MONDAY FACEBOOK DATA LEAK LEAVES 53 CRORE USERS VULNERABLE 05 Hackers posted user data, including phone numbers, biodata, locations, date of birth and some email IDs for free on a forum APRIL, 2021 epaper.morningstandard.in FACEBOOK CLAIMS IT’S OLD DATA facebook.com/TheMorningStandard Facebook tried to downplay the situation with a spokesperson claiming the data in question is old and was first brought to its notice in 2019. It claimed that the issue was ‘fixed’ in August ’19 ■ But Facebook remained tightlipped on what the ‘fix’ was. It was also silent on the ready availability of user data for hackers twitter.com/TheMornStandard ■ CUSTO D I A L D EAT H FIVE MP COPS SUSPENDED Victim was from Rajasthan and held for possessing a narcotic substance A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 8 NEW DELHI   J8.00  USERS’ DATA OBTAINED BY CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT IN 2013 PAGES 12 Campaign plan on Covid protocol; Modi seeks people’s participation 5,818 04 Apr 03 Apr 4,373 4,991 4,234 2,975 2,792 3,082 4,225 49,447 47,913 43,183 KARNATAKA 39,544 4,174 4,617 02 Apr 01 Apr 31 Mar 30 Mar 29 Mar 2,839 2,815 CHHATTISGARH Gujarat Madhya Pradesh 3,187 Uttar Pradesh 3,446 3,567 Delhi Tamil Nadu Karnataka 27,918 *05 beds of CCC are occupied by persons under quarantine including travellers who came by Vande Bharat Mission and Bubble flights MAHARASHTRA 31,643 Occupied Vacant H OS P I TA L 6,131 2,727 3,404 CARE CENTRE 5,525 32 5,488 H E A LT H C E N T R E 82 46 36 Maharashtra PATIENT MANAGEMENT Total beds Chhattisgarh Cumulative 6,51,351 11,081 13,982 6,76,414 40,414 RECOVERED DEATH ACTIVE CASES TOTAL +VE Today 2,677 21 -4,033 5,818 STATUS OF CASES 4,373 81% OF NEW CASES IN 8 STATES Figures as on Sunday morning 49,447 DELHI COVID WATCH 7,144 HOME ISOLATION TESTING STATUS Total tests done so far 04 Apr 03 Apr 02 Apr 01 Apr 31 Mar 30 Mar 29 Mar 04 Apr 03 Apr 02 Apr 01 Apr 7,84,618 31 Mar 1,49,07,756 30 Mar 32,427 Rapid antigen test conducted today 29 Mar 54,472 RTPCR/CBNAAT/ TrueNat tests conducted PTI Tests per million CONTAINMENT ZONES AS ON DATE: 2,917 Source: Delhi health bulletin | April 4 T THE STRATEGIST AND THE VOTEBANK HIS election is bipolar. I don’t see anything else at the micro or macro level.” That’s one of Mamata Banerjee’s key strategists airing his views, post two volatile phases of polling, with six more to go, a process that cumulatively promises to run a bleedingedge scythe through West Bengal’s political history . Bengal, particularly Kolkata, is of course teeming with election strategists, freefloating analysts and sundry do-gooders. That’s natural for a state with that kind of heightened political consciousness. But our man stands out for various reasons. For one, no one can be more free-floating than him— in an election where the ‘outsider/insider’ binary has been quite pronounced, he’s an outsider on the inside, so to speak, having travelled across a few green fields, been on all sides, peddling his professional wares like a migrant labourer of strategic thought. And he has all the swagger of a new-age visionary . It’s quite a crowded field, though. Some have come to save Bengal from cultural corruption, others have come to rescue it from petty corruption—cut money tolabaa, ji (extortion), political rentseeking of many shades, all that. It has some benefits. The hotel industry and the fab cafes haven’t seen such brisk business in the last 10 years of Didi’s rule. None of WEST BENGAL SANTWANA BHATTACHARYA them will say koro na (don’t do it) to this moveable feast, corona or no corona. Among the mig ratory flocks, some of the busiest are those who make managing elections their raison d’etre. Like our man. Quite apolitical, they look at elections clinically, through the prism of personality cults, creation of catchphrases and hashtags—all with bands of young, outsourced volunteers. “This election is about Mamata Banerjee,” claims one such strategist, “nothing else matters.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who’s thundering forth from more rally pulpits here in Bengal than he may have spoken on some other delicate occasions, pretty much confirms that in his own way. He doesn’t utter a line without mockingly invoking her, intoning the words “Arrey Didi....” The strategist obviously thinks he knows the best. But Mamata, being the Didi that she is, can’t be scripted to fit into any box—not even the one that’s labelled Banglar meye (daughter of Bengal). She’s too canny for that. In Cooch Behar, for instance, Mamata reminds voters: “This election is not about me. It is about saving Bengal.” Cooch Behar (nine seats) and Alipurduar (five seats), up north, nestled along the restive Chicken’s Neck, are going to polls on April 6. CONTINUED ON P7 Record surge: Uddhav orders night, weekend curfew in Maha CRPF personnel carrying the coffin of a fallen jawan in Chhattisgarh on Sunday | PTI A group of around 200 Maoists silently observed the movement of a team of CRPF and state police personnel for nearly a day before singling out a largely isolated detachment of 150 personnel for a full scale attack on Saturday at Bijapur in Chhattisgarh. As on Sunday, 22 personnel had died, 35 were injured and one missing, suspected to have been captured by