VADODARA: The son of former MLA Hirabhai Patel, from Lunawada in Mahisagar district, was held with a stash of Indian Made Foreign Liquor from Vadagam in Khanpur taluka of Mahisagar district. The accused had entered into a quarrel with a man in Vadagam and when police reached the spot, it found a high-end car with a plaque ‘MLA Gujarat’ loaded with liquor at the site. The police were called to the residence of Jaswant Patel in Vadagam after two youths including Hirabhai’s son Maharshi Patel and one Shubham Mahajan came to Jaswant’s residence on Monday evening. They had threatened Jaswant over the phone and then came to his residence in an inebriated condition. The accused had come to the village in a white SUV. On checking the car, the villagers and police found a bottle of Scotch whisky and several bottles of other alcoholic beverages. In all, 39 liquor bottles worth Rs 6,100 were found in the car. The plaque with the writing ‘MLA Gujarat’ had been placed on the dashboard of the car. On being questioned, the duo revealed that they had brought the liquor from Rajasthan for their consumption. Maharshi claimed that the car was being used by him, but could not produce documents of the car on Monday evening and hence the car was seized. A separate offence was registered against the duo for beating and threatening Jaswant. Hirabhai was elected on a Congress ticket to the assembly, but joined the BJP recently.
A BJP leader, a minor boy and a deputy sarpanch were among the 41 people arrested after a police raid at a liquor party at Kanjan-Hari village in Valsad district late Sunday. The police also seized 25 litres of IMFL bottles worth Rs 15000, five cars and mobile phones, all worth Rs 35 lakh, in the raid.BJP leader and Valsad taluka Sarpanch Sangh President Vinod Patel and the deputy sarpanch of Nanakwada village were among those arrested and produced before Valsad district Court Tuesday afternoon.Valsad town police station inspector D M Dhol said, ”We have produced all the arrested before the court for obtaining police remand. Vinod Patel had, in his statements to police, mentioned that he had brought liquor from different wine shops in Daman. We are waiting to get the court’s order for obtaining a police remand of the main accused persons in this case.”All the arrested were attending a party hosted by Patel—also the sarpanch of Nanakwada village—Sunday late night. Liquor was also served to the guest, said the police.
More than 600 workers of the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) from Dahod, Narmada, Chhota Udepur and Vadodara districts joined the BJP Tuesday at Gandhinagar in the presence of Gujarat BJP President CR Paatil.Dahod, which saw over 400 workers from the Congress and a few from AAP and BTP, also had eight councillors from the Jhalod Municipality, including President Sonal Dindor from the Congress, jump over to the BJP.The others include Dala Vasaiya, Khuman Mansinh Damor, Parsinh Damor and independent councillors Bhavesh Katara, Sukhram Milwad, Zakir Kanuga and Shankar Katara, among others. Dindor and Vasaiya were among the Congress councillors who had, in August 2020, voted in favour of the BJP in the election to Jhalod Municipality’s Presidential post, thus causing a furore. Soon, as Jhalod BJP President Hiren Patel was killed in an alleged case of contract killing, Dindor and Vasaiya submitted a memorandum to the district police citing ” threat to life”.A senior BJP leader said, “The party has welcomed strong workers to the fold… This is not just in preparation for the upcoming Assembly polls but also because it allows the BJP to strengthen its ground in these tribal districts, especially Narmada, Dahod and Chhota Udepur, where the Congress has traditionally been on a strong foot. Although the 2021 local body polls were in favour of the BJP in the districts, it will bring a major impact in the Assembly elections to have these strong leaders into the fold.”Additionally, Dahod Taluka Congress president Suresh Baka-liya as well as former General Secr-etary of Youth Congress Nikunj Meda and Vice-President of Dahod district Congress Mitesh Yadav joined the BJP. Valsinh Munia, son of former Congress MLA Virji Munia, along with Sanjeli Sarpanch Mavji Rawat , Singwad taluka Congress member Dipak Parmar and Veena Bhuriya from Garbada also joined the BJP.AAP leader Dhavalsinh Bhuriya as well as BTP President of Dahod Ajay Katara along with leader Nilesh Bamaniya joined the BJP. Nazimuddin Gangardiwala of the Congress city unit also joined the BJP. He even replaced his skull cap with the new saffron topi of the party at the event. Another leader, Sabur Sultan Tadvi, also joined the BJP.In Chhota Udepur, district Congress President Umesh Shah, along with his brother and President of Chhota Udepur Traders’ association, Dipesh Shah, joined the BJP. Former Congress district president Yashpal Rathwa, also the director of APMC, also joined the BJP. From Vadodara, former MS University senate member and trader Bipin Patel, Hitendra Gohil, Sandeep Bhagat, Wasim Malik (Sarpanch of Kia), Indravadan Bhagat and Sudha Patel from Kandari joined the BJP.Membership songGujarat BJP Tuesday launched a song prepared for its membership enrolment drive. The Gujarati song hails the party and its current top leadership.
