Govt failed to implement Manual Scavenging Act of 2013: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday attacked the government over deaths of 389 people in the country while manually cleaning sewers from 2015 to 2019 and alleged that it had "failed" to implement the Manual Scavenging Act.
Gandhi's criticism of the government came after the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry informed the Rajya Sabha that 389 people died in the country while manually cleaning sewers from 2015 to 2019.
"This shows how badly GOI has failed to implement the Manual Scavenging Act of 2013," Gandhi tweeted.
"Proactive measure must be taken to ensure no further indignity to our fellow citizens and our collective national conscience," he said.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale said FIRs have been registered against 266 people for engaging people for hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks that resulted in fatalities.
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Man kills woman lecturer, sets car ablaze; dies by suicide in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): A 46-year-old man allegedly killed a woman lecturer by setting fire to the car with her inside, before dying by suicide; his severed body was found by railway police the next day, police said on Tuesday.
The deceased, identified as Ramanjinappa, a resident of Doddaballapura, was a contract worker in the tahsildar’s office, they said.
Police said the man, who was married and had apparently separated from his wife, was in an illicit relationship with a woman identified as Saroja, whose charred body was found inside a gutted car in an isolated area near the Bashetty Industrial Area in Doddaballapura taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
Saroja was also married and had a son, police said.
According to police, on Saturday, the man allegedly borrowed a car from an acquaintance, claiming he had a medical emergency and needed to visit a hospital.
Citing preliminary investigations, a senior police officer said the man picked up the lecturer from a bus stop in Devanahalli. The two spent a couple of hours driving around Nandi Hills and nearby areas.
Later, they reached a secluded spot in Doddaballapura, where it is suspected that an argument ensued inside the car, following which he allegedly hit her on the head with a hammer, the officer said.
He then set the car on fire, reportedly using petrol, and is believed to have died by suicide thereafter, police said.
Locals who saw the burning car alerted the police and fire department, who rushed to the spot, extinguished the fire, and found the woman’s body completely charred inside the vehicle, the officer added.
His severed body was found near railway tracks in Bidadi by the railway police on Sunday, he said.
The motive and whether the crime was premeditated or impulsive are under investigation, he said.
Saroja’s husband filed a complaint accusing Ramanjinappa of killing her, police said, adding that a detailed investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events.
