Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis infections, though rare, are fatal and 97% of the patients don’t survive. Image for representation purposes only. File
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

The story so far:

A12-year-old boy E.P. Mridul from Feroke in Kozhikode district of Kerala, who had been undergoing treatment for primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM) at a private hospital, died on Wednesday night.

Also Read | Unhygienic water, mercury rise may be behind ‘brain-eating amoeba’ cases in Kerala

This is the third death due to the rare and fatal infection in the past two months in the State. V. Dakshina, 13, of Kannur died of the infection at a private hospital in Kozhikode on June 12. Fadva, 5, of Munniyur in Malappuram, died at the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, on May 20.

What is PAM?

PAM is caused by Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that thrives in warm freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers. It can also survive in poorly maintained swimming pools in rare cases. Because it can infect the brain and destroy the tissues, this one-celled organism is also called ‘brain-eating amoeba’. These infections, though rare, are fatal and 97% of the patients don’t survive.

How does the amoeba infect people?

The infection happens when people go for a swim in lakes, ponds or rivers, during summer. Experts say that it could occur if the atmospheric temperature is high and the water levels are low. The amoeba enters the body through the nose and reaches up to the brain. It destroys brain tissues and causes their swelling. In recent cases, children are found more vulnerable to it.

What are the symptoms of PAM?

According to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States, headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting are its early symptoms. The progress can happen rapidly. Stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, and hallucinations are the later symptoms. Most people die within one to 18 days. It usually leads to coma and death after five days, says the CDC.

How is it diagnosed and what are the treatment methods available?

The infection can be diagnosed through lab tests. However since it is a rare infection, the detection can sometimes be hard. In Kozhikode, the doctors at the Government Medical College Hospital suspected its possibility in the five-year-old girl from Malappuram after she exhibited symptoms similar to that of bacterial meningitis. There are no standard treatment methods available in the country and the doctors are following the guidelines of the CDC now.

Varkala (Kerala):

A man set his wife and son on fire before immolating himself over an alleged family dispute here, police said.

The man hailing from nearby Chemmaruthi succumbed to burns on Sunday.

His wife and son were admitted to the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College with severe burn injuries and their condition was stated to be serious.

“We suspect that the man died by suicide the crime due to some family dispute. It can be ascertained only after taking statements of the victims,” a police officer said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kollam (Kerala):

A man allegedly murdered his wife and daughter by giving them some poisonous substance first and then slitting their throats before attempting to kill himself in Paravur, in Kerala’s southern district of Kollam, on Tuesday.

The accused, Sreeju, a 46-year-old man from Poothakkulam, also tried to kill his elder son Sreerag (17) by cutting his throat and later attempted to kill himself by piercing his vein on his hand, Paravur police said.

Both the father and son were found this morning in critical condition at their house and rushed to a nearby hospital, they said.

The incident is suspected to have taken place on Monday night, and the motionless bodies of Preetha (39) and Sreenandha (12) were found in the house by relatives living nearby, a senior police officer said.

Having received no response from anyone when called, relatives broke open the door to the house. When they entered the house, they found the bleeding bodies of the family of four.

“The wife, daughter, and son suffered cuts to their throats. We suspect that the wife and daughter were also given some poisonous substance, but we can confirm it only after the pathology report comes out,” the officer told PTI.

A surgery was performed on Sreerag at a private hospital here, the officer said, but didn’t disclose details about his health condition.

Though Sreeju, the accused, was rushed to the Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram, his condition is yet to stabilise, he said.

Quoting their relatives, police said financial difficulties are suspected to be behind the killings and attempted suicide.

Sreeju is a mason by profession, and Preetha was working at a local cooperative bank in the district.

A detailed investigation is underway, police added

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor
| Photo Credit: PTI

Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Shashi Tharoor, MP, appeared to have put his party in an awkward spot by purportedly referring to Hamas as a terrorist organisation at the mammoth rally organised by the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) in Kozhikode on October 26, 2023 to proclaim solidarity with the Palestine cause.

Congress leadership in Kerala was yet to react to the contentious usage, which drew onstage criticism from IUML leaders M.K. Muneer, MLA, and M.P. Abdussamad Samadani. Both termed their opposition to Israel’s expansionist policies in Gaza and the West Bank as “legitimate resistance.”

(IUML is a staunch Congress ally and a prominent constituent in the United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition in Kerala.)