the Maoists. Saturday’s encounter is the biggest blow to the security forces since Burkapal attack in April 2017. The modus operandi of Saturday’s encounter appears to be similar to Burkapal or 2010 Dantewada attacks, wherein the armed Maoists isolated and attacked a party of soldiers returning from an area domination exercise. Armed forces repeatedly falling prey to this tactic — attacked when they have been in the field for over 24 hours and at their vulnerable worst due to exhaustion — raises questions on the lessons learnt by the security forces from their past brushes with the Maoists. “Our aggressive anti-Maoist operations will continue with renewed strategy. As per our information, the Maoists have suffered heavy casualties. Our sources revealed that they carried their dead in four tractors,” said CRPF Director General (anti-Maoist operation) Ashok Juneja. The exact casualty on Maoist side could not be confirmed. The 22 personnel killed in the HOW THE GUNFIGHT ENSUED BIJAPUR DISTRICT TARREM USOOR MINPA PAMED NARSAPURAM SUKMA DISTRICT A siege was laid at the crack of the dawn on Saturday following intelligence inputs that Maosists were undertaking their Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign campaign in the JagargundaJongagudaTarrem axis Anti-Naxal operation launched from five places — Tarrem, Usoor and Pamed (in Bijapur district), and Minpa and Narsapuram (in Sukma district) Ambush took place when the patrolling team from Tarrem was advancing through the forest near Jonaguda, around 500 km from state capital Raipur fierce gunfight include seven from the elite Cobra battalion of CRPF, eight from the District Reserve Guards (DRG), six from Chhattisgarh’s Special Task Force (STF) and one from the CRPF’s Bastariya Battalion. While the number of casualties on the side of Maoists could not be established, a body of a Maoist leader with an INSAS rifle was recovered. She has been identified as Madavi EXPRESS READ 80 patients rescued in MP hospital fire Bhopal: About 80 patients, including 62 Covid patients, trapped in a major fire at a private hospital in Ujjain of MP, were rescued by fire brigade and police on Sunday. Four of the patients — all of them on oxygen support — either sustained injuries or inhaled smoke after which they were admitted to a adjoining hospital. While two of them are out of danger, two others were rushed to Indore after their condition worsened. GA @ New Delhi/Raipur IS SANA SHAKIL/EJAZ KAISER RH Toll at 22, Bijapur ambush a rerun of Dantewada attack TT REELING under the burden of daily case surge, the Maharashtra government on Sunday introduced a raft of strict measures like weekend and night curfews, but stopped short of a complete lockdown. The state on Sunday reported the highest single-day rise of 57,074 cases. Mumbai also registered the record singleday rise of 11,206 cases. All private offices, except in banking, stock market, insurance, pharma, telecommunication and mediclaim sectors, will be shut. Work from home is mandatory for private offices, except those in local disaster management, electricity and water supply Government . offices, except those departments involved in Covid-19 management, will function at 50 per cent capacity . The new measures include a weekend curfew, starting 8 pm Friday to 7 am Monday; and strict night restrictions between 8 pm and 7 am, starting Monday. Only essential services would be allowed to operate unhindered till April 30, after which the restrictions could be eased based on an assessment of the outcome of the measures. The decision was taken at an urgent cabinet meeting, during which CM Uddhav Thackeray proposed a complete lockdown, an idea his colleagues opposed, pointing out its economic fallout. Based on the inputs, Thackeray also decided to impose restrictions on gatherings by promulgating CrPC section 144, but made exemptions for commercial establishments and industries. NCP minister Nawab Malik said the decision was unanimous, and would be in force between April 5 and April 30. “The decision is aimed at saving lives with minimal impact on economy We also consulted . the BJP and MNS before making this announcement.” HA S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai CH mentation of containment measures at the field level. Modi sought the rollout of a five-fold strategy of “Testing, Tracing, Treatment, Covid-appropriate behaviour and Vaccination” with a special campaign for 100% mask usage, personal hygiene and sanitation at public places/workplac- 4,563 A day after Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that since there is no Covid in the state, no one needs to wear a mask, Assam’s health department made virus testing mandatory for incoming air and train passengers from Mumbai and Bengaluru. Assam’s figures are indeed low — just 68 new cases on Sunday. But Sarma’s casual attitude was offputting 3,108 ON a day India reported 93,249 new Covid-19 cases and 513 deaths, Prime Minister Narendra Modi went into a huddle with top experts to chart out an action plan to curb the exponential infection growth. Taking a grim view of the high case load and deaths in Maharashtra, Punjab and Chhattisgarh, the prime minister directed that central teams comprising public health specialists and