'MTB Nagraj, Byrati Basavraj, KC Narayana Gowda, S T Somashekar, Mahesh Kumathalli and Anand Singh, all of them-the contesting candidates from the BJP reportedly have amassed a vast amount of wealth between July 2018 and October 2019. According to the affidavits submitted with their nominations: Anand Sing now has assets worth Rs 104.42 crore, which is 33 crore more than what it was just 18 months ago. MTB Nagraj, who is a candidate from the Hoskote constituency, has declared assets worth Rs 1,223 crore; in 2018, his wealth was worth Rs 1,015 crore.
'A writ petition challenging mass sedition cases against Adivasis in Jharkhand’s Khunti district has been filed in the state High Court. The petition, filed in August by lawyer Sunil Vishwakarma on behalf of a newly formed village organisation called the Adivasi Nyay Manch, has asked for the cases to be transferred to a special investigation agency. As reported by Scroll.in, at least 10,000 Adivasis who participated in the Pathalgadi movement have been charged with sedition in 14 FIRs filed by the district police in 2017 and 2018.
'The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has expressed displeasure over the release of 13 convicts in connection with the Melavalavu massacre case, and has directed the Tamil Nadu government to produce before it copies of the government orders pertaining to their release, ANI reported... In the village of Melavalavu, Madurai, following the election of a Dalit to the village council presidency, members of an upper caste Hindu (Kallars) group murdered six Dalits in June 1996.
'In what appears to be yet another case of the government punishing journalists for their critical writing, the Telangana police charged N. Venugopal, editor of Telugu monthly journal Veekshanam, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and The Telangana Public Security Act, among other stringent laws. Although he has not been arrested, he was booked as the seventh accused in a case of Maoist conspiracy against the state. Venugopal has been a severe critic of the majoritarian leanings of the Modi government as well as of the K.
'A former Indian Army officer, Retired Major General SP Sinha, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the year 2013, sparked controversy after he advocated "rape for rape and death for death" on live TV on a news channel. In the video shared and denounced widely on Twitter and social media, the Major General can be heard saying that if a rape has taken place, it must be avenged by a rape and that death should beget death...'
'The Press Council of India’s letter to the Andhra Pradesh government in the first week of November expressing concern about an order that allows the secretaries of all department to file defamation cases against journalists was an indication of the intense pressure faced by the state’s media. The letter has also served to draw attention to more direct, brutal attacks on journalists in the state. Over the past five months, there have been four attacks on journalists, one of whom died after an assault...'
'Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath knew about the case involving real estate giant Ansal Developers and there were "orders from above" to close the case, Uttar Pradesh Minister Swati Singh has purportedly told a state police officer, demanding that she close the case. The audio clip of the conversation, which was widely circulated, had landed the minister in hot water, with the Chief Minister asking the state police chief to submit a report on the matter within 24 hours. Yogi Adityanath had also summoned the minister...'
'A 37-year-old Dalit construction worker in Punjab’s Sangrur has died after he was beaten over a dispute earlier this month, reported The Tribune. On November 7, Jagmail Singh was tied to a pillar and beaten by four upper caste men. When he asked for water, he was forced to drink urine. Subsequently, he was admitted in a hospital in Chandigarh and both his legs had to be amputated to prevent the spread of infection as the injuries that he sustained were severe...'
'An EU non-profit group researching disinformation campaigns has said that the controversial European parliamentarians’ visit to Kashmir is linked to a network of fake local media networks and think-tanks across the world. Last month, the Indian government allowed a group of Members of European Parliament, a majority of whom were from far-right parties, to visit Kashmir for the first time since the state was put under lockdown following the reading down of Article 370...
'Cities in Uttar Pradesh may be topping the air pollution charts this season, but their police seem to have other priorities in mind. A tweet by a differently abled student to draw attention to an instance of stubble burning in his Bareilly neighbourhood backfired recently, with the local police inspector allegedly threatening to charge him under the National Security Act instead of acting on the complaint. Irshad Khan, a differently abled first-year law student, had tweeted on November 9 about a farmer in his neighbourhood burning crop stubble from his field in violation of the law.
