1. Pulwama Encounter: LeT Kashmir Commander Abu Dujana Killed
Abu Dujana, a top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander from the militant outfit’s Kashmir unit, was gunned down in a joint operation by the police and security forces in an encounter in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on 1 August.
The militant was reportedly visiting his wife in Pulwama district when the Army tracked him down.
A resident of Gilgit-Baltistan in Northern Pakistan, 27-year-old Abu Dujana was a commander in the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Kashmir unit, as per reports by CNN News-18.
The Army has been quoted as saying that Dujana was among the 12 most wanted active militants in the Kashmir Valley, and had orchestrated several terror strikes in South Kashmir.
Read more here.
2. Police Probe ‘Blue Whale Game’ Angle in Mumbai Teen’s Suicide
A 14-year-old boy in Mumbai has allegedly ended his life by jumping off a building and police are probing if the incident is linked to the infamous 'Blue Whale' suicide challenge, as his friends were discussing the online game.
The Class 9 student jumped off the fifth floor of the building in Sher-e-Punjab area of suburban Andheri at around 5 pm on Saturday, the police said.
A person, who was standing near the building at the time of the incident, alerted the police. The police are yet to find the reason behind the extreme step and are trying to ascertain if it was in anyway related to the online game.
"The teenager's friends were chatting on social media groups about his death being linked to the Blue Whale online suicide challenge game. But we are yet to examine his mobile phone and social media groups where he was active," a senior police official said.
Read more here.
3. ‘We The Minority’: Voices of Muslims in Times of Mob Violence
“This country belongs to us all,” says Liaqat Ali, a resident of Ballabgarh, a town in Faridabad district of Haryana — the same town where a 19-year-old Junaid lived, before he was brutally lynched while travelling on a train from Delhi’s Sadar Bazaar.
His only crime – he was a Muslim.
According to an IndiaSpend survey, since 2010, 86 percent of victims killed in cow-related violence in India have been Muslims.
Mob lynching in the name of ‘gau raksha’ seems to have become the new ‘normal’, the hatred spilling over into our political discourse, Twitter timeline, and everyday lives. How has increased intolerance affected inter-community ties, social relations, mindsets, even business practices among India’s Muslims? Is the polarising discourse restricted only to TV studios and newspapers, or is there a pervading atmosphere of fear?
The Quint profiled a few personalities belonging to the minority community to understand how they feel about the prevailing atmosphere.
4. A Year On: 14-Year-Old Rape Survivor & Mother Marries Her Rapist
in 2016, a 13-year-old rape survivor from a village near Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, who was denied permission by the Allahabad High Court to abort her foetus, has married her alleged rapist after a decision made by the village elders. She had given birth to a baby boy in October 2016 – after she decided to keep the baby and denied adoption requests.
But nearly a year later, with a 10-month-old son, she’s married the alleged rapist.
Speaking to The Quint, the father of the rape survivor says:
The people of the village came together, along with the the Pradhan of the village, who decided that this marriage should happen. When we asked the girl, she said, whatever you wish works for me. Jaisa tum chaho, waisa theek hai.
Read more here.
5. Panagariya Resigns as NITI Aayog Chairman, Will Teach in US
Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Tuesday that he has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to relieve him of his duties by 31 August as he was not getting extension of leave from Columbia University.
The Indian-American economist and Professor of Indian Political Economy at Columbia University, Panagariya had joined as the first Vice-Chairman of the Niti Aayog, which had replaced the Planning Commission, in January 2015.
Talking to reporters, he said Columbia University was not giving him further extension.
Read more here.
6. Vijender Singh on Quick Bouts & Why a Long Gap Was Not Frustrating
India’s boxing star Vijender Singh spoke to The Quint ahead of his double title fight against China’s Zulpikar Maimaitiali.
Vijender is the current WBO Asia Pacific Super Middleweight champion while Zulpikar owns the WBO Oriental Super Middleweight Champion title. The winner of the bout in Mumbai on 5 August, will defend the title.
The Haryana lad, who fought his last bout on 17 December 2016, said that the long gap has not been frustrating for him. When it comes to fights, it is all about the timing, he said.
Read more here.
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