Supaul:

In a shocking incident, a woman was beaten, tortured and paraded half-naked while her ‘lover’ was stripped by a group of people over their alleged affair in Bihar’s Supaul district, police said on Thursday.

A purported video of the incident, which went viral on social media, shows the woman being beaten and paraded half-naked in Karzain police station area. The incident is believed to have occurred three to four days ago, police said.

Sources alleged that the man with whom she was allegedly involved was also stripped and paraded by the same group. Police have arrested one suspect in connection with the case.

The video, the authenticity of which news agency PTI has not independently verified, shows the woman being dragged by her hair while she pleads for mercy. The accused later left the woman in front of her house. The victim’s family has filed a police complaint.

According to a statement by the district police on Thursday, “A video of a woman being stripped and beaten is circulating on social media. After confirming that the case is from Karzain, police registered a case and launched an investigation. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed, and one accused has been arrested. Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the other suspects.” In a similar incident on Wednesday at Jhajha in Jamui district, a woman and her husband were allegedly paraded semi-naked through their village to the beat of drums, police said.

Locals shaved the woman’s head, and her husband was forced to wear a garland of slippers and had his face blackened.

According to family members of the victims, the woman had allegedly eloped with her 35-year-old paramour and married him. The video of this incident also went viral on social media.

Talking to reporters, Jhajha sub-divisional police officer Rajesh Kumar said, “Police have registered a case and a manhunt has been launched to catch the accused”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The fear generated by the wolf pack of Bahraich is being felt in other parts of the country. After 8 people, including 7 children and a woman, were killed by wolves over around 45 days, neighbouring Bihar is seeing a panic reaction.

In Bihar’s Maksudpur, a jackal was brutally killed because of the fear generated by sensational reports of the “killer wolves” of Bahraich. The jackal — spotted in the ruins of the Maksudpur fort — created panic. The animal was cornered and beaten to death.

This has left conservationists concerned about the reporting of such events.

“Media has a huge responsibility to stop the spread of unnecessary panic… The recent spate of alleged killings of children by wolves in Bahraich and the extensive coverage it has got in national and regional media are responsible for such barbaric acts in places that are hundreds of kilometers away,” said Dr Anish Andheria, President and CEO – Wildlife Conservation Trust.

“There many wrong things about this incident – a) mindless clobbering of an animal in cold blood, b) the criminals have mistaken a jackal for a wolf, c) the act highlights absolute disrespect towards the law [Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972)], d) video-graphing the entire act shows sadistic tendencies in the perpetrator/s,” he said.

Golden jackals are fairly common across India and are distinctly different from the other canid species, the Indian grey wolf.  

Compared to these wolves, the jackals have shorter legs, tail and snout. They are distinctively smaller in size as well. Both are found mainly in grasslands and scrublands. Unfortunately, the range lies outside protected areas, as in UP’s Bahraich and it is a victim of unchecked development and shrinking territory.

Indian scientist and former Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, Dr YV Jhala, an expert on Indian wolves, said: “People have been misinformed by the media which is blowing it out of proportion and context. It’s time to take responsibility and not sensationalise and exaggerate. Simple solution to reducing the attacks and deaths is to be vigilant, take care of children always accompanied by adults, sleep indoors with doors closed or blocked with thorn hedge”.

The lack of prey base is another challenge in the area.

“There is no natural wild prey in the area,” said Dr Jhala. “Children are vulnerable to all predators including dogs if they are not looked after carefully,” he said.

Poor housing and sanitation facilities due to extreme poverty, compounded with lack of parental care (because of absentee and working parents) in this part of the country create a unique situation, where it becomes easier to kill children compared to livestock.

In Uttar Pradesh, officials have caught four wolves so far under “Operation Bhediya”.

The Bahraich district magistrate, and senior police and forest officials, have been leading the ongoing efforts along with divisional forest officers of four districts. High-frequency drone cameras have been used to monitor the wolf pack. The forest department has also been using elephant dung and urine to divert the wolves’ route when the attack occurred.

Officials said on Sunday that they have detected the presence of two wolves through drones and would capture them by today or tomorrow.

