UP journalist arrested after he clicked school children mopping floor

Agencies
September 9, 2019

Azamgarh, Sept 9: The Azamgarh District Magistrate on Monday ordered a probe into the arrest of a journalist allegedly after he took photographs of some children mopping the floor in their school.

The journalist was arrested on false charges of extortion and obstructing public servants from discharging their duty, alleged a fellow journalist Sudhir Singh, who, along with other journalists met District magistrate N P Singh to apprise him of the alleged illegal arrest.

"No injustice will be meted out to the journalist. We will look into the matter," said Azamgarh DM N P Singh.

Singh also ordered a probe into the matter.

Local journalist Santosh Jaiswal was arrested here last week on Friday after he took photographs of school children, mopping the floor and called up police to apprise them of the illegal practice by school authorities, said Sudhir Singh.

Journalist Singh said the police, responding to Jaiswal's call reached the school and took both Jaiswal and principal Radhey Shyam Yadav of the Oodpur primary school to the police station.

At the Phulpur police station, the school principal lodged a complaint against Jaiswal on the basis of which an FIR was registered against him and he was arrested, said Singh.

The FIR No 237, registered on September 6, 2019 against the journalist, quotes the school principal as saying that Jaiswal often visited the school and misbehaved with both male and female teachers and students and tried to persuade them to subscribe to the newspaper published by him.

Yadav said in the FIR that on the day of the incident Jaiswal came to the school and ordered some children to mop the floor to facilitate him take their photographs.

Yadav said he objected to his act, following which Jaiswal fled the school premises leaving his vehicle there and later demanded money from him.

Sudhir Singh, who works as a stringer for a New Delhi-based national news agency, refuted the charges against the arrested journalist, saying the local police nursed a grudge against him.

He said Jaiswal had in May this year posted on his Twitter handle a photograph of Phulpur Police Station House Officer Shivshankar Singh's SUV with tinted window and without number plate.

Responding to Jaiswal's post on Twitter, the police had said the photograph of the SHO's SUV was an old one and the vehicle had already been registered with the transport authorities and also gave its registration number, said Sudhir Singh.

But a local youth claimed that the registration number given by the SHO as that of his SUV was his motorcycle's number, said Sudhir Singh.

This prompted Jaiswal to publish a story in his newspaper about the whole episode, he said, adding the police nursed a grudge against the journalist since then.

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News Network
December 6,2025

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With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

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News Network
December 16,2025

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The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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