Dowry deaths drop sharply in Karnataka: Report
Bengaluru: Dowry deaths in Karnataka have declined sharply since 2023, Deccan Herald reported, citing official data. The number fell from 158 in 2023 to 112 in 2024 — a 30% drop — and further to 48 in the first five months of 2025.
Crimes against women under various sections have also seen a slight decrease. Director General and Inspector General of Police M.A. Saleem attributed the drop to stricter law enforcement and faster case closures. "We have ensured strict action against the offenders and closed the cases within 60 days. Hence, the cases are on a decline," DH quoted him as saying.
Another senior officer said increased awareness among women has encouraged more to report harassment, helping prevent deaths. Dowry harassment cases, however, fell only marginally from 2,960 in 2023 to 2,912 in 2024.
"If we observe, the number of dowry harassment cases has not come down significantly compared to deaths. This shows that more women are approaching the police against such harassment and we have been able to prevent deaths," the officer explained.
However, women’s rights activists believe dowry harassment remains widespread in Karnataka. K.S. Vimala of the Janavaadi Mahila Sanghatane said economic vulnerability and social stigma discourage many women from filing complaints, leading to under-reporting. “If they come out and complain against their families, they have no place else to go. In many other cases, women think it it brings shame to the family," DH quoted Vimala as saying.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