The Indian grey wolf, a sub species of the grey wolf, is highly endangered, like the tiger and is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

A man and a woman on a bike stopped on the side of the road when two men on a motorcycle came from the opposite direction, slowed the vehicle, snatched a bag from the woman’s hand and fled. The bag had Rs 1 lakh cash which the woman had just withdrawn from a bank in Bihar’s Samastipur. The daylight robbery, which occurred today, was captured on a surveillance camera which showed the bikers snatching the bag.

The woman, Durga Kumari, gets down from the bike and runs after them but within seconds, the thieves sped away. Meanwhile, the man who was accompanying the woman turns around and starts running toward them but to no avail.

The incident took place near the Jagadamba Ply Factory on the Musarigharari-Patori road in Bihar’s Samastipur. The woman was returning after withdrawing money from an SBI branch.

The victim said, “We went to the bank to withdraw and the bag had approximately Rs 1 lakh, a mobile phone worth Rs 25,000, ATM cards and other documents. We stopped at the spot for a minute because of some work. The thieves came from the front snatched the bag from me and fled.”

A police case has been registered and the matter is under investigation.

– with inputs from Avinash Kumar
 

Muzaffarpur:

A 14-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly kidnapped from her house in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar and her body was found, with injury marks all over, inside a pond, police said on Wednesday.

The incident was reported from a village in Paru police station area, Muzaffarpur Senior Superintendent of Police Rakesh Kumar said.

“It has been alleged by family members that the girl was kidnapped from their house on the night of August 11. A day later, the body was found lying inside a nearby pond,” he said, adding that a case has been registered against six persons, all but one of them unnamed, based on the complaint.

“The one person named in the complaint belongs to the same village, and family members claim he had been infatuated with the girl and seeking her hand in marriage. We have launched a search to trace him,” he told PTI Bhasha over phone.

A section of the media carried reports claiming the family suspected that the girl was raped before being murdered.

The SSP, however, said “the vaginal swab has been sent for tests and a report is awaited. As of now, inquest and post-mortem do not suggest any injuries on her private parts”.

“The injury marks were on her head, neck and arms. The blows on her head and neck caused her death. Her legs were tied and a trowel, which seems to have been used by the attackers, was found close to the pond,” Kumar said.

Replying to a query, he said the police was not informed when the girl was picked up from her house.

“The family members allege that the named accused had threatened to kill the girl if they did not agree to their marriage. They had lodged no complaint then either,” the SSP said.

Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition in assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, trained his guns at the Nitish Kumar government in the state over the incident.

“The horrific incident is proof of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar losing grip over admonition. Murders, rapes and other serious crimes have become the order of the day,” alleged the RJD leader, who is also a former deputy CM.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday made a host of Bihar-specific announcements in the Union Budget, which include developing sports infrastructure in the state. The announcements, said Ms Sitharaman, are in line to make to make the region an engine to attain ‘Viksit Bharat’ (developed India). This was welcomed by Bihar Cricket Association President Rakesh Tiwari, who called it “a historic moment for the entire sports community of our state”. Mr Tiwari also thanked the Finance Minister for the significant investment.

Also Read | Full Text Of Nirmala Sitharaman’s Speech

“The development of new sports facilities is not only a matter of pride but also a crucial step towards nurturing the immense talent in Bihar. The advanced infrastructure will provide our athletes with the necessary resources for training, competition and excelling at national and international levels. This initiative will undoubtedly foster a vibrant sports culture in our state,” Mr Tiwari said in a statement.

The cricketing body chief said this will help Bihar cricket reach new heights.

“The establishment of advanced medical facilities will ensure that our athletes receive top-notch healthcare and support, allowing them to perform their best without worrying about injuries or health issues. The inclusion of sports medicine will play a key role in enhancing the overall performance and health of our players,” Mr Tiwari added.

Other announcements for Bihar include human resource development, infrastructure and the generation of economic opportunities to make the eastern region of the country covering Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh an engine to attain ‘Viksit Bharat’.

“On the Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor we will support the development of an industrial nod at Gaya in Bihar. We will also support the construction of road connectivity projects namely Patna-Purnia Expressway, Buxar-Bagalpur Expressway, Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Vaishali-Darbanga and an additional two-lane bridge over river Ganga at Buxar at a total cost of Rs 26,000 crore,” Mr Sitharaman said in her speech.

