Hyderabad, Sep 21: An auto-rickshaw driver was to death allegedly by a group of people following an argument over Rs. 10 change in the old city of Hyderabad, police said.

The incident occurred on Sunday evening in Vattepally under limits of Falaknuma Police Station.

The victim was identified as Mohammed Mukarram (42). His brother Mohammed Afroz said he was brutally assaulted and murdered in front of his family members.

According to Afroz, when a passenger who gave Rs.200 note to Mukarram towards the auto fare of Rs.10, Mukarram asked him to pay the change. This led to an argument and the passenger called some others who thrashed Mukarram, resulting in grievous injuries. He succumbed before he could be shifted to a hospital.

Afroz alleged that Azeem, reporter of a local news channel, Shoaib and 6-8 others were involved in the killing.

“My brother was epileptic and weak-hearted. Despite my requests to spare him, they kept raining blows on him and he collapsed,” said Afroz as he broke down narrating the incident before media.

Mukarram is survived by wife and four children. Afroz demanded the government to do justice to the family by ensuring harshest punishment to the killers.

Police said they have registered a case and took up investigation.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MLA Mohammed Mubeen visited the area and consoled the family of the victim.

The MLA demanded immediate arrest of the accused. He voiced concern over the growing incidents of crime in Vattepally area and demanded the police to intensify patrolling.

The incident occurred amid spate of murders in Hyderabad. The city has witnessed eight murders during the last two weeks.

Use of knives, sickles and other sharp-edged weapons for targeting murders in crowded places is causing a huge public concern.

Last week, a rowdy sheeter was hacked to death inside a wine shop permit room in Bandlaguda area. Previous enmity with a childhood friend was said to be the motive behind the killing.

Voicing concern over the series of murders, AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi recently demanded that the government establish dedicated anti-murder squads of the police to ensure swift investigations and secure convictions within a year.

Pune Sep 21: A social media influencer was forced to prostrate in front of Raj Thackeray’s photograph for allegedly mocking Raj Thackeray in one of his reels.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers captured the influencer, Mahesh Mote, and forced him to prostrate before a photograph of Raj Thackeray with slippers on his head and black ink smeared on his face. He was recorded while he apologized on camera in the same position while doing sit-ups.

The video showed tears flowing down Mote’s cheeks while the latter apologising to Raj Thackeray and the MNS workers for alleged insult and also pleading before them to be forgiven and let off.

“I inadvertently said something wrong about Raj Saheb, and I also mistakenly spoke inappropriately about Shubham Dada and other MNS office-bearers. Today, I deeply regret my mistake. Because of this reel, I have found myself in this predicament. I sincerely apologise to the MNS party and to all of you,” Mote pleaded, with wet eyes.

According to reports, a sub-divisional president of Hardaspur Assembly constituency, Shubham Jagdale alleged that the influencer used abusive and offensive language against MNS chief Raj Thackeray in a video posted about 15 days ago.

Previously, the influencer was in Keralam but as soon as he returned to Pune, MNS workers got information and brought him to an MNS Public relations’ office, where the apology video was recorded.

Jagdale claimed that Mote was given “mahaprasad”, meaning that the latter was treated roughly. Boasting about the incident, the MNS worker said that anyone who would try to tarnish Raj Thackeray’s image would meet a similar fate.

“We brought him to our office and made him lie down before a portrait of the respected Raj Saheb Thackeray and demanded an apology,” a MNS leader was heard saying.

In further boasting, he stated, “In true MNS style, we gave him a fitting reply in our own language – something you might even call ‘Mahaprasad’. I believe that if anyone makes such remarks against Raj Saheb Thackeray, MNS will respond in exactly this manner.”

Mumbai, Sep 21: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Monday strongly criticised the handling of protests at IIT Bombay following the death of a second-year student, describing the reported sacking of professors as a “band-aid solution”.

Chaturvedi said the student’s death was a tragic reminder that premier institutions such as the IITs need to urgently examine the overall campus environment and address concerns related to student mental health.

Taking to X, Chaturvedi said, “While the death of the IIT Bombay student is extremely unfortunate and yet another reminder that these premier institutions need to work on the campus environment and mental health but to sack the professors to end the protests is just a band-aid solution to a problem that needs surgery.”

“Also, shifting the blame on the professors who were doing their job of reporting copying during an exam and making it about caste discrimination is a sad outcome,” she added.

The second-year student was found dead on the IIT Bombay campus in Powai on September 18. The incident reportedly occurred after he was caught using a mobile phone during an examination by the institute authorities. His death a few hours after the incident triggered intense protests by students on the Powai campus.

The deceased student was identified as Sahil Wakode, a resident of Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, who was pursuing his second year in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay.

Following the student’s death and the subsequent protests, a case was registered against his teacher, Satyanarayan Dalla, Mumbai Police said on Saturday.

According to officials, a complaint was also filed against faculty members, senior officials and other authorities of IIT Bombay under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, as well as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The student’s death led to intense demonstrations at the gates of the IIT Bombay campus, as protesting students raised concerns over the circumstances surrounding the incident and the institute’s response.

The protesters also put forward a list of 18 demands, which included the resignation of key administrative officials, mandatory mental health workshops for faculty members and the immediate sacking of the professors allegedly involved in the incident.