INDIA

Several youth participating in the farmers protests have been allegedly kidnapped by the Haryana Police, families of the victims said. Adressing a press conference, several leaders of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha alleged rampant police brutality and kidnappings of the participants of peaceful demonstrations at the borders of Haryana. Farmers have been on a protest since February 13, when they started marching towards New Delhi, in support of a law governing the Minimum Support Price, a demand accepted by central government following one year of agitation by the farmers in 2020. The farmers, however, were not allowed to move ahead towards Haryana. In fact, several hundreds have been injured in the Police highhandedness at the Khanauri and Shambu borders. On 21...

Muslim Marriage and Divorce Registration Act of 1935 was repealed by the state government of Assam on Friday. The decision was taken during a state cabinet meeting on Friday night chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. It comes three weeks after Uttarakhand became the first state to enact Uniform Civil Code legislation. Cabinet Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah referred to it as a major step toward a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). He emphasized that going forward, all matters pertaining to Muslim marriages and divorces would be governed by the Special Marriages Act. “The District Commissioner and the District Registrar will now be in charge of registering Muslim marriages and divorces under the new structure. The 94 Muslim registrars who were employed under the revoked Act wil...

A 31-year-old businesswoman has been arrested on charges of stalking and abducting a television music channel anchor with the purported intention of marriage, Hindustan Times reported. The accused, identified as Bhogireddy Trishna, a digital marketing business operator, allegedly developed an obsession with TV anchor Pranav Sistla after stumbling upon his photos on a matrimonial website two years ago. Having discovered Pranav's phone number through an extensive search of his profile, Trishna reached out to him via instant messaging. Pranav, however, informed her that someone unknown had misused his photo to create a fake account on the matrimonial site, and he had already reported the incident to the Cyber Crime police station. Undeterred by this revelation and determined to marry...

Amidst the ongoing farmers' protest near Haryana border areas, the Ambala district police in Haryana have issued a stern warning to the protesting farmers. The police have explicitly conveyed that any harm caused to government or private property during the ongoing demonstrations will result in compensatory actions, including the attachment of properties and the seizure of bank accounts belonging to the protestors. As per an official release from the Ambala police dated February 13, 2024, farmer organizations have persistently attempted to breach the barricades at the Shambhu border. These endeavors reportedly led to disturbances in law and order, with protesters allegedly throwing stones at the police administration and causing damage to both government and private property throu...

A student of the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) was arrested for allegedly posting a story on WhatsApp in protest against the celebration of the consecration of the Ayodhya Ram Temple on January 22. The arrest was carried out by the Govandi police station in Mumbai has arrested another student in the same case on 21 February, Maktoob media reported. The new arrestee is a 25-year-old student from Kerala. On January 22nd, the police arrested a 23-year-old Dalit student from Maharashtra who had shared a screenshot of another student's post. He was later released on bail after spending two days in custody. The charges filed against him under sections 153(A) and 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code pertain to promoting enmity between groups and outraging religious...

Gujarat’s Home Minister, Harsh Sanghavi, addressed the Assembly on Wednesday, informing members that the Bhupendra Patel-led government has demolished 108 mazars as part of a crackdown on encroachments believed to be “part of a conspiracy.” Sanghavi reiterated the government’s commitment to safeguarding temples from any malicious intent, Muslim Mirror reported. Quoting an earlier statement by a BJP MLA from Ellisbridge, Sanghavi remarked, “Today, the point mentioned by Amitbha.' He said that a derasar was removed in Jamalpur. Now, Dada’s (Bhupendra Patel) bulldozer is moving around in every nook and corner of the state so that no temple or devsthan can be removed while hatching a conspiracy. Nobody knows where will it (bulldozer) go.” Sanghavi addressed the Assembly while seeking ...

A journalist, Neil Bhalinder, has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, urging the registration of an FIR against Haryana Police officials. The journalist alleges that he suffered severe head injuries on February 13 while covering the farmers' protest within Punjab's jurisdiction, Live Law reported. According to Bhalinder, a tear gas shell fired by Haryana Police struck him during the protest at the Shambhu border, a location within Punjab's territorial jurisdiction that has witnessed numerous instances of violence attributed to Haryana police. The petitioner emphasized that Haryana police actions have subjected thousands of journalists to physical violence and gunshot wounds at the Shambhu border. Bhalinder argued that such attacks on journalists violate the freedom of...

On Wednesday, the Samajwadi Party revealed its decision to jointly contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with the Congress. In an effort to consolidate non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) votes, Samajwadi Party leader Ravidas Mehrotra stated to ANI, "We have tried to stop the scattering of non-Bharatiya Janata Party votes. We will try to secure all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh." Mehrotra outlined the distribution of seats, mentioning that the Samajwadi Party would vie for 63 of Uttar Pradesh's 80 Lok Sabha seats, while the Congress would field candidates on the remaining 17. Both the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Samajwadi Party are members of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA bloc), a coalition comprising 28 Opposition parties united against the Bh...

A 24-year-old farmer was killed with a wound on his head at the Khanauri border after Police fired smoke shells at the thousands of farmers, demanding Minimum Support Price. The victim identified as Shubh Karan Singh was taken to the hospital where he was declared brought dead upon his arrival, news reports said. The incident of police killing marks a significant escalation in the ongoing protest that commenced on February 13, when Punjab farmers declared their intention to march towards Delhi. https://twitter.com/moliticsindia/status/1760272271170482223 Despite their attempts, the protesters were prevented from entering Haryana from Punjab. Before the confirmation from the hospital about the death of a protester, the Haryana Police on Wednesday after...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, while addressing a rally here, mentioned an upcoming movie about Article 370, emphasizing the importance of dissemination of accurate information. ALSO READ: ‘Redundant narrative’: Trailer of Bollywood movie ‘Article 370’ released on YouTube "I have heard that perhaps a film on Article 370 is going to be released this week. I think your 'Jai Jai Kaar' (cheers) are going to be heard all over the country," PM Modi said, addressing a public rally at Maulana Azad Stadium in the heart of Jammu. The Prime Minister's remarks, made during his second visit to the Jammu region since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, coincided with the film's imminent release late this week. While acknowledging his lack of familiarity with the film's specif...