Oppn leaders express outrage over killing of 'OBC' man with brick in Meerut
Meerut (UP) (PTI): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati have condemned the killing of a backward class youth in the Sardhana area of Meerut.
Both leaders on Sunday urged the government to be vigilant and proactive to prevent such crimes.
In a post on X, Mayawati said that the January 5 killing of a youth belonging to the Kashyap community, categorised under the Other Backward Classes (OBC), deserved the strongest condemnation.
She stressed that anti-social and criminal elements must have fear of the law.
In his post, SP chief said, "We raise our voice on behalf of the entire PDA community against the heinous act committed by goons who burned a young man from the Kashyap community alive in Jwalagarh, in the Sardhana area."
Responding to the posts, the Meerut police said the it was not a recent case and that had registered a murder FIR and solved the crime within 24 hours of the incident.
The accused, they said, is a minor who was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to a child reform home.
According to the police, the incident took place on January 5 on the Akhepur-Rardhana Road.
The victim was identified as Rohit alias Sonu, 28, a resident of the Kila locality in Muzaffarnagar city.
An investigation revealed that the crime followed an argument over loud music being played in a tempo. The accused, a 16-year-old tempo driver, allegedly assaulted Rohit with a brick, killing him.
Circle Officer (Sardhana) Ashutosh Kumar said the accused first befriended Rohit, made him consume liquor while he himself drank an energy drink and later struck him on the head with a brick.
To conceal his identity, the accused dragged the body about 15 metres to a spot near a school wall and set it on fire using clothes, dry leaves, and oil.
The incident came to light when a school watchman noticed a fire late that night and informed the police. The body was identified the next day.
Family members said Rohit worked as a confectioner in Mumbai and had come to his village to look for a bride.
The police said the accused was identified through a barcode on a liquor pouch recovered from the spot and CCTV footage from a liquor shop.
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Parents fear uncertainty after Karnataka govt rules out age limit relaxation for Class 1 admission
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has ruled out any relaxation of the minimum age limit for admission to Class 1 beginning with the academic year 2026-27. Following the refusal, a group of parents continues to press for leniency.
Parents of children who fall under the age of six by a small margin on the cut-off date have met Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior officials from the Department of School Education and Literacy to request an exemption. School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa said that the government will not change its decision, as reported by Deccan Herald.
According to the minister, children must be six years old by June 1 to be eligible for admission to Class 1. beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. He noted that the previous relaxation was a one-time measure that was clearly confined to the 2025-26 academic year.
“If such requests are entertained every year, it will never end. While granting relaxation last year, it was explicitly stated that it applied only to one academic year. From 2026-27 onwards, the rule will be strictly implemented,” Bangarappa was quoted by DH.
Parents argue that the rigid cut-off is affecting children who are short by a few days. One parent was quoted by DH as saying that his daughter would be 12 days short of completing six years on June 1. Such parents would be forced to repeat a year despite being academically ready. Others pointed out that children promoted from LKG to UKG during the 2025-26 academic year are now facing uncertainty over their transition to Class 1.
Few parents also recalled that earlier, admissions were allowed for children aged between five years and 10 months and six years. Parents saw it as a more practical approach, with children born in November and December being disproportionately affected.
The issue of age criterion goes back to a government order issued in July 2022. The order mandated six years as the minimum age for Class 1 admission. Parents of children already enrolled in pre-primary classes, protested against the order and the state deferred implementation, announcing that the rule would come into force from the 2025-26 academic year.
After renewed pressure, the government granted a one-year relaxation for 2025-26, citing the large number of students affected and in consultation with the State Education Policy Commission. While announcing the exemption, the minister had stated that no further concessions would be allowed.
