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Youth Congress protests against stampede deaths in Delhi

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New Delhi, Feb 18: Workers of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) held a protest here on Tuesday over the recent stampede at New Delhi Railway Station in which 18 people were killed and several others were injured, demanding action against those responsible for the alleged negligence resulting in the tragedy.

The protesters shouted slogans and attempted to break police barricades during the demonstration in central Delhi.

During the agitation, the IYC workers were holding placards and shouting slogans demanding action against those responsible for the incident.

Earlier on Monday, on the direction of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee President Devender Yadav, a complaint was filed before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking a probe into the 18 deaths in the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station on February 15.

The complaint, filed by the Legal and Human Rights Department (LHRD) of the DPCC, asked the NHRC to constitute an enquiry committee to probe the tragic incident.

Yadav, in his complaint, pointed out that the tragedy happened due to the irresponsibility of the Railway authorities and security enforcers as they took no steps to manage the swelling crowd of devotees headed to Prayagraj for taking a holy dip during the Maha Kumbh.

He questioned how the Railways could sell 1,500 tickets per hour for passengers bound for Prayagraj without making the necessary arrangements for coaches or crowd management.

Yadav said that he has demanded that the NHRC probe should fix responsibility and ensure that strict action is taken against those responsible for the tragedy.

The DPCC delegation consisted of LHRD Chairman Sunil Kumar, Rajesh Garg Chairman Booth Management, Advocate Sajid Chaudhary, Advocate Sheikh Imran Alam, Advocate Nishkarsh Gupta, Advocate Megha Sehra, Advocate Babar, Advocate Pratap Singh, Advocate Deepak Pilot and Law Student Karthikeya Garg.

Meanwhile, the government has set up a two-member committee to probe the stampede.

The committee, comprising Narsingh Deo, PCCM/Northern Railway, and Pankaj Gangwar, PCSC Northern Railway, on Sunday ordered the securing of video footages of platforms 14 and 15 of the station where the massive crowd of passengers had gathered.

On Sunday, the probe panel also inspected the tragedy site and started collecting statements of witnesses of the stampede to corroborate it with the CCTV footage.

The Railways have announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased, Rs 2.5 lakh for the seriously injured passengers and Rs 1 lakh for those who suffered minor injuries in the stampede.

Crime

Rise In Child Sexual Assaults By Teachers In Mumbai Sparks Alarming Questions

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In recent days, incidents of sexual assault on minors or students by teachers in Mumbai have been increasing, which is a serious issue in society. A private tutor in Malad sexually abused a 7-year-old girl. The Dindoshi police have arrested the accused, a 44-year-old teacher from Goregaon who provided private tutoring to young girls at home. The victim, who lived in the same building, had been attending his tutoring sessions since August 2024. The accused lured her into his bedroom under the pretext of showing her games on his mobile and exploited her innocence to sexually abuse her.

After noticing behavioural changes in their daughter, the parents questioned her, and she revealed the horrific abuse. The teacher had been assaulting her for nearly a year, from August 2024 to July 9, 2025. On July 9, a 22-year-old karate instructor, who taught children, was arrested by the Shivaji Park police for sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl. On June 25, a 50-year-old teacher from a reputed coaching class in Bhayander was found to have sexually abused a 17-year-old FY BA student between October and November 2024.

In November 2024, Amit Dubey, 50, a school teacher in Nalasopara’s Santosh Bhuvan area, was accused of raping a 14-year-old student in his private class from October to November 2024. On July 3, 2025, a 40-year-old female teacher from a prestigious Dadar school was arrested for sexually abusing a 16-year-old student over several months, including taking him to a five-star hotel. There are several unreported incidents as well. 

Statement Of Uma Subramanian

Uma Subramanian, Co-founder and Director RATI Foundation & Child’s Rights Activist, stated, “I would not say the incidents are increasing, but they are now coming to light more frequently. The media is reporting them more prominently. People are shocked because these cases involve prestigious schools.”

She added, “Schools often scrutinise peons, drivers, and caretakers for character verification, but fail to check the backgrounds of teachers. This reflects a class and caste bias. When such cases arise, schools often deflect responsibility, claiming the incidents happened outside school premises or that parents are unwilling to file complaints. While every school has a child protection policy, most children and parents remain unaware of it. Schools may conduct awareness sessions but avoid taking legal action, shifting the burden onto parents. few come forward to file cases.”

“Section 19 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act mandates reporting offences against children. However, many cases go unreported because the legal process is traumatic for victims and their families. Filing an FIR takes 8-10 hours, medical examinations could span over days… frequent police station visits are required, and the judicial process is tiring. As a result, no one wants to go through the process, definitely not the big schools or the elite privileged folks. The law is robust and child-friendly on paper, but most systems are not. Also, the elite in India can get away more easily with anything, isn’t it?,” the activist said.

