Dalit couple hacked to death by upper caste man for failing to repay Rs 15 debt

Lucknow, July 28: In a shocking incident, a Dalit couple was on Thursday hacked to death in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri district for allegedly being unable to pay back a paltry sum of Rs 15. Mainpuri is Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh's Lok Sabha constituency and around 300 km from the State capital.

The Dalit couple, Bharat Singh (65) and his wife Mamta (60), were brutally attacked with an axe. They were found dead with injuries to their neck, police said.

Residents of Lakhnipur village in the Kurra police station area of Mainpuri, the couple owed Rs. 15 to a local shopkeeper, identified as Ashok Mishra. When on Thursday morning, around 7 am, the couple was on its way to work in the field, they were confronted by Mishra, who demanded that they immediately repay his money. The couple said they would pay him in the evening. The argument escalated into a physical fight with Mishra allegedly attacking the couple with an axe, a police spokesperson said.

Police arrested Mishra and his wife Rajni, booking them under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (murder) and Section 3 (2) 5 of the stringent Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Police also recovered the axe used in the crime.

Dalits constitute 21 per cent of UP's population. According to a recent report in The Hindu, with 20 per cent of India's Dalit population, UP accounts for 17 per cent of the crimes against them.

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Instead of killing them for mere Rs15, this bas.....d Mishra should have taken them to hospital to sell a bottle of blood and left them alive.

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Mangaluru’s ₹1,200 crore fix: Massive sewage overhaul to end city’s drainage woes

News Network

December 19,2025

Mangaluru: In a decisive move to tackle the city’s deteriorating sanitation infrastructure, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has announced a massive ₹1,200 crore action plan to overhaul its underground drainage (UGD) network.

The initiative, spearheaded by Deputy Commissioner and MCC Administrator Darshan HV, aims to bridge "missing links" in the current system that have left residents grappling with overflowing sewage and environmental hazards.

The Breaking Point

The announcement follows a high-intensity phone-in session on Thursday, where the DC was flooded with grievances from frustrated citizens. Residents, including Savithri from Yekkur, described a harrowing reality: raw sewage from apartments leaking into stormwater drains, creating a "permanent stink" and turning residential zones into mosquito breeding grounds.

"We are facing immense difficulties due to the stench and the health risks. Local officials have remained silent until now," one resident reported during the session.

The Strategy: A Six-Year Vision

DC Darshan HV confirmed that the proposed plan is not a temporary patch but a comprehensive six-year roadmap designed to accommodate Mangaluru’s projected population growth. Key highlights of the plan include:

• Infrastructure Expansion: Laying additional pipelines to connect older neighborhoods to the main grid.

• STP Crackdown: Stricter enforcement of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) regulations. While new apartments are required to have functional STPs, many older buildings lack them entirely, and several newer units are reportedly non-functional.

• Budgetary Push: The plan has already been discussed with the district in-charge minister and the Secretary of the Urban Development Department. It is slated for formal presentation in the upcoming state budget.

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