BJP home minister Ram Sevak 's pro-rapist remarks add to India 's rape shame

June 9, 2014

New Delhi, Jun 9: Prominent BJP leader and Chhattisgarh home minister Ram Sevak Paikre 's pro-rapist statement has global outrage with international media and leaders of international community pointing fingers at India.

Barely has the controversy over the outrageous statement on rape by BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh home minister Babulal Gaur died down, his Chhattisgarh counterpart on Saturday publicly justified the rapists by stating that, rape is not committed intentionally, but it happens accidentally.

"Such incidents [rapes] do not happen deliberately. These kind of incidents happen accidentally," Ram Sevak told media persons when asked for his thoughts on the gang-rape and hanging of two girls in a neighbouring state. However, later said he had been misquoted.

His original remarks were broadcast on television networks. The remarks come just days after another BJP leader Babulal Gaur, the home minister of Madhya Pradesh s, said about rape: "Sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong". Gaur made the remarks on Thursday amid growing anger over the gang-rape and murder of the girls, aged 12 and 14, in the northern Uttar Pradesh state late last month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose party came to power in a landslide election victory, has so far stayed silent over the rapes.

India brought in tougher laws last year against sexual offenders after the fatal gang-rape of a student in New Delhi in December 2012, but they have failed to stem the tide of violence against women across the country.

The chief minister in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, already under fire over his handling of the double gang-rape, accused the victim's families of coming under the influence of a rival political party. Yadav also hinted that his government had taped phone calls between the families and a politician from the Bahujan Samaj party (BSP).

"We have phone records of a BSP MLA [member of the state legislative assembly] … The BSP asked them [the families] to return the compensation offered by the state," Yadav told the Hindustan Times in an interview published on Sunday.

The brother of one of the victims dismissed Yadav's claims, saying the family was not "under the influence of any party, including the BSP".

Yadav's father, Mulayam Singh – leader of the Samajwadi party – was the target of public anger in April when he told an election rally that he opposed the recently introduced death penalty for gang-rapists, saying "boys make mistakes". Women's groups criticised the comments as evidence that politicians were unable to stem sexual violence because they lacked respect for India's women and were ignorant of the issues.

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Air India Express brings back Mangaluru–Muscat direct flights from March 2026

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December 15,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 15: Air India Express has announced that it will resume direct flight services between Mangaluru and Muscat from March 2026, restoring an important international air link for passengers from the coastal region.

Airport authorities said the service will operate twice a week—on Sundays and Tuesdays—from March 1. The initial flights are scheduled on March 3, 8 and 10, followed by March 15 and 17, with the same operating pattern to continue thereafter. The flight duration is approximately three hours and 25 minutes.

The Mangaluru–Muscat route was earlier operated under the 2025 summer schedule, with services beginning on July 14. At that time, Air India Express had operated four flights a week before suspending the service.

Officials said the summer schedule will come into effect from March 29, after which changes in flight timings and departure schedules from Mangaluru are expected. Passengers have been advised to check the latest schedules while planning their travel.

The resumption of direct flights to Muscat is expected to significantly benefit expatriates, business travellers and others, further strengthening Mangaluru’s air connectivity with the Gulf region.

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Think Before You Post! Mangaluru Police Crack Down on Provocative Instagram Accounts

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December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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