Another incident of moral policing in DK, how many more before cops pull leash on Hindtutva goons?
Bus stopped, young boy, girl harassed in police presence
Eye witness claims mob pressured parents of girl to file false case of abduction against boy
Mangaluru: With more than six incidents of moral policing in the last one month in Dakshina Kannada, the police department in the district is largely becoming toothless tigers against the right-wing Hindutva groups.
On late Thursday night, the hooliganism of these right-wing Sangh Parivar activists was once again on display and on peak when they stopped a Bengaluru-bound private bus Durgamba near Bantwal to intercept an inter-religion couple who was traveling on the bus.
The bus was stopped, the couple was dragged out, nearly assaulted and abused on National Highway for more than an hour before the local police reached the crime scene.
An eye-witness’ account on what prevailed for more than hour at the spot revealed that the mob that had gathered at the spot abused and tried to assault the young girl and boy who were both traveling to Bengaluru for their professional commitments.
The mob also alleged that the couple were in an illicit relationship and tried to twist the plot using the “Love-Jihad” angle. When the parents of the girl arrived, the eye-witness also added that the Hindutva goons pressured them to file a false case of abduction against the boy.
“The mob was very furious. They were shouting slogans and abusing the young couple. When the parents of the girl arrived they pressurized them to file a false case of abduction and assured that their lawyers would help to get the boy convicted” The eyewitness told Vartha Bharati.
“When the parents refused, they started abusing the parents as well and asked them to skin the girl alive.” he added.
Video of the young girl went viral wherein she was resisting the mob when they tried to barge into the bus and tried to drag her and her friend out of the bus.
“Even when the Hoysala Patrolling car of the police came, the mob completely took over the situation and the two constables who had come to the crime scene could not control them. It was only after a Sub-Inspector arrived at the scene that he took control.” The eyewitness further said.
The young boy and the girl were then taken to the Bantwal Police Station where their statements were recorded and they were let go. They however missed the bus as the bus was allowed to leave for Bengaluru when the victims were taken to police station.
The two victims are now left with traumatized mind and an anxious heart that are trying forget what transpired on the fateful night. The videos, and pictures of ID cards are now widely being circulated on social media platforms by the right-wing groups to tarnish the reputations of the youngsters.
No case was filed in this regard against the mob that stopped the bus without authority and created a law and order situation out of nothing. Although these incidents have been frequented in Dakshina Kannada from several years now, the police department has failed to take an action that would stop such gimmicks from these goons.
With the assembly elections nearing in the state, it will be important to see how the district administration and police department will control these Hindutva goons across the district.
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EC begins phased publication of post-SIR rolls in Bengal; 1.18L names deleted in Bankura
Kolkata (PTI): The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday began publishing the post-SIR electoral rolls in West Bengal in phases, with figures from Bankura district indicating that around 1.18 lakh names have been deleted since the exercise commenced.
Hard copies of the updated rolls were put up in districts including Bankura and Cooch Behar, even as the lists were yet to be made available online on the designated EC portals and mobile application till reports last received.
In Bankura, where the electorate stood at 30,33,830 when the SIR exercise began on November 4 last year, the number in the draft rolls published on December 16 had come down to 29,01,009.
Following hearings and scrutiny during the subsequent phase of the SIR, around 4,000 more names were deleted. However, a few thousand fresh applications under Form 6, meant for the inclusion of new voters, were approved.
As a result, the final electoral roll of Bankura, considered a turf where both BJP and TMC have equal political dominance, now stands at approximately 29,15,000, indicating a net deletion of around 1.18 lakh names since the commencement of the SIR, a senior district official said.
Election Commission officials said the deletions were primarily due to death, migration, duplication and untraceability, while additions were processed after due verification.
Reports from other districts are still awaited.
The publication of the rolls is being carried out in phases across districts, and supplementary lists are expected to be issued as adjudication of pending cases continues.
According to officials, the publication classifies 7.08 crore electors, whose names appeared in the draft rolls issued on December 16, into three categories -- 'approved', 'deleted' and 'under adjudication/under consideration'.
Commission sources also indicated that in parts of north Kolkata, nearly 17,000 names were found missing from the approved rolls, further fuelling political reactions from rival parties.
The draft rolls published on December 16 had already seen the state's electorate shrink from 7.66 crore -- the figure based on names appearing in the rolls till August 2025 -- to 7.08 crore, with over 58 lakh names deleted during the first phase of scrutiny.
The SIR process, the first such statewide revision since 2002, began on November 4 last year with the distribution of enumeration forms. The commission took 116 days to provisionally complete the exercise and publish what officials described as a "final but dynamic" list, as adjudication in several cases is still underway.
The second phase involved hearings for 1.67 crore electors -- 1.36 crore flagged for 'logical discrepancies' and 31 lakh lacking proper mapping.
Around 60 lakh voters continue to remain under adjudication, meaning their inclusion or exclusion will be determined in supplementary rolls to be issued in phases.
Meanwhile, long queues were seen outside district election offices and cyber cafes across the state as anxious voters thronged centres to check their names in the updated rolls.
In districts such as Bankura, North 24 Parganas and parts of Kolkata, hard copies of the lists were put up on notice boards, drawing steady streams of residents since morning. Many were seen scanning page after page of printed sheets, some taking photographs on their mobile phones, while others sought help from officials to trace their entries.
At several district magistrate and sub-divisional offices, voters waited in serpentine queues for their turn to verify whether their names figured under the 'approved', 'deleted' or 'under adjudication' categories.
With the updated rolls yet to be fully accessible online, cyber cafes reported a sudden surge in footfall. In many neighbourhoods, small computer centres witnessed lines of people waiting outside, clutching voter ID cards and enumeration slips, reflecting both public anxiety and the high political stakes surrounding the revision exercise ahead of the assembly elections due in April.
