(1) Communal violence erupts in Haryana
Six people, including two police personnel and a Muslim cleric, were killed in clashes between two groups that erupted on July 31 in Haryana’s Nuh district. The violence broke out after a religious procession of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) came under an attack from a mob when it passed through the Muslim dominated Nuh region.
Also read |Making a riot: On the communal clashes in Haryana
The violence later spread to neighbouring districts, including Gurugram, as a mosque was attacked and shops were set on fire. Mosque’s imam was killed in the attack.
The Haryana government on Thursday, August 3, 2023, said normalcy was returning to Nuh and the situation there and neighbouring districts was under control.
Places in which violence occurred on July 31, 2023, Monday.
However, the Congress termed the violence a failure of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party-Jannayak Janta Party alliance government, demanding a probe under the High Court’s supervision.
Nuh SP Narendra Singh Bijarnia said the investigation so far shown that there was no single mastermind for the Nuh violence. The Nuh violence was “the doing of several disparate groups”, PTI quoted Bijarnia as saying. He also said that a strict vigil is being kept on the social media to prevent spread of fake news, rumour or inciting speech etc.
Also read |Haryana Ministers say lapses by Nuh yatra organisers contributed to violence
Meanwhile, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said that over 250 people have been held over the communal violence in the state this week so far. Of the people held so far, 202 have been arrested and 80 have been taken into preventive detention, said Vij, as per PTI.
Also read | Hundreds flee Gurugram slum cluster
Vij said that 102 FIRs have also been filed, including 51 in Nuh and the rest in nearby districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, and Palwal which also reported violence.
(2) Core sector growth touches 5-month high
India’s core sectors’ output surged 8.2% in June, the fastest pace in five months, buoyed by a 21.9% spike in steel output and nearly double-digit rise in coal and cement production, as per data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Monday.
Seven of the eight core sectors, which constitute 40.3% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), registered an uptick in June, compared to just six in May, when their total output had increased 5%.
Also read | Core comfort: on the policy environment
Economists expect the IIP growth, which had hit a three-month high rate of 5.2% in May, to clock a 4%-6% rise in June as well. Coming on the back of a 13.1% rise in output last June, the 8.2% growth in June was noteworthy, they said.
(3) SC raps Manipur government for lack of law and order
The Supreme Court pulled up the Manipur government for police delay on filing an FIR in the sexual harassment case of two women in the violence-hit State. It questioned why the police took 14 days to file even a Zero FIR. Saying the case in question was not an isolated one, the Court asked for a break-up of FIRs registered after the violence began in the State.
When the FIRs were given, they painted a gloomy picture. It showed a “complete breakdown of law and order” in the State, the Court said. Delays in registering FIRs, “tardy” investigation and few arrests were some problems. In some cases, FIRs were not registered for more than a month.
Delays in registering FIRs is not new, especially when it comes to sexual harassment cases. A 2020 report titled “Barriers in Accessing Justice” documented the experiences of 14 sexual harassment survivors. The FIR was not registered immediately after the complainant approached the station in any of the cases. It took anywhere from two to 228 days to register an FIR.
Also read |In Uttar Pradesh, police delay FIRs, insult sexual assault survivors, says report
More recently, the delay of registering the FIR came up in the sexual harassment cases raised by top women wrestlers against Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. The wrestlers repeatedly sought the prosecution of the police officers who did not register an FIR on their complaints, which had forced them to approach the top court in the first place. The Delhi police’s argument was that they needed to conduct a “preliminary inquiry” before filing the FIR. It did not explain why the inquiry had to be done.
Regarding this, a Constitution Bench said that a preliminary inquiry can only see if the information reveals any cognisable offence and not to verify the accuracy of the information itself.
(4) Over 17,000 died in floods and rains between 2012-21
Over 17,000 people died in floods and heavy rains between 2012 and 2021 in the country, the government said on July 31.
Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu said the increased incidence of high intensity rainfall of short duration is mainly responsible for urban floods, which is further compounded by unplanned growth, encroachment of natural water bodies and poor drainage system.
The State-wise data on damages due to heavy rains and floods in the entire state (rural and urban areas) has been compiled by the Central Water Commission (CWC), and as per which the total damages, including crops, houses and public utilities stood at ₹2,76,004.05 crore, he said.
Mr. Tudu, in a written response, said several initiatives have been taken by the government to encourage groundwater recharge and other nature-based solutions to tackle urban flooding in flood-prone areas.
Watch |Why has the monsoon in North India been so destructive?
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday said the August – usually the second rainiest of the four monsoon months – will likely see ‘below normal’ rains.
A strengthening El Nino and the absence of meteorological conditions that could have offset El Nino’s effects, will combine to suppress rainfall in the second half of the monsoon, IMD officials told The Hindu. Usually, August gets 25.49 cm of rainfall.
(5) Imran Khan gets 3-year sentence in corruption case
On August 5, 2023, Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan was found guilty by the Islamabad trial court over allegations that he sold gifts in state possession during his tenure. Mr. Khan has been sentenced to three years in jail and fined 100,000 Pakistani rupees.
An order by Additional and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar said Mr. Khan “cheated while providing information about gifts he obtained from Toshakhana which later proved to be false and inaccurate. His dishonesty has been established beyond doubt”. Mr. Khan has been shifted to Attock Jail in Punjab.
Also read |Pakistan’s history of jailing its former Prime Ministers
Mr. Khan is accused of misusing his tenure from 2018 to 2022 to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and were worth more than Rs. 140 million. However, he denies that he misdeclared. One of the most precious gifts that he sold was a special Holy Kaaba edition Graff watch that was gifted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia to him.
Also read |Imran Khan’s party to challenge his 3-year sentence
Here is Mr. Khan’s political career summarised in a timeline. Swipe or click toward the right arrow key to move further along the timeline.
Mr. Khan’s lawyer Intazar Hussain Panjutha told The Hindu that as a consequence of the conviction, the former Prime Minister will not be able to contest elections for the next five years and will also not be able to remain chairman of his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