Psychologist Lisha Chedda’s Statement

Psychologist Lisha Chedda stated, “Usually, in such incidents, the accused follows a certain process called grooming. They spend time with the child, gain their trust, build rapport, and then abuse them. Two things severely impact the child mentally: their trust is broken, and they are left terrified. Often, people don’t believe the child after they disclose abuse, which further violates their trust. Sometimes, gender bias also comes into play—people may think, ‘If the victim is a boy, what could have happened to him?’ This is wrong. Abuse is abuse; it is sexual violence. The child may become traumatised and feel deep shame, which can be internalised.Chedda added, “Everybody has a stress response system: fight, flight, freeze, flop or fawn. These are natural reactions. Studies show that in sexual assault cases, most victims freeze. The child becomes extremely scared and often freezes. First of all, no one immediately believes the child. They keep questioning why the child didn’t scream or run away. The child’s response is not taken seriously.

The kind of response they receive from the adults around them affects their lifelong trauma. If the child receives mental health support, along with parental and school support, the impact on them can be much less severe.”

Advocate Persis Sidhva’s Statement

Advocate Persis Sidhva, stated, “The courts generally take these cases seriously. Parents send their children to school believing it to be a safe place. Schools must have and strictly implement a child protection policy. These policies shouldn’t exist just on paper – they need to be actively enforced. Parents need to be aware of the POCSO Act and that it mandates strict punishments, especially when teachers are the accused, as these cases constitute aggravated offences with harsher punishments.”

“In court, we often see that schools either lack commitment or frequently side with the accused to protect the institution’s reputation. This fear leads them to support the perpetrator, leaving children and their families without proper support. In most cases, schools fail to create an environment where the child and family feel comfortable continuing their education there. This often results in a significant loss for the child-first they suffer abuse, then they’re forced to change schools, while parents must deal with numerous additional challenges, including a legal case.” Advocate Sidhva added.

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Crime

UP Shocker: Mother Of 5 Children Dies After Beaten Up By 24-Year-Old Lover Over Breakup In Noida

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A mother of five children died after her 24-year-old allegedly beaten her up following a heated argument over breakup on Monday in Noida. According to reports, the victim has been identified as Neeraj. The police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and arrested the accused boyfriend.

According to police, woman’s husband Satish, originally a resident of village Hathni Gud in Badaun district, works in a private company. He lives on rent in a house located in Mamura village with his wife Neeraj and five children. Neeraj had an extramarital affair with Arjun, a resident of village Sahpur in Shahjahanpur district who lived in the neighbourhood, for the past three years.

Arjun worked as a housekeeper in a private company located in Sector-59. Husband Satish was unaware of their affair. Neeraj went to meet Arjun in his room in the neighbourhood on Monday evening around 6 PM. Here, a fight broke out between the two about breakup. After the argument, Arjun physically assaulted Neeraj. During this, Neeraj became unconscious and fell to the ground.

Panicked Arjun rushed her to a nearby hospital, from where the woman was referred to Kailash Hospital. Seeing no improvement in her condition, the woman was referred to the district hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

After being alerted, police arrived and sent the body for the post-mortem. They also took boyfriend Arjun into custody. Family members allege that Arjun murdered Neeraj by strangulation.

According to police, the woman had married Satish about 13 years ago. The couple has five children. To educate the children, Satish brought Neeraj from his ancestral village to Noida about five years ago. While living in lane number eight, Neeraj became friends with Arjun, who lived in the neighbourhood. Gradually, the friendship between the two turned into a love affair. Arjun is 24 years old and unmarried.

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National News

Odisha Self-Immolation Case: Congress Workers Stage Protest Over Balasore Student’s Death Outside AIIMS Bhubaneswar

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Bhubaneswar (Odisha): Tensions flared outside AIIMS Bhubaneswar on Tuesday morning as Congress workers staged a protest following the death of a 20-year-old student from Balasore who had attempted self-immolation.

The protesting Congress workers were detained by police.

AIIMS Bhubaneswar Confirms The Death Of The Student

Earlier on Monday, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar confirmed the death of the 20-year-old student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Odisha’s Balasore, who had attempted self-immolation.

The Department of Burn Centre, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, said in a statement that the patient was brought to the casualty on July 12 and was referred from Balasore District Headquarters Hospital to AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

“She was admitted to the Burns Centre ICU. The patient was resuscitated with IV fluids, IV antibiotics, intubated and put on mechanical ventilation. Despite adequate resuscitation and all possible supportive management, including renal replacement therapy at the Burns ICU, she could not be revived and was declared clinically dead at 11:46 PM on July 14,” the statement said.

The 20-year-old student set herself on fire after allegedly facing prolonged sexual harassment by her college’s Head of Department. Despite lodging a formal complaint and seeking help from the principal, her pleas were ignored, leading to the tragic incident. The incident occurred at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College.

Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi Expresses Grief

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief and assured the family of the deceased that all those guilty in this case will face the strictest punishment as per the law.

In a post on X, CM Majhi said, “I am deeply saddened to hear the news of the demise of the female student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College. Despite the government’s fulfilment of all responsibilities and the tireless efforts of the expert medical team, the victim’s life could not be saved. I pray for the eternal peace of her departed soul and beseech Lord Jagannath to grant strength to her family to bear this irreparable loss.”

“I assure the family of the deceased student that all those guilty in this case will face the strictest punishment as per the law. For this, I have personally issued instructions to the authorities. The government stands firmly with the family,” the Odisha CM emphasised.

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