NGO fighting hate speech condemns government notice to IAS officer
Campaign Against Hate Speech, an organisation fighting hate speech, has condemned the state government's decision to issue show-cause notice to IAS Officer Mohammed Mohsin for a tweet from his personal account.
In a statement, the NGO said, "We stand in complete solidarity with IAS Officer Mohammed Mohsin and are deeply appalled by the Karnataka Government’s selective targeting of the senior bureaucrat for expressing discontent about media’s biased treatment of the minority Muslim community. The notice issued by the government cites “adverse coverage” of the tweet in the media as reason for the show-cause notice and asks why this should not be considered as violation of service rules. We fail to see how the tweet questioned government’s policy or action, or embarrasses the state or central government or harms relations between the centre and a foreign country— as mentioned by rule no.7 of All India Services Rules (D&A) Rules, 1969."
"We fail to understand how adverse media coverage is construed as violation of service rules. The state’s drastic and immediate response is in stark contrast to complete inaction against communally provocative, incendiary rhetoric of elected representatives of the ruling party such as Ananth Kumar Hegde, Shobha Karandlaje, CT Ravi, Basangouda Patil Yatnal and even the Chief Minister’s political secretary MP Renukacharya. Their hateful statements are matched by the constant anti-Muslim, anti-migrant rhetoric of few Kannada news outlets which have played an important role in creating hostile and threatening environment for minorities in the state. Campaign Against Hate Speech has filed over 30 complaints with various authorities of the state, including the Chief Minister, the DGP, district and state media monitoring committees. Yet, criminal inaction from the government has allowed for the hate-mongerers mentioned above to continue to tear through the social fabric of our society," it said.
"We demand that Karnataka government withdraw the show cause notice issued to IAS Officer Mohammed Mohsin and refrain from violating his freedom of speech protected under Article 19(1)(a) of Indian Constitution. We further seek that action be initated against those sections of the media that has been promoting and inciting hatred on grounds of religion," the Campaign Against Hate Speech urged.
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Four of family found dead in Maharashtra’s Nanded district in suspected mass suicide
Nanded (PTI): A farmer, his wife and their two sons were found dead in two different locations in Maharashtra’s Nanded district on Thursday morning, in what police suspect to be a mass suicide, an official said.
Around 8 am, the bodies of Ramesh Sonaji Lakhe (51) and his wife Radhabai Lakhe (45) were discovered on a cot in their home at Jawala Murar village in Mudkhed tehsil, he said.
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The bodies of their sons, Umesh (25) and Bajrang (23), were subsequently found on nearby railway lines. It appears they jumped in front of a speeding train, the official said.
Police inspector Dattatray Manthale told reporters, “The parents were found dead inside their home, while the sons took their lives on the railway tracks. We have asked a Forensic Science Laboratory team to collect evidence. The truth will come out only after a thorough technical investigation and autopsy.”
While the nature of their death appears to be part of a suicide pact, police said the exact circumstances remain unclear.
The family belonged to the small-scale farming community, but it is not yet confirmed if financial distress or a domestic crisis triggered the extreme step, the official said.
Neighbours described the Lakhes as a hardworking family who struggled against the odds of small-land farming to sustain themselves.
The Nanded rural police are recording statements of relatives and checking for notes or final messages left by the family.
