'A riot-like situation broke out in UP's Mainpuri, about 100km from Agra, on Friday after a mob chased down and nearly lynched four men accused of killing and skinning a cow. Two of them were hospitalized in critical condition. A contingent of the PAC had to be called in after rampaging mobs set on fire more than a dozen shops. They also targeted police vehicles, two of which they gutted, and personnel, injuring 7 cops. Many local residents, too, were hurt in clashes that followed. Tear gas had to be used to disperse the arsonists.
"Politicians from India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party in Kashmir kicked and punched an independent member of the state assembly on Thursday for hosting a party where he served beef.
Inside the Indian village where a mob killed a man for eating beef. Bharatiya Janata party members beat Rashid Ahmed, a Muslim, in the assembly soon after its session began. Television footage showed Ahmed hitting back at a BJP member while officials intervened to separate the fighting lawmakers. Other opposition politicians came to Ahmed’s aid and later staged a walkout...'
Friends and fellow writers, The social and political scenario of our beloved country is worsening with every passing day. Right wing forces have polarized nation in the name of religion, caste and ethnicity for political gains. Dissent is systematically crushed and rational thinkers and writers are threatened and brutally killed in broad daylight. The central and state governments don’t show any eagerness to hold and punish murderers of Narendra Dabholkar, Comrade Govind Pansare and Prof Kalburgi. The State is seemingly hesitant and hiding behind various excuses from banning organizations, which had reportedly played clandestine role in heinous crimes.
'An outfit floated by BJP MP Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday offered all possible help “including guns” to the Hindus of Bisada village, as it alleged that they were being hounded following the lynching of Mohammed Ikhlaq. Several members of the group, ‘Hindu Yuva Vahini’ on Wednesday tried entering the village but were stopped by the police in view of the prohibitory orders. “We will go and meet Hindus who are being harassed by authorities.
Early this morning the room from which IFTU National Committee member Com. Radheyshyam operates in Greater Noida was set on fire and more than 500 books, manuscripts and papers related to trade union work, photographs of great teachers of working class and great patriots like Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad were totally gutted. Com. Radheyshyam is the ex-President of the Shramik Sangh of Denso India Ltd., a multinational company. On 29th September Com. Radheyshyam had led a team of the workers’ leaders of the company [t]o the home of their colleague whose brother, Aflaq Ahmed, was lynched in Bisada village the previous night. Aflaq had worked in Denso for some time as a temporary worker while his brother is a permanent workman of Denso. The arsonists specifically attacked this room; Com. Radheyshyam owns this flat but lives somewhere else. The room is above the floor which is empty and was left untouched. His relative lives on the ground floor and woke in the morning in time to see someone going out from the house. He found his house bolted from the outside and his power switched off from the meter. Meanwhile neighbour saw smoke emanating from the rood and alerted Com. Radheyshyam.
'On a Wednesday afternoon, two of us women journalists with The Quint proceeded to Delhi University’s North Campus for a story on the ambiguity of sexual consent, and how sometimes ‘yes’ doesn’t mean yes. What we didn’t know was that it would land us up in a police thana. The story we were pursuing was for a campaign The Quint has spearheaded, called #MakeOutInIndia – an open celebration of sex and sexuality, without any euphemisms attached.
"In today’s India, secular liberals face a challenge: how to stay alive. In August, 77-year-old scholar M. M. Kalburgi, an outspoken critic of Hindu idol worship, was gunned down on his own doorstep. In February, the communist leader Govind Pansare was killed near Mumbai. And in 2013, the activist Narendra Dabholkar was murdered for campaigning against religious superstitions. These killings should be seen as the canary in the coal mine: Secular voices are being censored and others will follow.
"Two Asaram Bapu devotees have confessed that they were involved in two murders (out of three) and all the six assaults made on witnesses in rape cases lodged against their guru and his son across India. Basav Raju (28) and his wife Sejal Prajapati (26) also confessed that they planned fresh attacks on three witnesses who had survived earlier assaults..."
'On Monday, senior journalist Nikhil Wagle allegedly received a death threat from the Sanatan Sanstha. He told PTI that he had received threats of this sort from the organisation in the past. “Four years ago, Abhay Vartak of Sanatan (Sanstha) walked out of a programme I hosted. Even as recently as last week, Sanatan Prabhat (a publication of the outfit) carried an article warning me,” he added...
'The Special Investigating Team (SIT) probing the murder of rationalist and Left leader Govind Pansare suspects role of two more Sanatan Sanstha members, who are absconding in connection with the 2009 Madgaon blast, in the case, police sources said on Monday.