Patna:

Five men impersonating candidates and writing answer papers for a teacher recruitment exam — much in the style of Bollywood blockbuster “Munnabhai MBBS” — have been arrested from Bihar’s Saharsa. A senior police officer said they have all been caught from different exam centres.

The arrests come amid a huge controversy over medical entrance exam NEET, and a case linked to which is currently being heard  by the Supreme Court.

In Saharsa meanwhile, senior police officer Alok Kumar told reporters that on July 21, TR3 teacher recruitment exam was held at various centers amid tight security.

But even so, two fake candidates — Amresh Kumar and Mukesh Kumar — were arrested from Manohar High School, Purba Bazar.

Two others, Amit Kumar and Praveen Kumar, were arrested from Zila School and Sundar Kumar alias Rupesh was arrested from Manohar High School Baijnathpur.

All of them were taking the exam on behalf of other candidates.

Police cases have been lodged against all five and they are being sent to judicial custody.

Earlier this month, 17 people, including three women, were arrested in Bihar for allegedly impersonating candidates in the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET)-2024.

This is the latest case of impersonation of candidates which has spiked in Bihar over the last few decades.

The biggest row has been over NEET, in connection with which, 13 people have been arrested from the state. Altogether. 27 people have been arrested among whom are masterminds, ‘solver gangs’ and impersonators.

New Delhi:

Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan has asked the Bihar government to set a precedent by taking stringent action in cases of crime and the recent spate of bridge collapses, asserting that the state needs a vision to move up the development ladder.

Once a sharp critic of Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar before both allied with the BJP, Mr Paswan said the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will fight the next assembly elections under Mr Kumar’s leadership but flagged a host of issues which, he suggested, has stymied the state’s growth.The assembly elections in Bihar are due to be held around the end of 2025.

“Bihari itna aage hai to Bihar itna peeche kyon? (When Biharis are doing so well, then why is Bihar so behind?) We need to find an answer to this question,” Mr Paswan told PTI, highlighting how people from the state in different fields, from elite government jobs to the private sector, have done well after migrating.

“The problem is that a vision needs to be there and it needs to be implemented,” he said, stressing that efforts should be made to stop migration from the state.

Ahead of the Union budget presentation on July 23, Mr Paswan said he supported the demand for special category status for Bihar.

However, he noted that the NITI Aayog’s recommendations go against granting the demand and said an alternative like a special package should be given to the state.

Asked about the collapse of nearly 15 bridges in Bihar in recent months, a development which raised questions about the quality of development work and made the state a magnet for jokes and memes on social media, Mr Paswan said it is a serious issue.

“This definitely shows that somewhere corruption has taken place. Compromises were made. I don’t want to get into the politics of who was in the government then. We are in the government now. It is our responsibility to make sure this does not get repeated. Whosoever is responsible should be held accountable and punished so that a precedent is set for the future,” he said.

Asked about his change of stand on Mr Kumar, he said if he is part of an alliance, then he needs to be there wholeheartedly. “I can’t be part of an alliance and have apprehensions also. Because that could have just damaged the alliance and would have affected our performance,” Mr Paswan added.

The NDA won 30 of the state’s 40 Lok Sabha seats, with Mr Paswan’s party achieving a 100 per cent strike rate by bagging all five seats it contested.

He added that Mr Kumar as chief minister has done “really well” compared to the way the state was run under the previous RJD governments. “There is always a scope for improvement,” he said.

Curbing the crime rate can boost tourism, especially religious tourism, in the state, as people need to feel safe before visiting Bihar. A grand temple in Sitamarhi for Lord Ram’s wife Sita and connecting the town, where the devout believe she was born, with Ayodhya can be a huge boost to tourism, he added.

He rued the lack of education infrastructure in cities of Bihar, noting that a large number of students from the state enroll in Kota’s coaching centres, many of whom are owned by Biharis.

A good number of teachers there are also from Bihar, Mr Paswan said, wondering why such a model cannot be replicated in Patna, Muzaffarpur or Bhagalpur.