Ahead of the Assembly polls in the state scheduled later this year, a meet was held between Gujarat Congress leaders and senior party officials in New Delhi on Monday.According to party officials, senior party leaders from state including Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Jagdish Thakor, Gujarat incharge Raghu Sharma, Leader of Opposition Sukhram Rathva, senior leaders Arjun Modhwadia, Deepak Babaria and spokesperson Manish Doshi were summoned to party headquarters in New Delhi.“An important meet in context of the coming elections began on Monday evening with senior party leaders such as All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi, KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken, Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Singh Surejwala and Jairam Ramesh,” said a senior official of Gujarat Congress.
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat reported 419 Covid-19 cases and one death on Monday, which took the tally to 12,34,117 and the toll to 10,948, a state health department official said. So far, 12,19,657 persons have recovered, including 454 during the day, leaving the state with an active caseload of 3,512, he added. The official said Ahmedabad reported 155 new cases, Surat 96, Vadodara 40, Mehsana 19 and Bhavnagar 17, among other districts, while the lone death took place in Mehsana. A government release said 43,981 persons got vaccine jabs on Monday, which took the overall number of doses administered in the state to 11.15 crore. The adjoining Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu has 13 active cases, a local official said.
AHMEDABAD: The city on Sunday recorded 203 new Covid positive cases, an 11.4% drop compared to 229 on Saturday. For Gujarat, the drop was 21.4% — from 580 on Saturday to 456 on Sunday. Other cases included 86 from Surat city, 38 from Vadodara city, 13 each from Bhavnagar city, Kutch, Mehsana, Navsari, 12 from Valsad, 11 from Surat, and 10 from Gandhinagar city. With the discharge of 156 patients, the active cases in Ahmedabad reached 1,536, whereas for Gujarat the figure was 3,548. Out of 33 districts, four have zero active cases, whereas seven have more than 100 active cases. Most of the cases are concentrated in the urban areas primarily with higher testing. In the past 24 hours, Gujarat vaccinated 937 persons for the first dose and 4,423 for the second. In all, 5.41 crore were administered the first and 5.34 crore, the second dose of Covid vaccine. The state administered booster doses to 7,012 persons, taking the total to 40.94 lakh.
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat on Sunday reported 456 Covid-19 cases, which took the tally to 12,33,698, while the death toll remained unchanged at 10,947, a state health department official said. The recovery count increased by 386 during the day and reached 12,19,203, leaving the state with an active caseload of 13,548, he added. He said Ahmedabad led with 207 cases, followed by 97 in Surat, 41 in Vadodara, 15 Bhavnagar, among other districts. A government release said 11.15 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Gujarat so far, including 12,372 on Sunday. Two new Covid-19 cases were reported in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, raising its tally of active cases to seven, local officials said. Gujarat's Covid-19 figures are as follows: Positive cases 12,33,698, new cases 456, death toll 10,947, discharged 12,19,203, active cases 3,548, people tested so far - figures not released.
Gujarat on Saturday reported 580 COVID-19 cases, which took the tally to 12,33,242, while the death toll remained unchanged at 10,947, a state health department official said.The recovery count increased by 391 during the day to touch 12,18,817, leaving the state with an active caseload of 3,478, he said.Ahmedabad reported 236 new cases, the highest in the state, followed by Surat with 106 cases, Vadodara 36 and Mehsana 29 cases, among other districts, he added. A government release said 11.15 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far, including 39,438Saturday.
AHMEDABAD: The active Covid-19 cases in Gujarat rose to 3,042 after 126 days or more than four months on Thursday with 547 new cases and 419 discharges being recorded across the state. Ahmedabad accounted for 43% of the active case tally with 1,318 cases. The city recorded 222 fresh cases and the discharge of 184 patients. According to the state health department, 82 cases were reported from Surat city, 46 from Vadodara city, 22 from Valsad, 18 each from Mehsana and Navsari, and 16 from Gandhinagar city.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel tested positive for Covid-19 Wednesday and has been isolated at home with mild symptoms, sources in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said.“He (the CM) was having mild symptoms yesterday (Tuesday) following which he got himself tested. Today, the result came positive. He has got himself home isolated,” the source said.The development has put a question mark on the CM’s attendance at the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Ahmedabad scheduled Friday. As a tradition, the CM flags off the Rath Yatra while performing the Pahind Vidhi ritual.“The CM has tested positive for Covid-19. But he is fine and home-isolated. About attending the Rath Yatra, he will be following the advice of the doctors,” an official in the CMO said.Meanwhile, CM Patel Wednesday virtually reviewed the alertness and preparation of the Gujarat police to ensure that the 145th Rath Yatra is carried out in Ahmedabad in a safe and harmonious manner.An official release from the CMO stated that Patel participated in a video-conference that was also attended by Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi, and police commissioners of four metro cities and superintendents of police of all the districts. Chief Principal Secretary to the CM K Kailashnathan, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajkumar, and Director General of Police Ashish Bhatia were also present in the virtual review meeting.As per the release, the CM also gave suggestions for maintenance of law and order in the state while keeping in mind the developments in neighbouring states.As per the state government’s daily bulletin on Covid-19, Gujarat recorded 529 new cases Wednesday. With that, the total number of active Covid-19 cases in the state is 2,914.Out of the total 529 fresh cases, Ahmedabad city reported the maximum cases at 220, followed by Surat (79) and Vadodara (53).
