Police claim it's suicide, but medical report establishes signs of torture On the day Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh addressed a public gathering to mark the creation of Sukma district, carved out of Maoist-affected Dantewada, a custodial death in the Sukma police station underlines the difficulty in winning over a disaffected tribal populace in the backdrop of a violent counterinsurgency campaign. Podiyam Mara of Kondre village died in the police station on...

-The Telegraph   The quality of elementary education is falling in rural schools almost two years after education was made a fundamental right in April 2010. The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2011, a survey of government and private schools in rural areas conducted by the NGO Pratham, shows a decline in schoolchildren’s “learning outcome levels” compared with the previous year, whether in reading or arithmetic skills.  However, students of private schools have...

-The Times of India   The crime branch of Delhi Police on Monday questioned 2G petitioner and Janata Party chief - Subramanian Swamy in connection with a case of writing an 'inflammatory article'. The leader, officials say, during the questioning claimed that his writings were edited by the newspaper before publication. After the questioning, Swamy alleged that the case was registered against him at the behest of home minister P Chidambaram.  Swamy, accompanied...

The CBI is planning to book five senior BSP leaders for their alleged involvement in the Rs 10,000-crore National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam ahead of the UP polls. Sources said the agency is set to register at least 10 more cases. "The enquiry has revealed that in several projects related to health and welfare departments of UP, several BSP leaders, including MLAs and MLCs, had connived with private contractors and...

A desperate state is making Maoists out of innocents Arun Ferreira smiles easily. The four years and eight months of incarceration, as an alleged Naxalite/Maoist, sit lightly on the 40-year-old quintessential Bandra boy. Released on January 5 from Nagpur Central Jail—acquitted in 10 of the 11 cases and bailed in one—Ferreira is taking his time to readjust to his life with family and friends in Mumbai. He must build anew...