The state regularly suffers from drought and floods at the same time, the Hajipur MP said, calling for the inter-linking of rivers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Patna:

As many as 25 people lost their lives and 39 others were injured in lightning strikes across several districts of Bihar in the last 24 hours.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday expressed condolences and directed officials to provide Rs 4 lakh compensation to each of the families of the victims.

He also urged people to stay indoors during the rain and thunderstorms.

Out of the 25 people who lost their lives, five died in Madhubani, four in Aurangabad, three in Supaul, three in Nalanda, two each in Lakhisarai and Patna, and one each in Begusarai, Jamui, Gopalganj, Rohtas, Samastipur and Purnea.

According to the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, 50 people have died due to lightning strikes in July alone.

However, the unofficial figure may be more than that.

The Authority has urged caution in the next few days as heavy rains, thunderstorms, and lightning strikes occurred in several districts of Bihar on Thursday and are expected to continue for the next two days.

The Meteorological Department has forecast moderate to heavy rain with thunderstorms and lightning in many areas, including Patna, on Friday, and issued an ‘Orange Alert’ for Kishanganj and Araria districts.

On Thursday, 22 students in Barka Gaon Village, under Tarari police station, were injured when lightning struck a palm tree near their classrooms. They were admitted to Sadar Hospital Arrah.

In other districts, 17 more people sustained burn injuries due to lightning strikes.

The met department recorded 112.2 mm of rainfall in the Bahadurganj block in Kishanganj District.

Patna received 52.8 mm of rain on Thursday.

Apart from this, 102.0 mm of rain was recorded in Triveni block, 55.4 mm in Gaunaha and 42.6 mm in Lauriya in West Champaran District, 76.4 mm in Sahebpur Kamal of Begusarai, 60.2 mm in Narpatganj of Araria, 60.2 mm in Siwan, 54.2 mm in Narpatganj of Supaul, 43.2 mm in Sanjhauli of Rohtas and 42.8 mm in Suryagarha of Lakhisarai.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

What is the basis on which the Finance Commission determines how much money is allocated to different States? Do you think there is a case for States such as Bihar and Andhra Pradesh to receive funds beyond what is being allocated to them through the Finance Commission?

Arun Kumar: The last Finance Commission had said that States should be given 41% of the divisible tax pool. Within that 41%, what does each State get? For that, there is a formula which is based on income, population, the area, forests and ecology, demographic performance, etc. If we look at the 15th Finance Commission, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in 2020-21 got the largest amount of funds and Karnataka and Kerala saw the largest decrease in the share of funds. So, in other words, the criteria that the Finance Commission use can change the amount of funds going to different States.

Comment | The problem of special packages

Apart from the Finance Commission devolution, which is statutory, how the remaining amount is spent is determined by the Centre, and that is where political determination comes in; States which are closer to the Centre get more funds. Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are part of the NDA and their support is critical to the government. So, I suppose they will be able to draw more funds.

On Special Category Status for Andhra Pradesh| Explained

Pinaki Chakraborty: As far as transfers by the Finance Commission are concerned, the scope for discretion is very limited. Other Central transfers are also determined by certain principles of distribution across States. We can debate those schemes, their designs, etc., but those are certainly not arbitrary. So, that is the overall framework of transfer.

When there is a specific demand by a specific State for higher transfer of resources for a specific purpose, constitutionally there is no bar on giving more money to that State. But generally, it is not done on a large scale because if that becomes the order of the day, fiscal prudence becomes a casualty. So, the possibility of large-scale discretionary transfers is limited.

Also read | Andhra Pradesh is in crisis, needs more than special category status: Chandrababu Naidu

Andhra Pradesh had a major fiscal shock after bifurcation and that was partly offset when the Finance Commission provided revenue deficit grants. Why Andhra Pradesh still requires Central support requires a careful analysis. But Bihar’s case is different. Bihar’s per capita development spending is less than 60% of the all-States average. So, Bihar has a serious fiscal capacity problem. This has not been fully offset by Finance Commission transfers or additional Central transfers.

What is the relationship between additional Central aid and the economic performance of States? Does the allocation of more funds to a certain State boost its long-term economic performance?

