Of Cows, Men and Murder

May 7, 2017

The reprehensible acts by cow vigilantes seem to be going on unhindered. Some incidents have happened right in front of the police, who have turned a blind eye.

vigilantes

Despite the Centre issuing an advisory last year on the action to be taken by the state governments over such incidents, not much has changed on the ground. This has only emboldened self-styled cow protectors to have a free run.

A big concern is that most of the attacks have taken place in the BJP-ruled states, and as the saffron juggernaut rolls on election after election, the future could be unpredictable.

Uttar Pradesh

Noida, May 5, 2017

Two contact workers, assumed to be Muslims, thrashed for “cow smuggling”

Dadri, September 28, 2015 (The trigger)

* Mohd Akhlaq (52), son Danish dragged out of their house, beaten with bricks for storing and eating beef

* Akhlaq dies, Danish suffers severe injuries

* Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath bans cow slaughter after taking over in March

* Orders sealing of illegal slaughterhouses, triggering protests

Jammu & Kashmir

Udhampur, Oct 9, 2015

* Truck attacked with petrol bombs after rumours of it carrying dead cows

* Driver succumbs to injuries 10 days later

* Seven held for murder

Reasi, April 20, 2017

* Nomadic family with livestock intercepted

* Family, including nine-year-old girl, beaten with iron rods

* Four arrested and charged with attempt to murder

Cow slaughter or possession of its meat in J&K is criminal offence carrying jail term of not less than 10 years (now also in Gujarat)

Haryana

* Beef is banned, 10-year punishment for cow slaughter

* “Beef biryani policing” -- police squads check random eateries for selling beef

Faridabad, June 10, 2016

* Gau Rakshak Dal members stop beef transporters

* Force them to eat cow dung

Rajasthan

Alwar, April 1, 2017

* 50-year-old dairy farmer Pehlu Khan dies after vigilantes beat him up for transpoting cows; four others injured

* 7 arrested, but none who were named in FIR

* Vipin Yadav, an accused, was compared to Bhagat Singh by cow vigilante Sadhvi Kamal

Has a dedicated Cow Welfare Department, but 2,000 cows died in state-owned shelters due to negligence

Delhi

Kalkaji, April 22, 2017

* Three youths beaten up by around 25 men, said to be members of People for Animal, for transporting buffaloes

* Youth were en route to municipal slaughter house

* Cops arrested the youth first, attackers later

Kerala House, Oct 26, 2015

* Delhi Police raid Kerala House after complaints that beef was being served

* Hindu Sena claims it received a tip off

* The menu, it claims, has all items in English, except one which is in Malayalam

Gujarat

Una, July 11, 2016

* Four Dalit youths stripped, tied to an SUV and beaten up for skinning dead cow

* But CID report says cows were killed by lions

* Video of incident posted on social media with warning

Punjab

* Case filed on August 6, 2014, against Gau Raksha Dal after a video showing members brutally thrashing “cow smugglers”, went viral

*Dal chief Satish Kumar arrested from Vrindavan on Aug 22, 2016, after being booked on charges of sodomy, rioting and extortion

Telangana

* Struggle against Al kabir and Allanna mechanical slaughter houses of Medak district (earlier undivided AP) has been going on for long

* 'Gau Rakshaks' keep vigil on trucks that carry bovines and raid them

* Such raids result in communal tension, particularly during Bakrid

Andhra Pradesh

East Godavari, Aug 10, 2016

* Two Dalits who were skinning a dead cow were brutally beaten by locals

* Farmers who were searching for their missing cows mistook the duo as cow thieves, tied them to a tree and thrashed them

* 7 arrests were made in the case

Maharashtra

Senior BJP MLA Mangalprabhat Lodha seeks capital punishment for slaughtering cows and bulls

Jharkhand

Latehar, March 18, 2016

* Two Muslim men found hanging from a tree

* Mazlum Ansari (32) was a cattle trader; Imteyaz Khan (13) was the son of a cattle trader

Karnataka

Chikkamagalur, July 17, 2016

Seven Bajrang Dal members attack a Dalit family on suspicion of cattle theft and cow slaughter

Madhya Pradesh

Mandsaur, July 26, 2016

* Two Muslim women carrying buffalo meat slapped, kicked and abused by women members of Hindu Dal on suspicion that it was beef

* Police accused of making half-hearted attempts to intervene

Kerala

Surprisingly, for April 12 Malappuram Lok Sabha bypoll, BJP candidate N Sreeprakash promised “clean slaughterhouses for good beef”

Ernakulam, April 19, 2017

Eight RSS activists were arrested in connection with an attack on a house where a calf was slaughtered for Easter

Assam

Nangaon, May 1, 2017:

Two men lynched for “trying to steal cows” in a village, 130 km from Guwahati

Manipur

Imphal East, Nov 3, 2015

Headmaster of govt madrasa killed for “stealing cows” from his neighbouring village

What the Constitution says...

