NHRC notice to UP govt over 'tantrik' being called to treat 15 girl students in Mahoba school
New Delhi, Dec 23: The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government over reports that the administration of a state-run school in Mahoba district called a 'tantrik' to treat 15 girl students, who fell ill after consuming mid-day meal, officials said on Friday.
The Commission has observed that the contents of the media reports, if true, amount to human rights violations of the victim students, who instead of being taken to a hospital for treatment by the school authorities, were reportedly subjected to superstitious practices at a government-run school.
The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of the media reports that the administration of the school called a 'tantrik' to treat 15 girl students, who fell ill after consuming mid-day meal. Reportedly, they were taken to hospital after police intervention, it said in a statement.
Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh seeking a detailed report within four weeks. It is expected to include the steps taken or to be taken to ensure that this type of incident should not recur in the future in the state, it said.
Issuing the notice, the Commission has also observed that apparently, a sub-standard mid-day meal was served to the students leading to their illness, which is indicative of the apathy of the authorities concerned. Besides, the school teachers are expected to educate students and not to make them believe in such superstitious malpractices, the statement said.
According to the media reports, carried on December 21, a video purportedly showing the girls being subjected to sorcery by a 'tantrik' came to the notice of the police, who chased him away before taking the ill students to the local community health centre for treatment. Most of them are in the age group of 9 -13 years.
Reportedly, the villagers had blamed ghosts in the school for the illness of their children, it said.
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MediaOne TV Facebook page restored after block linked to ‘government request’
Kochi: The official Facebook page of Malayalam news channel MediaOne TV has been restored after being blocked without prior notice, the broadcaster said on Wednesday.
The channel was quoted by Maktoob as saying that the restriction was lifted automatically, with Meta Platforms informing it that the action had been taken following a “government request” which has now expired or been reversed.
The development came shortly after the channel approached the Kerala High Court challenging the blocking of its page, terming it arbitrary and in violation of legal provisions and judicial precedents. The High Court had issued notice to Meta via email hours before the restriction was withdrawn.
In its petition, the channel said access to its Facebook page had been restricted for users in India without citing any specific content or alleged violation. It contended that while individual posts may be taken down under applicable a rule, blocking an entire page goes beyond the scope of such measures.
The incident followed an earlier action taken against the channel in 2022, when the Ministry of Information and transmitting prohibited it from transmitting. It cited national security concerns regarding the Ministry of Home Affairs' refusal of security clearance.
The Supreme Court of India in April 2023 set aside the ban, observing that national security claims cannot be made without substantive basis and that criticism of government policies does not render a media outlet anti-national.