Arun Kumar: There are several factors. The public and private sector together determine the development of a State. But with all other things remaining the same, higher allocations from the Centre to a State would boost the growth of that State. The major problem is the issue of governance — how well is the State governed and how well are the resources that are received by the State spent on development. Poorer States tend to have a greater amount of leakage of funds. But more importantly, the credit-deposit ratio of Bihar is much lower than the all-India average. This means that a large part of Bihar’s savings is leaking out of the State to other States. So, even if you allocate more funds from the Centre, the leakage may be greater than the additional resources they get.

Also read | What is the special category status?

Pinaki Chakraborty: If we look at revenue sharing, the part which is not within the purview of the Finance Commission has increased and that is also why we see an increase in centrally sponsored schemes. So, there is a larger political economy question which needs to be discussed. When we talk about resource flow to the richer regions of the country, it is much, much higher than the resource flow to the poorer regions of the country. This cannot be explained by governance differences alone. If there is a problem of resources, where a State is spending only 50% of the all-States average as public expenditure, this can’t just be explained by differences in governance and quality of expenditure. We need to channelise more resources for higher capital investment in the poorer regions of the country for balanced regional development.

By taking away from States the power to tax their citizens, has GST (Goods and Services Tax) exacerbated competition among States to get more funds from the Centre? We also see that there is no longer tax competition between the States after the centralisation of taxation under GST. Is that good or bad?

Pinaki Chakraborty: Because of this race to the bottom among States after liberalisation, States themselves decided to introduce a floor rate for sales tax in 2000-01. GST has resulted in significant loss of fiscal autonomy for the States because the States used to get two-thirds of their revenue from VAT (Value Added Tax). States also cannot set the tax rate, which is a key component of fiscal autonomy. So, there needs to be some flexibility somewhere within the GST structure so that the States don’t feel that they are not able to tax to provide public services. We should discuss what kind of GST flexibility can bring an element of fiscal autonomy without compromising on the fiscal harmonisation across States.

Arun Kumar: GST has damaged federalism because States are very diverse. The problems of Assam are not the same as those of Gujarat. The States have different sources of revenue and expenditure requirements. What we require in India, a very diverse country, is greater decentralisation and it is the only answer to the problems we face. Across the country, greater centralisation that has come in with GST is perhaps not good. What has happened with GST is that it has benefited the organised sector at the expense of the unorganised sector. Even though the unorganised sector has been kept out of GST, the organised sector is the one that has been rising and that is why you see that GST collections have been rising post-pandemic. This decline in the unorganised sector, which is concentrated in the backward States, means that backward States will under-perform. So, GST needs reform. I recommend that the tax be collected at the last point instead of at each intermediate stage, which creates a lot of complications. There is a lot of corruption associated with input credit, there are fake companies, etc. Trucks are stopped by the police and implementing agencies and money is extorted. So, the black economy continues to flourish. We need to collect a lot more from direct taxes and reduce collections from indirect taxes, which are having a negative effect on the backward States as compared to the advanced ones.

We see that States with political weight usually get more funds from the Centre at the cost of other States. So, how fair and objective is Central aid to states? Is there any way to stop politics from influencing how Central funds are allocated to the States?

Arun Kumar: Seventy per cent of the funds that the Centre spends is non-discretionary. But the remaining 30% are discretionary. The allocation of funds by the Centre to the States depends on politics or political considerations. Greater decentralisation and greater autonomy to the States is the only way to change that.

Pinaki Chakraborty: The real problem of discretion is that if the Centre decides to introduce a new scheme and says that 60% of it will be funded by the Centre and 40% will be funded by the States, it is actually tying up State resources. So, we need deliberations at the national level involving all the stakeholders to understand which schemes the Centre should intervene in, and which it should leave to the States. The 14th Finance Commission had given an important framework for this, recommending that the Centre should intervene in schemes where there are large externalities or national priorities involved. But if the Centre wants to run a primary health centre in a remote village, that is not going to help. So, I think this discussion about political alignment is only of marginal importance. What is really discretionary is the Centre’s complete autonomy in deciding which sector and where to spend.

Listen to the conversation in The Hindu Parley podcast