Article 48 (Directive Principles)

Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry: The state shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.

Govt advisory of August 9, 2016

* States are enjoined upon and expected to ensure that any person who takes law into his/her own hands is dealt with promptly, and punished as per law

* There should be no tolerance at all for such persons and full majesty of law must come to bear on them, without exception

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Agencies
May 14,2020

Social media platform WhatsApp assured the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it will not roll out its payment services without complying with all payment regulations and norms in the country.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and Hrishikesh Roy took up the matter through video conferencing. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the social media platform, said "WhatsApp Inc makes a statement on behalf of his client that they will not go ahead with the payments' scheme without complying with all the regulations in force."

The statement was made during the hearing of a petition seeking a ban on payment through WhatsApp, as it does not conform to the data localization norms. The top court took the assurance made by WhatsApp on record.

WhatsApp made the statement during the hearing of a plea seeking a ban on its payment service, for not being in line with data localization norms.

In 2018, WhatsApp was granted a beta licence to launch its payment service, but a dedicated and separate app is yet to be launched. A petition was moved in the apex court that WhatsApp's existing model for its payments service should be declared inconsistent with the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) Scheme, as a separate dedicated app has not been offered by the company.

The petitioner NGO, Good Governance Chambers, argued that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) must change its model on the lines of the UPI payment scheme, and its operations may be suspended until these conditions are met.

The apex court today asked the Centre, Facebook and WhatsApp to file their replies within three weeks and it will take up the matter thereafter. The court noted that the government may process the applications filed by WhatsApp in accordance with the law and there is no stay on the same. Facebook was represented by senior advocate Arvind Datar.

The petitioner argued that lapses have been found in relation to WhatsApp's claims of having a secure and safe technological interface for securing sensitive user data.

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Agencies
January 26,2020

New Delhi, Jan 26: Google on Sunday marked India's 71st Republic Day by dedicating a doodle illustrating the country's rich cultural heritage that permeates and unites the diverse nation.

From its world-famous landmarks like the Taj Mahal and India Gate, to the wide array of fauna such as its national bird (the Indian peafowl), to classical arts, textiles, and dances, the doodle, designed by Singapore-based artist Meroo Seth, brings together the rich cultural heritage of the country.

Republic Day marks the completion of India's transition towards becoming an independent republic after its constitution came into effect. The governing document had taken nearly three years of careful deliberation to finalise, and its eventual enactment was joyfully celebrated across the country.

While the Constitution was adopted by the Indian Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, it came into effect on January 26 -- a day when Declaration of Indian Independence (Purna Swaraj) was proclaimed by the Indian National Congress back in 1929, as opposed to the Dominion status offered by the British Regime.

Festivities embody the essence of diversity found in one of the world's most populous nations, celebrated over a three-day period with cultural events displaying national pride.

Last year's doodle on Republic Day, designed by artist Reshidev RK, had featured Rashtrapati Bhavan in the background along with a display of the country's iconic monuments and heritage.

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Agencies
June 29,2020

New Delhi, Jun 29: Witnessing azure skies and breathable air for the last three months, Delhi on Monday recorded deterioration in its air quality, with particulate matter with diameter of 2.5 and 10 microns -- too small to be filtered out of the human body -- standing at 52 and 297 micrograms per cubic respectively.

Gufran Beig, Project Director of System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), said that the sudden spike in air pollution is due to a mild dust storm blowing from Rajasthan.

"Since the wind direction is changing and moist air is coming in, the air quality in Delhi will become better by tomorrow," Beig told IANS.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed that the overall air quality near Delhi Technical University (DTU) area stood at 326 micrograms per cubic, followed by 308 at Narela and 307 at Mundka.

Out of 36 stations, the AQI in as many as 30 stations was above 200 micrograms per cubic till 1 pm on Monday.

The System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research categorises air quality in the 0-50 range as good, 51-100 as satisfactory, 101-200 as moderate, 201-300 as poor, 301-400 as very poor, and above 400 as severe.

According to SAFAR's website, "PM 10 (coarser dust particle) is the lead pollutant. AQI is likely to improve to moderate category by tomorrow, and further improvement is expected by July 1."

Researchers indicated that PM 10 and PM 2.5 will be 170 and 47 micrograms per cubic on Tuesday.

With no vehicles plying on the roads or industries shut due to the lockdown since March 25, Delhi's air quality had improved drastically.

According to a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, if the low levels of air pollution reached during the lockdown period are maintained, India's annual death toll could reduce by 6.5 lakh.

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