Taking a serious view of an incident last year in which three inmates at a district jail in Bhadoi, Uttar Pradesh, were hung by the legs and beaten up severely, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the State government to provide relief of Rs.25,000 to each of Suresh alias Suraj, Rajkumar alias Chhotu and Raj Bahadur Yadav and the commission asked the State Chief Secretary to send the...

Rights organisations today launched a campaign to collect a million signatures against draconian sedition laws, the kickoff coming on the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who was among those jailed under such acts. The focus of the drive 65 years after Independence is on repealing Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code — which outlaws disaffection against the state and makes it punishable with life imPRIsonment. Retired judge Rajinder Sachar, among those...

-Hardnews Bureau Delhi The announcement of the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry for Ankit Garg, the SP of Dantewada is a reflection of the sad state of the Indian Republic as it celebrates its 63rd Republic Day. It is indeed shocking to see that a police officer who was accused of brutalising and torturing the young Adivasi teacher, Soni Sori, is being lauded by the State even after reports of perversity...

Millions of Indians are suspected to be carriers of the drug-resistant bug After the scary New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1 or the “superbug” was detected two years ago, the world is now faced with the community-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (ca-MRSA) bacterium that is resistant to almost all common antibiotics. In India, where poor hygiene and the availability of over-the-counter antibiotics lead to development of resistance, an estimated 100 to 200 million people are reportedly...

It is official: India has the world's most toxic air. In a new study by Yale and Columbia universities, India holds the very last rank among 132 nations in terms of air quality with regard to its effect on human health. India scored a minuscule 3.73 out of a possible 100 points in the analysis, lagging far behind the next worst performer, Bangladesh, which scored 13.66. In fact, the entire South Asian...