Ratlam, Sep 29: At least four people were killed and eight others injured in two separate road accidents on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district on Tuesday, police said.

The accidents occurred within a span of about two hours on the eight-lane expressway under the jurisdiction of Jaora Industrial police station, with both cars plunging into a 30-40 feet deep gorge after hitting the central median.

The first accident took place around 4:30 a.m. when a car carrying a family from Punjab, travelling from Ambala in Haryana to Mumbai, hit the median railing.

The vehicle broke through a portion of the railing and fell into the gorge, police said. Narendra Kaur (67) and her daughter-in-law Manpreet Kaur (32), both from Punjab, died in the accident. Three other occupants, including an elderly man and two children, were injured.

“Prima facie, it appears that the driver may have become drowsy while driving at high speed and lost control of the vehicle, causing it to hit the railing,” Jaora Industrial police station in-charge Prakash Gadariya said.

Police reached the spot after receiving information from other motorists and shifted the injured to a hospital in Jaora.

They were later referred to Ratlam Medical College for further treatment. While police personnel were examining the site of the first accident, another car carrying a family from Dahod in Gujarat met with an accident around 6:30 a.m., police said.

The second vehicle, bearing registration number GJ20 CB 4610, reportedly went airborne after hitting the central median and fell into the gorge.

The railing at the spot had been damaged in the first accident. Ravi Hatila (35), who was driving the second car, and Ramesh Makwana (50), both from Dahod, were killed. Four to five other occupants of the vehicle were injured.

“The railing had been damaged in the first accident, and while our personnel were conducting an inspection at the spot, the second car hit the median and fell into the gorge,” Gadariya said.

The Gujarat family was returning to Dahod after travelling to Uttar Pradesh for medical treatment of a family member.

Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding both accidents, including the condition of the road infrastructure and the factors that led to the vehicles losing control.

Moradabad, Sep 29: Two men were killed after a speeding SUV collided with their e-scooter, sending it flying, in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad on Tuesday, officials said.

According to the preliminary information, a speeding SUV struck the e-scooter carrying the two friends, resulting in a fatal accident. The force of the collision was such that the e-scooter was hurled away, leaving both riders critically injured. They later succumbed to their injuries.

Following the accident, police reached the spot and took the bodies into custody. The bodies were subsequently sent for post-mortem examinations as part of the investigation into the incident.

The driver of the SUV allegedly fled from the spot after abandoning the vehicle. Police have taken the SUV into custody and brought it to the police station for further investigation.

The vehicle is reportedly owned by Mohammad Naveed, a resident of the Civil Lines police station area. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident and are also working to establish the identity and whereabouts of the person who was driving the SUV at the time of the collision.

The deceased have been identified as Mohammad Rihan and Abuzar, both residents of Salempur village under the Kanth police station area of Moradabad.

News of the deaths left the families of the two young men devastated. Relatives and other family members were inconsolable following the fatal accident, while the families have demanded strict action against the person responsible for the crash.

According to Rihan’s family, he had been working in Dubai and was scheduled to return there, with his flight booked for October 1. The family said that he was the sole earning member of the household and that his father has been unwell.

A family member expressed anguish over the circumstances of the accident and demanded action against the SUV driver.

“The SUV rider may be a wealthy man, but what about them? The light of our home is gone,” the family member said.

The incident has once again raised concerns over road accidents involving speeding SUVs in Moradabad. Locals pointed out that this was not the first such incident in the district in recent days.

Just three days ago, an SUV allegedly hit an e-rickshaw that was parked on the roadside in the Kundarki police station area. The earlier incident also resulted in a fatality, adding to concerns over road safety and reckless driving in the area.

Meanwhile, in a road accident reported from Chandigarh earlier on Tuesday, an SUV being driven by a woman collided with a motorcycle near the bridge close to Dhanas Lake, leaving two people injured.

The two injured persons, who were travelling on the motorcycle when the collision took place, were subsequently taken to a hospital for treatment. Their condition was not immediately known.

Police took both the SUV and the motorcycle into custody as part of the investigation.

