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Two DU Law Students Die In Road Mishap on Saturday

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Two final-year law students from the University of Delhi (DU) died in a road mishap near Dr. Ambedkar National Memorial in Civil Lines in the wee hours of 2nd June 2018.

The two students pursuing law from the Faculty of Law (DU), Akshat Kamboj and Vikhyat Pandit, were on a scooter and are suspected to have been hit by a tractor. The students and four others were returning to their flat from Chandni Chowk. The group was travelling on three different two-wheelers.

The Police learnt about the accident through a call from a passerby at 3.04 am, who informed them about the two bleeding men lying on the road. A team was dispatched to the spot and the two youths were taken to Sushruta Trauma Centre where they were declared brought dead. A senior police official was quoting as saying, “Akshat died on the spot while Vikhyat was rushed to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.”

The police officer had commented, “During preliminary inquiry, it was found that they were riding a scooter, and were hit by a vehicle while trying to overtake a bus. We have registered a case of rash driving and causing death due to negligence. CCTV footage of the area is being checked to ascertain the vehicle number.”

The postmortem of both victims was conducted on Saturday and the bodies were subsequently handed over to the families. After being informed about this unfortunate incident, the DU Beat correspondent decided to take insights from different student quarters of DU regarding the road safety mechanism prevailing on campus and how it can be improved.

President (DU unit) of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) Kawalpreet Kaur, who is herself pursuing law from the Faculty of Law, the same institution as the victims, gave her insights to the DU Beat correspondent through a phone call conversation. She remarked, “The Campus area should be declared a ‘closed students’ area’ which means that there should be certain restrictions laid down for the plying of vehicles of the general public. We had proposed this to the Varsity and this proposal was also taken up for serious consideration. But due to political pressures from certain quarters like the Delhi Municipal Corporation and the Delhi Government, this proposal has not made much headway.”

Bharat Khatana, