RLD state secretary shot by nephew in Barabanki, critical
Barabanki (UP) (PTI): Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) state secretary Afsar Ali was shot at and critically injured by his nephew over an alleged property dispute in Loharhar village, police said on Tuesday.
Ali, who lives with his family in Lucknow, had come to his native village to attend the last rites of an acquaintance in a neighbouring village, they said.
According to the police, after returning from the cremation, Ali was sitting and talking with villagers near a shop in the village when his nephew, Ubaid, arrived and fired at him with a country-made pistol. The pellets hit Ali in the chest, leaving him seriously injured.
Hearing the gunshot, villagers rushed to the spot and Ali was immediately taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Lucknow, where his condition remains critical, police said.
Following the incident, an additional police force was deployed in the village.
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Circle Officer Fatehpur Jagatram Kanojia inspected the spot and questioned family members.
Kanojia said preliminary investigation suggests that the incident was linked to an old property dispute.
A case has been registered and the accused, Ubaid, has been arrested and is being interrogated, he said.
Station House Officer Krishnakant Singh said the accused confessed during questioning that he had a long-standing land dispute with his uncle and carried out the attack due to personal enmity.
A case has been registered against four persons and further investigation is underway, he added.
Ali has been active in politics for a long time and currently serves as state secretary of the Jayant Chaudhary-led Rashtriya Lok Dal, police added.
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SC asks states to treat rising child trafficking cases as grave; seeks coordinated action
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has voiced grave concern over rising cases of child trafficking, saying gangs are operating across the country and if States and Union territories do not take immediate action, thing will go beyond control.
The court said only the state government and its home department can act vigilantly in this regard.
“As a court we can monitor, but ultimately the action has to be on the part of the state government, the police, and other agencies. Therefore, this is our humble request”, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said during the hearing of a plea on Wednesday.
The bench was irked over the "lackadaisical" approach of several states and UTs in implementing a 2025 judgment aimed at dismantling organised trafficking networks.
Justice Viswanathan said the retrieval of children in some cases proves the problem can be tackled, but it requires a level of political and administrative will which is lacking at present.
The verdict, delivered on April 15, 2025, had mandated several institutional reforms, including completion of trials in trafficking cases within six months on a day-to-day basis.
It had also directed strengthening of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and improving investigation standards.
Besides asking for setting up of state-level committees to monitor vulnerable trafficking hotspots, it had asked the authorities to treat missing children cases as trafficking unless proven otherwise.
Earlier, the bench had termed the compliance reports filed by a few states as "nothing but an eye wash."
On Wednesday, the bench noted that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab had still failed to file reports in the prescribed format.
When the home secretary of Madhya Pradesh offered an apology for the lapse, the bench granted a "final opportunity" but warned that continued failure would lead to states being officially branded as "defaulting".
The bench noted that at least 15 states are yet to constitute review committees mandated to identify and monitor trafficking-prone areas.
The matter will now be heard on April 29.
