Karnataka: Four young girls hospitalised after miscreants throw chemical-laced colours during Holi
Gadag: In a disturbing incident, four schoolgirls were hospitalised after a group of miscreants threw chemical-laced colours at them during Holi celebrations in Suvarnagiri Tanda near Lakshmeshwara, Gadag district, on Friday, the first day of the festival.
The group, which included some schoolboys from the same locality, targeted ten girls who were on their way to Uma Vidyalaya High School in Lakshmeshwara by bus. Despite the girls pleading that they had exams to attend, the youths disregarded their requests and doused them with adulterated colours, sources told The New Indian Express.
Additionally, they threw a mixture of water, egg, manure, and some juice at the girls, causing severe discomfort.
The girls, studying in Class 8 and 9, began vomiting, prompting the bus driver to halt and transfer them to another vehicle for immediate assistance. Upon reaching Lakshmeshwara, the condition of four girls deteriorated, and they developed breathing difficulties, the report added.
Their teachers rushed them to a nearby government hospital for urgent medical attention.
Authorities have since detained two boys in connection with the incident. Senior police officials visited the hospital and assured the victims' families that strict action would be taken against those responsible.
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False narrative created over 2002 Gujarat riots, courts found us innocent: PM Modi
New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the discourse around the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat was an attempt to create a false narrative and his political opponents in power at the Centre wanted him to be punished but the courts cleared his name.
In a podcast with Lex Fridman, Modi said the perception that the 2002 riots were the biggest riots ever in Gujarat was an attempt to push misinformation.
"If you review the data from before 2002, you will see that Gujarat faced frequent riots. Curfews were constantly being imposed somewhere. Communal violence would erupt over trivial issues such as kite flying contests or even bicycle collisions," Modi said.
The prime minister said the riots in Gujarat in 1969 lasted for more than six months and that was an era when he was nowhere on the political horizon.
Modi said the Godhra train burning incident took place barely three days after he was elected as a legislator of the Gujarat Assembly.
"It was a tragedy of unimaginable magnitude, people were burned alive. You can imagine, against the backdrop of incidents like the Kandahar hijacking, the attack on parliament, or even 9/11, and then to have so many people killed and burned alive, you can imagine how tense and volatile the situation was," he said.
"Nothing should happen, we also wish so. Everyone would wish there should be peace," the prime minister said during the podcast released on Sunday.
Modi, who was the Gujarat chief minister at that time, said the big incident at Godhra was the sparking point and violence took place. He said that a fake narrative was spread regarding the Godhra case.
"But, the courts investigated the matter thoroughly and found us completely innocent. Those who were truly responsible have faced justice from the courts," he said.
The prime minister said his political opponents were in power at the Centre when the violence took place and they were keen to see him punished over the allegations.
"At that time, our political opponents were in power, and naturally they wanted all allegations against us to stick. They wanted to see us punished. Despite their relentless efforts, the judiciary analysed the situation meticulously twice and ultimately found us completely innocent," Modi said.
The prime minister said the most important thing was that Gujarat, which used to witness violence almost every year, has not seen riots since 2002.
"Over the past 22 years, there hasn't been a single major riot in Gujarat.
"Gujarat remains completely peaceful," Modi said.
The prime minister said his approach has always been to avoid vote bank politics.
"Our mantra has been, sabka saath sabka vikas aur sabka prayas. We have moved away from the politics of appeasement practised by our predecessors to the politics of aspiration," Modi said during his over three-hour interaction.
He highlighted how some people tried to malign his image after the riots but ultimately justice prevailed and the courts cleared his name.
