MP school gets steel plates after children seen eating on newspapers
Sheopur (PTI): A primary school in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district has got steel plates after a viral video showed its students having mid-day meal on a newspaper, drawing severe criticism, including from Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
BJP leader and former state minister Ramniwas Rawat and Sub-Divisional Magistrate Abhishek Mishra joined the students of the government school in Hullapur under the Vijaypur block and ate mid-day meal with them on Saturday.
A video posted on social media showed the school premises spruced up and children enjoying their lunch on brand new stainless steel plates.
“Today, our entire team visited the spot and inspected the food. It was found that the meal was properly served on plates. I myself, along with public representatives, also ate the meal there,” Mishra told reporters on Saturday.
“In the same way, we are monitoring this matter to ensure that no such incident happens again,” he added.
The video of food served on newspapers went viral on Tuesday, following which the authorities on Friday cancelled the contract of the self-help group responsible for preparing meals and handed over the job to the school management committee, the official said.
While the school in charge, Bhogiram Dhakad, has been suspended, notices have been issued to two other staffers, he said.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday shared a video on X of the school children having mid-day meal on newspaper and targeted the state and the central government over it.
He alleged that the ruling BJP’s “development” is just an illusion and the party's real secret of coming to power is “vyavastha” (the system).
“These are the same innocent children on whose dreams the future of the country rests and they are not even getting a plate of dignity,” Gandhi said in his post in Hindi.
“Such a chief minister and prime minister should feel ashamed for nurturing the future of the country's children in this pitiable state,” the Congress leader added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
