Bengaluru violence was handiwork of Cong backed by SDPI, says BJP’s fact-finding team

The Voice of Hind Rajab, inspired by the tragic final moments of a young Palestinian girl killed by Israeli fire in Gaza, has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best International Feature Film category.

Directed by Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, the film recounts the true story of five-year-old Hind Rajab, who lost her life in January 2024 while fleeing Israeli bombardment with her family.

The film features the real audio of Hind’s desperate call to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, where she pleaded for help moments before the vehicle she was in was struck by 355 bullets.

The haunting narrative begins with a brief call made from the besieged Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza, where gunfire and armored vehicles drowned out every sound.

After witnessing the brutal killing of her family, she made a trembling call, her voice reduced to a whisper as she spoke of the massacre and her unbearable loneliness as the sole survivor.

Premiering at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2025, The Voice of Hind Rajab garnered widespread acclaim, receiving a record-setting 23-minute standing ovation and the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize, the festival’s second-highest honor.

In her acceptance speech, Ben Hania dedicated the film to humanitarian workers and first responders in Gaza, emphasizing that Hind's voice symbolizes countless civilians affected by war.

She aims to give voice to victims often reduced to mere statistics, highlighting the broader suffering of civilians in war zones.

The film’s Oscar nomination underscores its powerful storytelling and ethical approach to depicting real-life tragedy, making it a crucial piece of contemporary cinema.

It serves not only as a narration of individual tragedy but also as an artistic and documentary response to the silence and censorship that often overshadow West Asian struggles and wars.

Using an innovative method she calls docufiction, Ben Hania bridges unvarnished reality and narrative structure, creating a work that is both artistically valuable and socially impactful.

Born in 1977 in Sidi Bouzid—later the epicenter of the Arab revolution—her background profoundly influenced her worldview and artistic approach.

She is a graduate of the Higher School of Audiovisual Arts of Tunis, Pantheon-Sorbonne University, and La Fémis in Paris, where her studies equipped her with the technical and theoretical tools needed to address complex subjects. 

Ghaziabad: In a tragic incident, three sisters aged 12, 14 and 16 died after jumping from the ninth floor of their apartment in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad in the early hours of Wednesday. The girls allegedly took the extreme step after becoming deeply obsessed with an online Korean task-based game.

The incident occurred around 2.15 am at a high-rise apartment complex in Bharat City. Before jumping, the sisters — Pakhi (12), Prachi (14) and Vishika (16) — left behind a handwritten note that read, “Sorry, Papa.”

According to police, the girls went to the balcony, bolted the door from inside and jumped one after another. Their screams and the sound alerted their parents, neighbours and security guards. By the time the parents broke open the balcony door, all three had died.

“When we reached the spot, we confirmed that three minor girls, daughters of Chetan Kumar, had died after jumping from the building,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police Atul Kumar Singh.

Visuals from the scene on Wednesday morning showed the bodies lying on the ground, their mother wailing in grief, and stunned neighbours gathering at the complex.

Police said the sisters were heavily influenced by Korean culture and were addicted to an online “Korean love game”, though no specific game has been identified so far. Investigators are examining an eight-page suicide note written in a pocket diary, detailing the girls’ mobile and gaming activities.

“Read everything written in this diary because all of it is true. I’m really sorry. Sorry, Papa,” the note said, accompanied by a hand-drawn crying emoji.

Their father, Chetan Kumar, told police that the girls had even adopted Korean names and had gradually withdrawn from school and daily activities. “They used to say, ‘Korea is our life, Korea is our biggest love. We cannot give it up,’” he said, breaking down.

Police said the parents had recently restricted the girls’ mobile phone usage, which may have triggered distress. “The investigation has not revealed the name of any particular game, but it is evident that the girls were deeply influenced by Korean culture, as mentioned in the suicide note,” said senior police officer Nimish Patel.

The sisters reportedly did everything together, including eating and bathing. Their gaming addiction is believed to have begun during the COVID-19 pandemic, after which they became irregular at school and eventually stopped attending altogether.

Police also revealed that Chetan Kumar is married to two sisters and lives with both wives and their children, all daughters. Two of the deceased girls were daughters of one wife, while the third was their half-sister.

Further investigation is underway.

Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta has urged the Centre to give high priority to offshore wind energy generation along the Mangaluru coast, citing its strategic importance to India’s green energy and port-led development goals.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha under Rule 377, Chowta said studies by the National Institute of Oceanography have identified the Mangaluru coastline as part of India’s promising offshore wind ‘Zone-2’, covering nearly 6,490 sq km. He noted that the region’s relatively low exposure to cyclones and earthquakes makes it suitable for long-term offshore wind projects and called for its development as a dedicated offshore wind energy zone.

Highlighting the role of New Mangalore Port, Chowta said its modern infrastructure, multiple berths and heavy cargo-handling capacity position it well as a logistics hub for transporting and assembling large wind energy equipment.

He also pointed to the presence of major industrial units such as MRPL, OMPL, UPCL and the Mangaluru SEZ, which could serve as direct buyers of green power through power purchase agreements, improving project viability and speeding up execution.

With Karnataka’s peak power demand crossing 18,000 MW in early 2025, Chowta stressed the need to diversify renewable energy sources. He added that offshore wind projects in the Arabian Sea are strategically safer compared to the cyclone-prone Bay of Bengal.

Calling the project vital to India’s target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, Chowta urged the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to initiate resource assessments, pilot projects and stakeholder consultations at the earliest.