Police in both incidents are examining the circumstances surrounding the respective collisions.

New Delhi, Sep 29: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken cognisance of a complaint alleging the systematic misuse and exploitation of young children, aged between 3 and 12 years, for creating and circulating social media content through an Instagram handle reportedly operated from the Marchra area of Etah district in Uttar Pradesh.

A Bench presided over by NHRC Member Priyank Kanoongo has issued notices to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Etah; the District Magistrate, Etah; the Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY); and the Managing Director and Country Head of Meta India, directing them to submit their respective Action Taken Reports (ATR) within two weeks.

The action was initiated on a complaint filed by Sewa Nyaya Utthan Foundation, alleging that minor children, including those from socially and economically vulnerable backgrounds, were being made to appear in videos containing abusive, derogatory and politically charged expressions.

The complaint alleged that the children were scripted, tutored and prompted to repeat such expressions, following which the videos were uploaded and circulated publicly for digital reach and engagement.

The NHRC observed that the allegations, if established, disclose serious issues concerning the care, protection and dignity of children and their alleged use by adults for the creation, publication and amplification of digital content.

The NHRC directed the Etah SSP to immediately verify the allegations and identify the children appearing in the videos and, wherever warranted, produce them before the competent Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for assessment of their care, protection, safety and well-being.

It also directed that necessary counselling and psychosocial support be provided to the children through the CWC or District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), while strictly protecting their identity and privacy.

The police have been further directed to ascertain the identity of persons operating or controlling the social media handle, recording or creating the videos, scripting or prompting the children, uploading or circulating the content, or otherwise facilitating or benefiting from the activity.

The NHRC said the role, if any, of parents or guardians, tuition or coaching operators and other adults should also be examined.

The apex human rights body directed that the entire digital material be examined and, if commission of any cognisable offence is disclosed, an FIR be registered and investigation undertaken against all persons or entities responsible, including those creating, recording, uploading, circulating or facilitating the content, as well as the concerned social media platform or an intermediary wherever its role or liability is disclosed.

The investigation may involve applicable provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and other applicable laws, the NHRC said.

The SSP was also directed to ensure the immediate preservation and lawful collection of relevant videos, account information, upload records and other digital evidence so that deletion or alteration of online material does not prejudice the investigation.

The District Magistrate has been directed to ensure that the children identified in connection with the alleged content are promptly produced before the CWC, wherever required, and that their safety, care and psychological well-being are assessed.

The DCPU has also been directed to facilitate counselling and psychosocial support and assess the circumstances in which the children were allegedly made to participate in such content.

The NHRC has separately directed Meta India to examine the Instagram handle and material depicting the minor children and submit a report explaining how such content involving repeated use of young children was permitted to be uploaded, repeatedly circulated and remain accessible on the platform.

Meta has also been asked to disclose whether the account or content generated any monetisation, commercial benefit, advertising revenue or other platform-based financial benefit, directly or indirectly.

The social media platform has further been directed to state the action taken to restrict or remove content found violative of applicable law or child-safety policies, while preserving relevant account and content data for lawful investigation.

It has also been asked to preserve and, upon lawful request, furnish relevant account registration particulars, login or access records, IP or device information, upload records and other available digital evidence to the investigating agency.

The NHRC has directed MeitY to examine how children, particularly those stated by the complainant to be from socially and economically vulnerable backgrounds, were reportedly being repeatedly used in such content and how the platform permitted its continued hosting, circulation and amplification.

MeitY has also been asked to examine the platform’s due diligence, child safety and grievance redressal mechanisms and take appropriate action in accordance with law.

The NHRC made it clear that the children appearing in the alleged material are to be treated primarily as children requiring protection and appropriate assessment, and that the investigation should focus on identifying the adults or persons responsible for scripting, creating, uploading, controlling or commercially exploiting such content.

The NHRC also stressed that the identity, dignity and privacy of the children should be protected at every stage of the proceedings.

The SSP, Etah, and the Managing Director and Country Head of Meta India have been directed to submit their respective ATRs, along with supporting documents, within two weeks of receipt of the notice.