New video surfaces in Hubballi youngster's assault case; Over 20 men seen assaulting him
Hubballi: The incident of a youth being stripped and assaulted in the city, leading to the arrest of five of his friends, has taken a turn, with another video of a group of over 20 youths assaulting him surfacing.
The assaulted youth, identified as Sandeep, was allegedly assaulted four months ago by his friends Prajwal, Vinayak, Ganesh, Sachin and Manju for posting abusive reels on Instagram. The officials of the Bendigeri Police Station arrested the five friends in relation to the case, following the lead of a viral video of the friends assaulting Sandeep.
A second video clip, of a group of more than 20 youngsters verbally abusing and assaulting Sandeep ruthlessly, has gone viral, giving a new turn to the case.
Hubballi-Dharwad City Police Commissioner Santosh Babu has deputed Bendigeri Sub-inspector BT Budni to the Women’s Police Station, Hubballi, for investigation of the case.
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SC asks states to treat rising child trafficking cases as grave; seeks coordinated action
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has voiced grave concern over rising cases of child trafficking, saying gangs are operating across the country and if States and Union territories do not take immediate action, thing will go beyond control.
The court said only the state government and its home department can act vigilantly in this regard.
“As a court we can monitor, but ultimately the action has to be on the part of the state government, the police, and other agencies. Therefore, this is our humble request”, a bench comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and K V Viswanathan said during the hearing of a plea on Wednesday.
The bench was irked over the "lackadaisical" approach of several states and UTs in implementing a 2025 judgment aimed at dismantling organised trafficking networks.
Justice Viswanathan said the retrieval of children in some cases proves the problem can be tackled, but it requires a level of political and administrative will which is lacking at present.
The verdict, delivered on April 15, 2025, had mandated several institutional reforms, including completion of trials in trafficking cases within six months on a day-to-day basis.
It had also directed strengthening of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and improving investigation standards.
Besides asking for setting up of state-level committees to monitor vulnerable trafficking hotspots, it had asked the authorities to treat missing children cases as trafficking unless proven otherwise.
Earlier, the bench had termed the compliance reports filed by a few states as "nothing but an eye wash."
On Wednesday, the bench noted that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Odisha, and Punjab had still failed to file reports in the prescribed format.
When the home secretary of Madhya Pradesh offered an apology for the lapse, the bench granted a "final opportunity" but warned that continued failure would lead to states being officially branded as "defaulting".
The bench noted that at least 15 states are yet to constitute review committees mandated to identify and monitor trafficking-prone areas.
The matter will now be heard on April 29.
