India

New Tehri, Apr 18 (PTI) Hoodwinking the authorities, 20 patients escaped from a COVID care centre at Narendra Nagar here, officials said here on Sunday.

The matter came to light when doctors visited the wards at the centres on Saturday night for a regular check-up, Chief Medical Superintendent Niraj Rai said.

Thirty-eight people were being treated there, of which 20 were found missing, said Chief Medical Officer Suman Arya.

Two of those who escaped belonged to Uttarakhand while the rest were from outside the state, she said.

Barrackpore/ Krishnanagar/Gaighata/ Tehatta (WB), Apr 18 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modis resignation for mishandling the COVID-19 second wave and alleged he had failed in prior planning to combat the medical crisis.

Asserting that Modi had done little to address the crisis in medical oxygen supplies and shortage of vaccines faced by states, she said the prime minister should have planned for the second wave of infections which have come now in the months after the first peak in September subsided.

Jammu, Apr 18 (PTI) 'Awaam Ki Awaaz', a radio programme in Jammu and Kashmir aimed at seeking public feedback to make the process of governance interactive, participatory and people-centric, went on the air on Sunday, an official spokesperson said.

The 30-minute programme, to be aired every third Sunday of the month, is an initiative of Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha.

Kolkata, Apr 18 (PTI) In a show of strength, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday held a roadshow in parts of south Kolkata considered to be her backyard.

Sitting in a wheelchair with her bandaged left foot, she led the padayatra from Dhakuria Bridge to Kalighat Crossing, covering a distance of over 5 km.

She was accompanied by TMC candidate for Rashbehari assembly constituency, Debashis Kumar, and other senior party leaders.

Bhopal, Apr 18 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday asked people to stay indoors till April 30 to break the chain of rising coronavirus infection.

The CM's appeal triggered speculation that the ongoing "corona curfew", which is in force in many parts of Madhya Pradesh till April 23, maybe extended till April 30.

"It is very necessary to break the chain of the coronavirus infection in view of the rise in the cases...No one should come out of house unnecessarily till April 30," Chouhan said in a statement.

Pune, Apr 18 (PTI) A 58-year-old Brigadier-rank Army officer allegedly committed suicide by jumping before a moving train at the Pune railway station on Sunday, railway police said.

The deceased, a male officer, was currently serving at the city-based Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), they said.

"The victim came to the railway station with his driver. Leaving the driver outside, he went to platform number 3 and jumped before the Udyan Express around 12.15 pm and died," Superintendent of Police (GRP), Sadanand Wayse-Patil, said.

Tezpur, Apr 18 (PTI) The Tezpur University in Assam directed the undergraduate and post-graduate students to leave the campus amid rising COVID-19 cases, officials said on Sunday.

The directive came as several COVID-19 cases were detected on the campus, they said.

The students are to vacate their rooms by April 23 with bags and baggage or leave their belongings in a safe place in the hostel at their own risk, said an official notification issued on Saturday.

Bahraich, Apr 18 (PTI) A case was registered against seven lab technicians attached to a hospital treating coronavirus patients as they failed to join duty after letters of appointment were issued to them, officials said on Sunday.

Project Officer of District Urban Development Agency Sanjay Singh said eight lab technicians were appointed at the hospital but seven of them did not join duty.

He said a case has been registered against them and new technicians have been appointed in their place.

Rishikesh, Apr 18 (PTI) Former Union minister and senior BJP leader Bachi Singh Rawat died at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences here on Sunday. He was 71.

Rawat was admitted to the hospital on Saturday after he complained of difficulty in breathing.

Medical Superintendent of AIIMS, BS Bastia, confirmed his death.

Rawat was brought in an air ambulance from Haldwani and was admitted to the emergency ward of the hospital.

Preliminary tests had revealed an infection in his lungs.

New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) A Delhi court has granted bail to actor-activist Deep Sidhu, who was arrested in connection with the Red Fort violence on Republic Day.

Special Judge Neelofer Abida Perveen granted relief to the accused on Friday on a personal bond of Rs 30,000 and two sureties of a like amount.