Hijab row: Personal info leak of six girl students figures in Rajya Sabha
New Delhi(PTI): The online leakage of personal information of six girl students, most of them minors, from Karnataka's Udupi, where the first protests in connection with the hijab row were reported recently, figured in the Rajya Sabha on Friday with a member demanding protection of data rights.
Raising the issue through a Zero-Hour mention, Mausam Noor of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) said amidst the hijab ban controversy, personal data of at least six girl students was leaked and shared across social media platforms.
"Their personal information like names, addresses etc. have been shared by multiple people, thereby violating their privacy," she said.
The hijab row had erupted in Udupi in December last year when six students were prevented from attending classes because they wanted to cover their heads for religious reasons.
Stating that data leakage and violation are not uncommon these days, the TMC MP said personal information and pictures of multiple Muslim women were leaked and used against their will in the SulliDeal and BulliBai apps cases.
"In recent times, leaking of personal information has become a common way of violating women's rights and privacy and safety," she said, adding, "Leaking data and personal information is not just a threat to the safety of people, but also a violation of the basic fundamental rights such as the right to privacy."
Noor said the issue needs to be addressed and it should be ensured that the data rights of everyone, especially minor girls and women, are protected.
Sushil Kumar Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded scrapping of the discretionary quota of MPs to recommend admission to Kendriya Vidyalayas, saying it goes against transparency and meritocracy, and breeds corruption.
Under the KVS Special Dispensation Admission Scheme (MP Quota), a Member of Parliament (MP) in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha can recommend the names of a maximum of 10 students every academic year for admission in Kendriya Vidyalayas.
The admissions made under this quota not only skew the teacher-student ratio but also deprive several sections of the benefits of reservation as such recommendations do not follow the 50 per cent quota rule provided for SC, ST and OBC community students, he said.
Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP) said the teachers of government-run primary schools should not be deployed on election duty and for other administrative jobs as it impacts the education of poor students.
A computer-literate clerk must be appointed at every government-run primary school for filing mandatory reports such as that of mid-day meals, which otherwise has to be done by a teacher by cutting into class time, he added.
Associating with the issue, Tiruchi Siva of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) said the matter of low salaries of teachers should be addressed as well.
While Prashanta Nanda of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) demanded immediate release of pensions for artisans, which have not been paid since April 2021, Shaktisinh Gohil of the Congress raised the issue of the Indian fishermen languishing in Pakistani prisons.
He said 580 Indian fishermen are lodged in jails in the neighbouring country for accidentally straying to Pakistani waters while fishing off the Gujarat coast.
Raising the issue of a 44-year-old fisherman who was caught by Pakistani Marines on December 9, 2018, Nanda said the punishment for trespassing into the Pakistani side of the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) is three months' imprisonment.
Despite serving the sentence, the fisherman was not released and he died in a Pakistani prison on February 3 this year, he said, adding that it has been a month and a half but the body has not been handed over by the Pakistani authorities.
The BJD leader demanded that the government use diplomatic and other channels to secure the release of the Indian fishermen and ensure that the body of the deceased fisherman is brought back to India so that the family members could perform the last rites.
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Woman, 2 sons found dead in Delhi home; suicide suspected
New Delhi (PTI): Three members of a family were found dead inside their home in southeast Delhi's Kalkaji on Friday, with police suspecting it to be a case of suicide, officials said.
Police said the incident came to light around 2.47 pm when a police team reached the premises to execute a court order related to possession of the property. When repeated knocks went unanswered, the staff used a duplicate key to open the door.
Inside, officers found Anuradha Kapoor (52) and her sons, Ashish Kapoor (32) and Chaitanya Kapoor (27), hanging from the ceiling, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari said in a statement. All three were declared dead.
A handwritten note was recovered from the room, suggesting the family had been struggling with depression.
"The handwritten note indicates emotional distress faced by the family due to which the family may have taken the extreme step," the officer said.
The bodies have been shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) mortuary for post-mortem and other legal formalities under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood said they were shocked to learn about the deaths, adding that the family kept largely to themselves.
Pankaj Kashyap, a resident of Girinagar, said he learnt about the deaths while leaving for work. "I live and work here and was leaving for work when I saw many people standing outside and talking. That is how I got to know that three people had committed suicide. I also saw several police vehicles outside, but I do not know much beyond that," he said.
Baldev, another neighbour, said the family had been living in the newly constructed house for around two years. "We only knew that a mother and her two children lived there. They had moved into the newly built house around two years ago. We did not interact much with them. Today we heard that all three have committed suicide, and whatever we know is based on what people here are saying," he said.
Another neighbour, Ramesh Kumar, claimed the family had earlier attempted suicide.
"About fifteen to twenty days ago, the two sons in the family had attempted suicide and police and ambulances had come. That was when I first got to know who they were. I do not recognise them by face, but we saw the ambulances and police take the two sons that day. Today again we saw ambulances and police arriving, so everyone came out to see what had happened. I do not know how long they had been living here, but this is all we know," he said.
Police said they are examining the family's financial condition, social circumstances, and other factors that may have contributed to the incident. Further investigation is underway.
