News18 Daybreak | Burari Horror, Uttarakhand Bus Accident, and Other Stories You May Have Missed
In case you missed it
Grisly drama: Eleven members of a family, including seven women and two children under the age of 15, were found dead under mysterious circumstances in a house in north Delhi’s Burari area on Sunday morning. Initially being deemed as suicide, investigators later confirmed that it may have been murder. According to authorities, three of the deceased could have killed the others under the influence of spiritual practices. The police have allegedly recovered notes regarding ways to perform the ritual killing, further confirming their suspicion.
WhatsApp terror: In yet another case of lynching following a fake news on WhatsApp, five persons fell prey to child lifting rumours on Sunday. This time in a small Maharashtra village. In a separate incident, two other migrant workers were severely thrashed in Tamil Nadu on similar suspicions while a mentally-challenged woman was also meted out with similar treatment in Assam on Friday night. The recent deaths are part of a series of over 20 deaths across various states in India. Read the News18 Immersive on the deadly WhatsApp rumour.
In defence: Sushma Swaraj’s husband took to Twitter on Sunday to give an emotional response to a troll who suggested physical violence against the external affairs minister over the grant of passport to an inter-faith couple last month. The minister has been attacked by trolls on Twitter since the transfer of a Passport Seva Kendra official in Lucknow over allegedly insulting a Hindu-Muslim couple. According to the couple, Vikas Mishra asked the husband to convert to Hinduism and pulled up the wife for marrying a Muslim.
Meanwhile, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti also came to the defence of Sushma Swaraj on Twitter. Mufti tweeted that she was horrified by the vicious trolling Swaraj has been subjected to. “If our own Minister of External Affairs is not spared, what hope is there for any other woman?” the PDP leader asked.
Viral violence: The son of a BJP lawmaker in Rajasthan was caught on tape thrashing a man who allegedly did not let him overtake. In the footage which went viral on Saturday Raja, the son of minister of state for panchayati raj and rural development Dhan Singh Rawat, is seen overtaking a car and blocking the road. He goes on to slap the driver unprovoked before dragging him out and beating him up.
Toward inclusivity: A special contingent of about 500 women CRPF personnel has been brought to Kashmir valley for regular security duties and tackle the unruly crowds and stone-pelters, a senior officer of the paramilitary force said. The women personnel, largely in constable ranks, are based at Central Reserve Police Force recruit training centre in Humhama in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir and are being trained in counter-riot and anti-militancy operations.
In focus: Crucial issues relating to the publication of final draft of Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) would come up before the Supreme Court on Monday, days after the NRC state coordinator said it would not be possible to release it as scheduled on June 30 due to floods in state. The NRC is being prepared to identify illegal migrants in Assam.
Environmental failure: As the controversy continues over felling of trees for redeveloping seven colonies by state-run NBCC, the company has got green nod from the Environment Ministry for one of these projects where nearly 18,000 flats will be built at an estimated cost of Rs 11,660 crore. NBCC has informed the Centre that there are about 13,128 trees at the site and has proposed to fell 11,000 trees of those trees.
Freak accident: At least 47 people were killed when an overloaded private bus they were travelling in fell down a gorge in Uttarakhand's Pauri district on Sunday morning., The incident in which eleven others were injured occurred near Gween village in the district when the bus, on its way to Ramnagar, fell into the 200-metre-deep gorge.
Flood alert: Rain wreaked havoc in several states, including Jammu and Kashmir, where three people were killed in rain-related incidents. Meanwhile, the death of another ITBP personnel who was injured in a landslide in Arunachal Pradesh raised the toll to five on Saturday. The Amarnath Yatra has also been suspended due to inclement weather.
Attacked again: In yet another act of vandalism, Dalit icon Dr. BR Ambedkar's statue was defaced in Rajapatti village under Kaptanjganj police station in Azamgarh. Villagers alleged that the police attitude was lackadaisical as they reached the spot four hours after being informed. The latest incident follows a string of such acts of vandalism targeted at Ambedkar statues.
Gaping flaws: As many as 3,200 private schools in Haryana are on the verge of closure, as state’s education department is yet to extend their temporary recognition. The schools have been awaiting permanent recognition, despite being in operation for a long time now.
Gauri Lankesh murder: KT Naveen Kumar, the first accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, allegedly tried to influence and threaten a witness against giving evidence in the 10-month-old case. The startling allegation was made before the Sessions Court where Naveen Kumar has applied for bail. Opposing the bail plea, public prosecutor TM Narendra told the magistrate that even while Naveen is in judicial custody, there is an attempt to pressure key witness Girish.
Women safety: Fewer toilets, insensitive staff and unsafe transport: are schools failing the girls of India? Controversy after a recent survey naming India as the most dangerous country for women led Rupsha Bhadra to take a closer look. Read the News18 Special on women’s safety in India.
Agree or disagree?
In pre–Independence era, there had been numerous movements seeking temple entry for Dalits and the history is full of stories of brutal attacks on the proponents of those movements. The temple entry movement of the 1920s and 30s in Kerala became a landmark in the history of social reforms for its uniqueness and sweeping success. The fundamental difference between the British rule and Independent India regarding temple entry for Dalits is that all laws enacted by the Britishers denying entry into the temples lapsed once the Indian Constitution was adopted with great vigor and fervor. But, as senior journalist Anil Chamadia explains, the rules of socially powerful class are still intact.