Archives for 2024

The incident came to light after a video circulated online, showing a man demanding the hawker’s Aadhaar card. When the hawker, riding a bike, failed to produce the card, the assailant slapped him multiple times, hurling abusive language. The video further shows the accused forcing the hawker into a “murga” punishment position and threatening to kill him with a sword. The perpetrator is also heard asking his associate to fetch the weapon.

In the footage, locals are heard questioning the hawker about his return to the village after allegedly being warned to stay away.

Shimla Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi confirmed the incident, stating that an investigation has been initiated. This attack comes in the wake of protests in certain parts of the state, led by Hindu organizations, against alleged illegal mosques and unidentified migrants. In September, some of these groups had urged the state government to verify the identities of migrants residing in Himachal Pradesh.

Condemning the incident, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sanjay Chauhan took to social media to denounce the attack. In his post, Chauhan called for strict legal action against the culprits and warned against the growing communal discord in the state.

“This shameful act has no place in an educated and peaceful state like Himachal Pradesh. Some elements are intentionally creating communal tensions, which is damaging the state’s reputation. Incidents like these are affecting tourism and other businesses, which are vital for the livelihood of thousands of families,” Chauhan stated.

The police have registered a case and are continuing their investigation into the matter.

Bengaluru: Former minister M.P. Renukacharya has cautioned that he is prepared to file a defamation suit against Byrathi Suresh for his allegedly derogatory remarks about women.

Renukacharya criticised Byrathi Suresh for his irresponsible statements, pointing out that he has a habit of making allegations about women’s character whenever he faces accusations. “It is unacceptable to speak about the character of those in public life,” he stated. He further questioned the appropriateness of commenting on the late Maitradevi, wife of former Chief Minister Yediyurappa, many years after her passing.

“I strongly condemn the irresponsible comments made about Maitradevi and Shobha Karandlaje. We will file a defamation suit against this,” Renukacharya asserted.

He further added that it is wrong to speak ill of others’ personal lives and urged an end to the disparagement of women. Renukacharya accused Byrathi Suresh of making such statements to divert attention from the MUDA scam.

Kentucky: In an incident that has raised serious ethical concerns, a man declared brain dead regained consciousness just as doctors were preparing to remove his heart for organ donation. The case, involving 36-year-old Thomas ‘TJ’ Hoover II, has led to investigations.

Hoover, who had overdosed on drugs in October 2021, was admitted to Baptist Health Richmond Hospital in Kentucky and later declared brain dead. However, at the moment he was being moved to the operating room for organ removal, Hoover began to show signs of life.

Nyckoletta Martin, a former employee of Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA), claimed that Hoover was “thrashing around on the table” and described the situation as terrifying. Another KODA worker, Natasha Miller, confirmed that Hoover was visibly crying as he was being transported from the intensive care unit. Despite these signs of life, the organ removal was allegedly set to continue, sparking outrage.

Julie Bergen, president of the newly formed Network for Hope, denied the allegations, stating that no organs were collected from living patients. Baptist Health Richmond reiterated their commitment to patient safety and respect for organ donation wishes.

Hoover, now living under the care of his sister, Donna Rhorer, has suffered lasting effects from the ordeal, including difficulties with memory, walking, and talking. The incident is currently under investigation by the Kentucky Attorney General and the US Health Services Resources Administration.

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk during a protest demanding the inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Indian constitution

New Delhi: Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk on Monday ended his fast along with others, after the home ministry assured them that the talks on Ladakh’s demands will be resumed in December.

Join Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Prashant Lokhande met the activists, who were sitting on an indefinite fast at Delhi’s Ladakh Bhawan since October 6, and handed them a letter from the home ministry.

The letter said the high-powered committee of the ministry, which was holding talks with representatives from Ladakh, will meet them next on December 3.

Following this, Wangchuk and his supporters decided to break their fast and called off the sit-in.

“On the 16th day of our fast, I am happy to say that our main appeal has been resolved. Just now, the joint secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, came here at the Ladakh Bhawan and handed me this letter, which says the talks going on between the apex body of Leh and the KDA in Kargil with the central government will be resumed very soon, by December,” Wangchuk said.

He hoped that the outcome of the talks between the ministry and the Leh Apex Body and Kargil Democratic Alliance, the two socio-political organisations from the two regions of Ladakh, will be positive.

“The talks will be carried out by these bodies and I hope that very good outcomes will come, not just for Ladakh but for the whole nation.

“I just hope that I do not ever again have to do another anshan (fast) for this reason and it will result in a very happy ending. I want to, on this occasion, thank everybody who supported us in this effort,” Wangchuk said.

Chering Dorjay Lakruk, the president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association (LBA), thanked Wangchuk and others who took out a march for resumption of the talks that were stalled.

