Archives for 2024

Muzaffarnagar (UP): Two men have been arrested for allegedly molesting a 16-year-old Dalit girl and passing casteist remarks against her, officials said on Tuesday.Taseen and Shalim, both in their mid-20s, were arrested on Monday after the victim’s father filed a complaint against them at the Sikheda police station, according to Circle Officer Rupali Rao.

According to the father, the accused tried to molest his daughter and made casteist remarks at her on September 8, CO Rao said.

The victim’s father stated in his complaint that the accused also threatened the girl, warning her not to tell anyone about the incident or she would face dire consequences.

Based on this complaint, police registered an FIR registered against the accused under BNS sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 78 (stalking), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), section 7/8 of POCSO Act and SC/ST atrocities prevention act, police said.

Washington: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the RSS of considering some religions, languages and communities of being inferior to others and said that the fight in India is about this and not about politics.

The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha was addressing a gathering of several hundred Indian Americans in Herndon, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC, on Monday.

“First of all, you have to understand what the fight is about. The fight is not about politics. That is superficial,” Gandhi said as he asked one of the Sikh attendees in the front rows to give his name. “What is your name, brother with the turban,” he asked.

“The fight is about whether a Sikh is going to be allowed to wear his turban in India or a kada in India. Or he, as a Sikh, is going to be able to go to Gurdwara. That’s what the fight is about. And not just for him, for all religions,” said the Congress leader.

Gandhi is currently on a four-day visit to the United States. His first stop was in Dallas which began on Saturday, and he arrived in Washington DC on Monday.

Criticising the RSS for their policies and vision of India, he said, “What the RSS is basically saying is that certain states are inferior to other states. Certain languages are inferior to other languages. Certain religions are inferior to other religions. Certain communities are inferior to other communities. This is what the fight is about.”

“…that is the ideology of the RSS. Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, Manipuri. These are all inferior languages. That’s what the fight is about,” he said, asserting that these issues end up in the polling booth, the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha.

“But the fight is about what type of India we are going to have,” he said.

He asserted that regardless of the region one belongs from, “all of you have your history, all of you have your tradition, all of you have your language, and every single one of them is as important as any other one.”

Gandhi also said that the BJP has no “understanding” of India.

“India is called a union of states. And in the Constitution, it’s written clearly. India, that is Bharat, is a union of states. It means it’s a union of languages, traditions, histories, etc,” he said.

“They say this is not a union. These are separate things. Among these, only one is very important. And whose headquarters is in Nagpur,” he said, in a veiled reference to the RSS.

Addressing the diaspora, Gandhi called them “ambassadors of India”. “You’re the bridge between these two great unions of states. You make us very proud,” he said.

“We understand the difficulties and struggles that you have had to deal with. It’s not easy. But when you came here, you came with humility, you came with respect, and you came with affection,” he said.

He said that in a BJP system, a person cannot have two identities. “You cannot be India and at the same time be America. That is what the fight is about. That is what we are trying to do in India,” he said.

“We are saying, don’t spread hatred, spread love. Don’t be arrogant, be humble. Don’t disrespect people, respect people, respect traditions, respect religions, respect languages, respect communities,” Gandhi said.

Nagpur: A luxury car owned by Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule’s son Sanket hit several vehicles in the early hours of Monday in Ramdaspeth area of Nagpur, after which the driver and one more occupant were detained and their medical examination was underway, a police official said.

According to the Sitabuldi police station official, the Audi car first collided with complainant Jitendra Sonkamble’s car at 1am and then with a moped, leaving two youth riding it injured.

“The Audi car struck some more vehicles moving towards Mankapur area. At T-Point there, the vehicle hit a Polo car. Its occupants chased the Audi and stopped it near Mankapur bridge. Two occupants, identified as driver Arjun Hawre and Ronit Chittamwar, were stopped by those in the Polo car,” he said.

“The duo was taken to Tehsil police station, from where they were handed over for further probe to Sitabuldi police. The medical examination of driver Arjun Hawre and occupant Chittamwar is in progress. Driver Hawre could be placed under arrest at any time ,” he said.

The official said the occupants of the Audi were returning from a beer bar in Dharampeth when the incident took place, adding the medical examination will include blood tests for alcohol detection.

“A case of rash driving and other offences was registered on the complaint of Sonkamble. No action has been taken so far against Sanket Bawankule and the other two occupants who reportedly escaped from the scene at Mankapur bridge,” the official said.

“We are checking the CCTV footage to ascertain the chain of events, after which further action on all aspects, including other occupants, will follow,” he said.

Speaking to reporters about the incident, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule admitted the Audi car was registered in the name of his son Sanket.

“Police should conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the accident without any bias. Those found guilty should be charged and appropriate action should be taken against them. I have not spoken to any police official. The law must be equal for all,” the senior BJP leader said.

Mandya: The police have arrested three more individuals in connection with the female foeticide case registered across Pandavapur, Bellur, and Melukote police stations in the district. The latest arrests bring the total number of accused in custody to 18.

The newly arrested individuals include Shankara GN of Ashwini Diagnostic Center in KR Nagar of Hunsur, Mysuru, Naveen HK of Hiremarali village in Pandavapur taluk, and Jabbar of Haralahalli village in Pandavapur taluk.

The arrests were made on Sunday, and a vehicle was seized from the accused. The police investigation team has confirmed that the suspects have been remanded in judicial custody. The search for the remaining accused is ongoing.

Earlier, 15 accused were arrested and sent to judicial custody. The authorities also seized four scanning machines and four vehicles from the suspects. The discovery and murder of female fetuses have surfaced in Hadya village in Mandya taluk, at the residence of a Health Department employee in Pandavapur taluk, and in Bellur in Nagamangala taluk, with several accused still at large.

An attempt to derail a loaded goods train was made in the Ajmer district of Rajasthan by putting two cement blocks on tracks of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, railway officials said on Tuesday.

They said a goods train did hit the blocks, weighing around 70 kg each, but nothing untoward occurred.

“Some miscreants put two cement blocks on tracks on the dedicated freight corridor on Sunday. A goods train hit them,” a North Western Railway official said.

The incident occurred between Saradhna and Bangad stations of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor on the Phulera-Ahmedabad stretch.

A freight corridor official said a case has been registered and the matter is under investigation.

The report comes a day after an attempt to derail the Bhiwani-Prayagraj Kalindi Express

was made in Kanpur by placing an LPG cylinder on tracks, along with a bottle of petrol and matchboxes.

Cow vigilante Bittu Bajrangi alias Rajkumar Panchal

Faridabad: Cow vigilante Bittu Bajrangi alias Rajkumar Panchal, an accused in the Nuh violence case, filed his nomination as an independent candidate from NIT assembly segment in Faridabad on Monday.

The assembly elections will be held in Haryana on October 5.

In an official statement, District Election Officer Vikram Singh confirmed that Bajrangi has filed his nomination as an independent from NIT Faridabad seat.

Bajrangi, who formed Gau Raksha Bajrang Force, has a long association with controversies.

Bajrangi has been an accused in the case of Nuh violence that had started in July last year after a procession organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad was attacked by a mob.

Five people, including two home guards, were killed and many injured in the violence that erupted on July 31 last year in Nuh and spread to other areas of the state. In Gurugram, a naib imam was killed at a mosque amid a series of incidents of arson.

In July this year, three cases were registered against Bajrangi in Faridabad.