Cow vigilantism and lynching: Supreme Court raps states for delay in report, gives them a week
New Delhi, Sept 07: The Supreme Court on Friday gave a week’s deadline to those states who have failed to file a compliance report on incidents of cow vigilantism and mob lynching as per its July 17 order. Only 11 states and seven union territories have submitted their report till now.
Directing all the states to comply with its directions on the case, the apex court said the home secretary of the defaulting state will have to appear in person if the report is not filed within the given timeframe.
The bench was hearing a plea by Congress leader Tehseen Poonawala, seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against Rajasthan officials, including the Chief Secretary and the police chief, for alleged violation of the apex court’s verdict in the alleged lynching of dairy farmer Rakbar Khan on July 20.
During the hearing, the central government informed the court that an empowered Group of Ministers has been set up to consider framing a law on mob violence following the top court’s verdict.
In its July 17 hearing, the top court had called for a special law to deal with incidents of lynching and vigilantism and directed that a slew of “preventive, remedial and punitive” measures be adopted to deal with such offences across the country.
The court directed state governments to designate a senior police officer, not below the rank of Superintendent of Police and assisted by a DSP, as nodal officer in each district to take steps to prevent mob violence and lynching. The two officers will in turn constitute a special task force to collect intelligence on those likely to commit such crimes or be involved in spreading hate speeches, provocative statements and fake news.
The states were given three-weeks time to identify places where instances of lynching and mob violence have been reported in the last five years. The Secretary, Home Department, of the states concerned, was asked to issue directions to nodal officers to ensure that the officer in-charge of police stations remain vigilant.
Courtesy: indianexpress.com
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Mamata asks TMC nominees not to leave counting centres as EC data shows BJP leading
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged TMC candidates and agents to remain vigilant and not to leave counting centres, alleging that there was a "game plan" by the BJP and the Election Commission to show the saffron party taking a lead in the early trends of counting.
In a video message issued during the counting of votes, the TMC supremo appealed to party workers to stay put and not to lose morale.
"I appeal to everyone that neither TMC candidates nor counting agents should abandon counting centres," she said.
As trends on the Election Commission website indicated the BJP leading in 188 seats against the TMC's 94, Banerjee maintained that her party was still ahead in a significant number of constituencies.
"We are still ahead in 170 seats, but I request everyone not to lose hope," she said, adding that there were "around 70 to 100 seats where we are leading, but they are not sharing the data of those seats".
"A false narrative is being spread," she alleged.
The chief minister accused the Election Commission of "not declaring results or leads" in areas where the TMC was ahead.
"This is a game plan by the EC and the BJP as it (poll panel) is not declaring results or leads in areas where we are leading," she said.
Banerjee also alleged irregularities in the counting process at some locations.
"In several places, counting has been stopped after the first two to three rounds. In Kalyani, we have caught seven machines with severe anomalies," she claimed.
She further alleged that TMC workers were being "harassed with the help of central forces" and that party offices were being "vandalised and forcefully captured".
"With the help of central forces, they are harassing and torturing AITC workers. Our offices have been vandalised," she said, also alleging that voter list revision exercises were "purposefully done to target seats where we were strong".
Seeking to reassure party workers, Banerjee said more rounds of counting were yet to take place and urged them to stay firm.
"Fourteen to eighteen rounds of counting will happen. You will surely emerge victorious. Don't be afraid; fight like tigers," she said.
Her remarks came as counting trends suggested that the BJP was leading in 188 seats and had crossed the halfway mark of 148 in the 294-member assembly, pointing to a potential shift in the state's political landscape.
Counting for 293 constituencies was underway with postal ballots, followed by EVM votes.
Officials cautioned that trends could change as more rounds are counted, and final results would be known later in the day.
জরুরি বার্তা pic.twitter.com/Uc82oihwEL
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 4, 2026