“The talks will be resumed now. We have not achieved anything yet. We hope that the talks on our four-point demands will be meaningful,” he said.

Ladakh MP Mohmad Haneefa also hoped that the talks will have a meaningful outcome.

“We had to go back to protest because the talks were not resumed even after (the Lok Sabha) election. We are happy that the talks are being resumed and hope that they will continue till a solution is found.

“We hope that the government will take these talks seriously and our issues will be resolved,” Haneefa said.

Wangchuk, along with his supporters, marched to Delhi from Leh demanding Ladakh’s inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. They reached the national capital on September 30 after walking for a month.

They were detained at the capital’s Singhu border by the Delhi Police and released on the night of October 2.

Wangchuk sat on the fast on October 6 to press for the demand for Ladakh’s inclusion in the Sixth Schedule and meet the top leadership of the government to raise the issue.

The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution includes provisions for the administration of tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram in the northeast. It establishes autonomous councils that have legislative, judicial, executive and financial powers to independently govern these areas.

The protesters are also demanding statehood, a public service commission for Ladakh and separate Lok Sabha seats for Leh and Kargil districts.

The march to Delhi was organised by the Leh Apex Body, which along with the Kargil Democratic Alliance, has been spearheading the agitation.

New Delhi: Olympic bronze medal-winning former wrestler Sakshi Malik has said that Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia’s decision to accept exemption from the Asian Games trials last year hit the image of their protest against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh as it made their movement seem “selfish”.

Sakshi, who was one of the three prominent faces of the prolonged protest, made this statement in her recently-released book ‘Witness’. She said their protest developed cracks when “people close to” Bajrang and Vinesh began to fill their minds with “greed”.

The three had alleged that Sharan Singh, the former head of the Wrestling Federation of India, sexually harassed women wrestlers during his tenure. The case is still being heard in a Delhi court.

The ad-hoc committee, that took over the administration of wrestling after WFI’s suspension, exempted Bajrang and Vinesh from the 2023 Asian Games trials but Sakshi decided not to seek the favour as suggested by her colleagues.

Eventually, Sakshi did not compete while Vinesh suffered an injury before the Games and Bajrang failed to win a medal in Hangzhou.

“The old way of thinking selfishly was taking over once again. The people close to Bajrang and Vinesh had started filling their minds with greed. Now they were talking about this exemption from trials for the Games,” Sakshi wrote in the book co-authored with journalist Jonathan Selvaraj but did not give names of those who influenced the duo.

“…Nothing good came of Bajrang and Vinesh’s decision to take the exemption…their decision badly hurt the image of our protest. It put us in a situation where many supporters started to think that we were actually in the protest for selfish reasons,” the 32-year-old said.

The protest ended after the wrestlers’ march towards the new Parliament Building was halted by the Police on May 28, 2023.

Both Vinesh and Bajrang joined the Congress party before the Haryana assembly elections earlier this month. The former contested and won from the Julana constituency, while the latter was made head of the party’s national farmers’ unit.

Before the political plunge, Vinesh endured a heartbreaking sporting low when she was disqualified from the 50kg category Olympic finals in Paris for being 100gm overweight.

Was harassed as a child

The 32-year-old from Haryana said she was molested in her childhood too by a tuition teacher but she kept quiet.

“I could not tell my family about it because I thought it was my fault. My tuition teacher from my school days used to harass me. He would call me over to his place for classes at odd times and sometimes tried to touch me. I was scared to go for my tuition classes but I could never tell my mom.”

Talking about her struggles at the start of her career, Sakshi said she hated confrontations and would think of running away from her bouts at the beginning of her career.

“It’s a fear that I’ve carried to the end of my career. I’ve never enjoyed the actual act of confrontation.

“… I was an exceptionally slow starter in wrestling. I won my first bout only after nearly two years of my first stepping on a wrestling mat. It wasn’t that I didn’t have any physical skills.

“I was always one of the fastest and strongest girls at my coaching centre for my age. But I never developed the fearlessness you needed for a fight. I would always get very nervous before my bouts.”

But she was a picture of defiance during the protest against Sharan Singh and said the political class disappointed her.

She also alleged that former wrestler Babita Phogat, who is now a BJP politician, had selfish motives even though she portrayed herself as a well-wisher for the protesting trio.

“In hindsight, while I know that ending Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh’s reign was the primary goal for Vinesh and Bajrang, I made the mistake of thinking that that was Babita’s sole intention too.”

“…She didn’t just want to just get rid of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh – she wanted to replace him.”

Babita could not be reached immediately for a comment on this assertion.

In the book, Sakshi also claimed that her parents took away most of her award money. She also alleged that her family was against her match with fellow wrestler Satyawart Kadian but she took a stand for their relationship.