‘Speech cherry-picked’

On October 27 (Friday), Mr. Tharoor denied the imputation. He said some quarters had cherry-picked his speech to inject parochial politics into a global humanitarian cause. He said the address was solidly and unequivocally pro-Palestine when viewed in its entirety.

IUML national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikutty, MLA, sought to end the row. He welcomed Mr. Tharoor’s clarification and said provincial politics had no bearing on the IUML’s decision to rally public opinion in favour of Palestine’s oppressed, starved, and terrorised people.

He said the IUML had invited Mr. Tharoor as the chief guest to the rally in recognition of his global experience and international stature. The IUML would defeat efforts to rob the pro-Palestine rally’s relevance, political message and sheen.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretariat member M. Swaraj was bitingly critical of Mr. Tharoor’s speech.

In a Facebook post, Mr. Swaraj alleged that Mr. Tharoor had used the IUML’s public platform to relay his solidarity with Israel.

“Mr. Tharoor appeared to imply somewhat reductively that the incendiary Palestine problem had its genesis in Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7. And the current genocidal attacks on the besieged people of Palestine were Israel’s legitimate response. Mr. Tharoor seemed pointedly disinclined to term Israel a terrorist nation”, wrote Mr. Swaraj.

Left independent legislator and a sharp critic of the IUML, K.T. Jaleel, MLA, said the IUML rally seemed to express solidarity with expansionist and imperialistic Israel and its backers instead of solidly rallying behind the tyrannised and terrorised people of Palestine.

CPI(M) State secretary M. V. Govindan seemed to take a relatively softer line, given the party’s outreach to minority communities to whittle the electoral prospects of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and its empathy towards the anti-BJP INDIA bloc opposition partnership.

Mr. Govindan seemed reluctant to confront Mr. Tharoor by stating that the Congress leader had “explained.”

Mr. Govindan also seemed to pussyfoot around whether the party viewed Hamas as a terrorist outfit. He merely said the CPI(M) stance on the Palestine question was clear.

Last week, Mr. Govindan had fielded the same question by stating that he would not elaborate on Hamas’s “class nature.”

“I am not going to elaborate on the class nature of Hamas. The CPI(M) is concerned about the rights of the Palestinian people. Communists reckon them as an oppressed class and exiles in their land. A hostile Israel has hedged in Palestine from three sides. Palestinians have only the sea to flee to,” Mr. Govindan had said.

Suresh Gopi’s support

Mr. Tharoor found some support in BJP leader Suresh Gopi, who termed Hamas a terrorist organisation inimical to the welfare of Palestinians. “Mr. Tharoor would not make an off-the-cuff statement”, Mr. Gopi said.

BJP State president K. Surendran appeared to take a harsher line against Mr. Tharoor and the IUML. He called the rally an open display of support for Hamas, a terrorist outfit that massacred Israeli civilians.

“Mr. Tharoor had no business attending the rally that went against the grain of India’s stance on the issue in the United Nations”, Mr. Surendran said.

The investigation team believes that the racket has links with more drug-peddling groups across Kerala. (Picture for representational purposes only)
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

The special squad of the Ernakulam Assistant Excise Commissioner investigating the case registered in connection with the recent haul of 350 g of MDMA suspects a racket run by Keralites camped in the neighbouring States behind it.

Four persons – Susymol M. Sunny, aka ‘Thumbipennu’, 24, of Chingavanam in Kottayam, Ameer Suhail, 23, of Chengamanad, Ajmal K.A., aka Ajippai, 24, of Malippuram South, and Elroy Varghese, 21, of Angamaly – were nabbed from Stadium Link Road in Kochi,, Kerala, as they had turned up for an alleged deal earlier in October.

“The racket is run by Malayalis camped mainly in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and we are in the process of gathering evidence to move against them. We have details of at least two persons suspected to be part of the racket though we will need evidence to arraign them as accused in the case,” said Excise officers.

The investigation team believes that the racket has links with more drug-peddling groups across Kerala for whom they source drugs, though details about the exact network can be ascertained only after the racket is busted and more arrests are made. They are suspected to be mostly into synthetic drugs. While Excise also suspects their involvement in ganja, no evidence was as yet available to prove this, they said.

Money trail

Excise is also after the money trail and is in the process of gathering information from banks. The accused in the instant case were taken to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka after securing their custody. The accused had since been returned to judicial custody. “We have elicited as much information as possible from them. We may not need their further custody,” said sources.