clinicians be sent to the these states to address the ongoing crisis. The high-level meeting called by the prime minister was given a detailed presentation, which stated that 10 states are contributing more than 91% of cases and deaths due to Covid-19. The experts attributed the rising trend line to lapses in Covid-19 protocol compliance, pandemic fatigue and lack of effective imple- es and health facilities for seven days from April 6-14. He also emphasised on community awareness and its involvement in containing the infection. “As of date, Maharashtra has contributed 57% of total cases in the country in the last 14 days and 47% of deaths in the country during the same period. Punjab has contributed 4.5% of the total number of cases in the country in the last 14 days, besides 16.3% of the total number of deaths,” said a statement. The focus of the government is in line with its strategy in June-September last, which included ramping up healthcare infrastructure, availability of oxygen, ventilators, logistics and adopting clinical management protocols in hospitals along with in-home care. Modi specifically laid stress on reducing fatalities. On vaccination, the government plans to share its daily analysis of performance with all states. 1,423 No mask needed in Assam, claims Sarma @ New Delhi 2,153 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Veteran actor Shashikala dies at 88 Take Ansari’s custody by April 8: Punjab to UP Mumbai: Veteran actor Shashikala, best known for her roles in 1960s-70s films like Aarti and Gumrah, passed away at the age of 88. Born in Solapur, Shashikala Jawalkar started acting at the age of five. Her family moved to Mumbai later. She made her first big screen appearance in the 1945 movie Zeenat, directed by legendary actor Noor Jehan’s husband Syed Shaukat Hussain Rizvi. She received Padma Shri in 2007. Chandigarh: Punjab’s home department has asked the UP government to take custody of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari from the Rupnagar jail on April 8, with BSP MP Afzal Ansari on Sunday saying that his brother’s “safety” was now the responsibility of the judiciary and the UP government. The home department of Punjab has asked the UP government to make suitable arrangements for his transfer. MARTYRED JAWANS 8 DRG jawans: Deepak Bhardwaj (sub-inspector), Ramesh Kumar Zurri,Narayan Sodhi (head constables), Ramesh Korsa, Subhash Naik (both constables), Kishor Andrik, Sankuram Sodhi, Bhosaram Kartami (all assistant constables) 6 STF jawans: Shravan Kashyap (head constable), Ramdas Korrram, Jagatram Kanwar, Sukhsingh Faras, Ramashankar Paikra and Shankarnath (all constables) 7 CRPF’s CoBRA commandos: Dilip Kumar Das (inspector), Raj Kumar Yadav (head constable), Shambhurai, Dharmdev Kumar, S M Krishna, R Jagdish, Samaiyaa Maravi (all constables) 1 CRPF’s Bastariya battalion jawan: Bablu Rabha (constable) Vanoja, believed to be the commander of the Local Guerilla Squad (LGS) of Pamed area. Officials said the troopers were attacked with UBGL rocket launchers, LMGs and other weapons. It took almost 24 hours for the reinforcements to reach the ground zero near the villages of Jonaguda and Tekalgudam, close to the Silger forested landscape on Sunday . CONTINUED ON P8 RAISE A TOAST CAREFULLY Delhi’s new excise policy receives mixed reactions from hospitality industry PAGE 5 NDRF, 2 copters to fight forest fires in U’khand E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Dehradun THE Centre on Sunday agreed to dispatch two helicopters and additional NDRF personnel for combating Uttarakhand forest fires that have claimed four lives so far. The development came after Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat spoke to Union home minister Amit Shah. “I spoke to honorable union home minister Amit Shah apprising him about the serious situation arising of forest fires. He promised help and now two choppers have been deployed along with other resources including staff from National Disaster Response Force,” he said. While one Mi-17 helicopter using a water source from Srinagar will be deployed in Gochar, the other will be in Haldwani and draw water from Bhimtal lake. In this fire season, the hill state has lost 1359.83 hectares of forest area in 1028 forest fires incidents with loss pegged at `39.46 lakh. The fire season starts in Uttarakhand from February 15 and ends on June 15 with the arrival of monsoons. The state government has also cancelled all leaves of officials and personnel of the forest department. An emergency meeting through video conferencing was convened by Rawat and attended by the chief Secretary, district magistrates of all 13 districts and key officials from the forest department. The officials were asked to utilise every available resource to combat forest fires and keep eye on the situation 24x7. As many as 12,000 personnel and officials from the forest department are deployed to tackle the fires with the help of 13,00 fire crew stations established across the state. Ever since Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000, forest fires have gone up by over 500% in terms of affected area. In all these years, around 47,000 hectare of forest land was hit. Rough estimates suggest the loss to be nearly `2 crore.