-First Post It’s so brutally ironical that Ram Singh, perhaps the most hated man in India today for allegedly masterminding the Delhi gangrape, became a victim of rape himself. We still don’t know how he died, but his father has made it public that Singh had been raped in jail. Not just him, even his co-accused had been raped as well. Retributive justice, some say, because the accused had been made to realise...

-The Times of India Nine Maoists, including rocket launcher Sadula Ramakrishna, who were granted the status of 'political prisoners' by a lower court in Kolkata, may soon be stripped of their privileges as the West Bengal government is set to challenge the order in the Supreme Court. Last week, the apex court stayed a Calcutta High Court order giving political prisoner status to Maoist leader Telugu Dipak, People's Committee against Police Atrocities...

-The Indian Express They are denied entry to temples, given restricted access to water, made to work for a pittance. Now that Orissa's Dalits are asserting themselves against traditions, many are facing ostracism or violent attacks. Debabrata Mohanty reports Until a month before Naveen Patnaik became Orissa's chief minister in March 2000, Dalit labourer Ganapati Naik, now 42, had been living a happy if impoverished life with his bride and parents in...

-The Times of India Get ready for a hike in autorickshaw fares. After a spate of strikes by autorickshaw unions, the Delhi government is considering the recommendations of the committee set up to review fare hike. "The government is serious about the fare hike, especially as it has been some time since the last revision," said a source. The transport minister, Ramakant Goswami, has been holding a series of meetings with the...

-The Hindustan Times Kanpur: The district administration here made best of efforts to present a pretty picture. But the World Bank chief Dr Jim Yong Kim was obviously not moved. What touched him instead was the rampant poverty that he saw everywhere. "People here are extremely poor. They don't have access to clean drinking water, roads, sanitation and electricity," he said after visiting a Gwaltoli slum in Kanpur. "They (the people) struggle...