Initially, there were reports that a man, identified as Sachin and who went by the name ‘Commander’, was the key link between the racket and those arrested. However, Excise sources now clarify that no such person was involved and this was probably a false lead.

K.B. Ganesh Kumar
| Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA

The Kerala High Court on October 27, 2023 (Friday) dismissed a petition filed by K.B. Ganesh Kumar, MLA, seeking to quash a criminal case registered against him in connection with the alleged conspiracy to name the late Congress leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in a sexual assault case.

The case was registered against the MLA on a private complaint filed by Congress activist and advocate Sudheer Jacob before the Kottarakara First Class Judicial Magistrate Court. In his complaint, Mr. Jacob had alleged that Mr. Ganesh Kumar and others had produced a forged letter before the Solar Enquiry Commission purportedly written on July 19, 2013 by the prime accused in the solar cheating case, levelling sexual assault charges against Oommen Chandy.

He pointed out that the letter produced before the commission was a fabricated one. It was fabricated as part of a criminal conspiracy hatched by them against the then Chief Minister, other Ministers and political leaders, Mr. Jacob alleged.

The magistrate court while admitting the complaint had held that there was prima facie evidence to take cognizance of the complaint against Mr. Ganesh Kumar and others under Section 193 (giving or fabricating false evidence), 182 (false information, with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person), 469 (forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy).

‘Abuse of process of court’

Mr. Ganesh Kumar said in his petition that the proceedings against the petitioner were an abuse of the process of the court. The Solar Enquiry Commission had not found that the letter was a forged one and the Magistrate could not decide whether the letter was genuine or not as per law. The proceedings before the Magistrate amounted to appealing against a report submitted by the Solar Enquiry Commission which is not permitted as per law. Besides, the complaint did not make out any offences against him, he contended.

Hence, he sought to quash the proceedings pending before the magistrate court.

Kerala Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has opened a new battlefront against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government by accusing the Health department of imperilling public health by allegedly distributing medicines past their expiry date to commoners seeking medical care in public-funded hospitals.

Leaning on a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report, Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan on Tuesday alleged politically sanctioned big-ticket corruption in the Kerala Medical Services Corporation (KMSC) responsible for large-scale procurement of essential drugs. The agency violated norms by purchasing medicine approaching the lapse date to help pharmaceutical companies expend unused stocks in reciprocation for outsize backhanders.

He said that government rules mandated that the KMSC only purchase medicines with a minimum expiry period of three years. However, the KMSC violated the norms in the procurement of 1,610 batches of medicine. It distributed drugs that passed their validity date through at least 26 public hospitals, jeopardising the health of trusting patients.

Mr. Satheesan also alleged that the KMSC purchased drugs of dubious quality that drug inspectors had not cleared for sale for distribution through 483 government hospitals. Quoting the CAG report, Mr. Satheesan also alleged that the KSMC issued drugs prohibited for sale to patients through 148 government hospitals. A big pharma had found a conduit in the KSMC to channel expired and banned drugs to the unsuspecting public.

He said the modus operandi the KSMC used for corruption was simple. The companies sold the medicines to the KSMC at 10% to 20% of their market value.

“For one, the KSMC would pay the actual cost of the medicine to Big Pharma, which, in turn, would reroute 80% of the remittance to officials responsible for green-lighting the tender agreement as a bribe,” Mr. Satheesan said.

Mr. Satheesan said the wrongdoing flagged by the CAG was the tip of the iceberg. . He alleged that the KMSC had brazenly violated quality control norms at the cost of public health.

The police inspecting the house at Ammanapara. near Pariyaram. in Kannur where a four-member gang robbed 10 sovereigns of gold after tying up a 63-year-old woman on the night of October 19, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A four-member gang robbed 10 sovereigns of gold after tying up a 63-year-old woman in her house at Pariyaram in Kannur district of Kerala on October 19 night.

Only the woman and two children were at the house at the time of the incident. The children were upstairs and were unaware of the robbery. They found the women tied up and her mouth plastered only the following day morning. The woman is their aunt.

According to the police, the masked gang entered the house of Dr. Shakir at Ammanpara after breaking a window. The doctor and his wife had left for Thiruvananthapuram around 11 p.m. that day. The robbery took place after their departure.

The police have registered a case in connection with the incident. A forensic team reached the spot and started an investigation.

