 Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday met BJP's Telangana unit president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar at a jail in Karimnagar where the latter has been lodged following his arrest over a foiled protest.

Kishan Reddy called on Kumar and other BJP leaders, who have been arrested, at the Karimnagar district jail.

Kumar and others were "illegally charged and arrested", Kishan Reddy alleged. 

"Sri Sanjay garu & others are undeterred, and we're all committed to fight the draconian rule of KCR," he tweeted.

Kishan Reddy also visited Kumar's residence and camp office where he was taken into custody by police on Sunday night.

Sanjay Kumar was on Monday sent to 14-day judicial remand following his arrest after a foiled protest plan, with the BJP's national leadership dubbing the police action as "murder of democracy."

Kumar, Lok Sabha member from Karimnagar, was taken into custody on Sunday night when he planned to undertake a 'Jagarana' protest, a night vigil, in solidarity with teachers and other government employees against a state government order.

The order hurt the interests of the teachers and others vis-a-vis their transfers, Kumar alleged.

Earlier, on Sunday night, tension prevailed at the camp office of Kumar in Karimnagar when police forcibly entered it breaking open the office gates in the face of resistance from BJP activists.

Police had said there was no official request for permission to the planned protest and the gathering of the party workers was against the guidelines issued by the Central and state governments to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Saying that the protest was a peaceful event that was planned to be organised in accordance with the pandemic norms, Kumar had found fault with the state government over the police action.

Why were the COVID-19 norms not implemented in the events of ruling TRS leaders, he had asked. PTI SJR
[6:51 PM, 1/4/2022] Moumita Republic: Global road safety body urges govt not to convert AIIMS trauma centre into COVID-19 facility

New Delhi, Jan 4 (PTI) The International Road Federation (IRF) on Tuesday said Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre (JPNAT), which is part of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, should not be reconverted into the COVID-19 centre in the wake of the threat posed by the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

In March last year, JPNAT was converted into a full-fledged COVID-19 centre and normal trauma services were recently restored at the Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre (JPNAT), global road safety body IRF said in a statement.

The Federation said it has written to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya urging him to step in and not to allow reconversion of JPNAT into the COVID-19 centre.

IRF President Emeritus K K Kapila said, "The JPNAT trauma centre is essentially needed as this is the holistic trauma care centre which has become a world-famous level-I trauma care centre with an annual footfall of 70-80,000 (only injured patients)."

Kapila added that it has been the only centre in the country providing 24x7 quality patient care with all specialities catering to injured patients.

"The Centre also catered to complicated trauma victims referred from other hospitals, patients from central armed police forces injured in action, patients of mass and multiple casualty incidents," Kapila said.

India accounts for about 1.5 lakh road accident deaths per year, the highest in the world with more than 4.25 lakh injuries. The country annually needs trauma services more, the IRF said.