A few weeks ago, burglars broke into another house in the area and stole over 25 sovereign of gold. The police are yet to catch the culprits.

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on October 20 quashed the show-cause notice issued by the Kerala government to Ciza Thomas, former Principal, Government Engineering College, Thiruvananthapuram, for taking over the additional charge of Vice-Chancellor of APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) without the permission of the government, on the instruction of Chancellor (Governor) Arif Mohammed Khan.

The Bench comprising Justice A. Muhamed Mustaque and Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen passed the verdict while allowing a petition filed by Dr. Thomas against the Kerala Administrative Tribunal (KAT) order in the case.

In her petition, she had alleged that the action of the Kerala government was selective and biased and an abuse of the law. In fact, she was given the additional charge of the V-C while working as senior joint director, Technical Education. Though she had sought permission of the government through e-mail by sending an application through the Director of Technical Education, the government kept mum and did not issue any order or acted on her request till her retirement on March 31, 2023. Her application for prior sanction had been kept in cold storage till the date of her retirement. She said that her appointment as additional V-C was upheld by the Kerala High Court.

Removed from post

She pointed out that since she took over the additional charge of V-C, the government started to “harass” her. She was later removed from the post of senior joint director. However, the KAT directed the government to accommodate her in a suitable post in Thiruvananthapuram when she challenged the government action. It was close on the heels of the tribunal’s directive that she had been issued the show-cause notice.

She also pointed out that when she had challenged the show-case notice, the KAT had only directed the government to consider her explanation with an open mind and to provide an opportunity to the petitioner of being heard. She had also been served with a memo of charge as a sequel to the show-cause notice. It was vague and does not even have a date. The charges against her were that she had not properly discharged her duties as the joint director of Technical Education and had delayed the finalisation of files.

She pointed out that the KAT had failed to consider her challenge strictly in accordance with the law laid down by the Supreme Court. Had the tribunal considered her challenge against the show-cause notice, the government would not have obtained an opportunity to proceed against the petitioner even after her retirement. The government’s entire action is “pre-meditated to penalise the petitioner and is punitive in nature,” she argued.

Thiruvananthapuram:

An alleged controversial remark made by a senior CPI(M) leader regarding the traditional headscarf worn by Muslim women in Kerala has landed the ruling party in soup with several religious outfits and scholars coming out against it.

While speaking at a recent event organised by an atheist outfit in Thiruvananthapuram, CPI(M) leader Anil Kumar reportedly said that it was due to the influence of the Marxist party that the women of the Muslim-dominated Malappuram district had abandoned “thattam”, the headscarf.

He also said Muslim women in the southern state should thank not Albert Einstein but the Communist party for not starving.

Irked by his remarks, “Samastha”, an influential Sunni scholars’ body, said the CPI(M)’s “double standards” have been exposed through this.

Abdusamad Pookkottur, a prominent leader of Samastha, alleged that apostasy was the crux of the Left party and that it was approaching minorities for votes.

IUML leaders K M Shaji and KPA Majeed also joined the scholars’ body in denouncing the CPI (M) over Anil Kumar’s statement.

In a hard-hitting Facebook post, Mr Shaji, a staunch critic of the Marxist party leadership, alleged that the party has prepared two teams-one to go among rationalists to speak against the believers and another to take part in the meetings of believers and praise them.

He asked the religious community whether they “still want to believe that Communism is innocent?”.

Mr Majeed also slammed the Left party through his social media handle, saying Anil Kumar’s remarks had exposed the real intentions of its leadership.

The IUML leader questioned the rationale behind linking free thinking with the abandonment of the headscarf.

He also alleged that the atheist event, in which the controversial speech was made, was organised by a “Sangh Parivar-sponsored” person.

“Our headscarf-clad children are enough to expose your (CPI-M’s) hypocrisy,” he added in the FB post.

IUML state general secretary PMA Salam accused the Marxist Party of ‘infringing’ on religious beliefs and wondered who had abandoned “thattam” in Malappuram.

Even those belonging to the current generation were wearing headscarves, he told reporters in Malappuram.

Meanwhile, independent LDF MLA and strong Left sympathiser K T Jaleel rejected Anil Kumar’s claims and said not wearing “thattam” could not be considered as a sign of progress.

“Presenting personal opinion as that of the party will lead to misunderstanding. The Communist Party has not turned any woman not wearing a head scarf in the state,” the former minister said in a Facebook post. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)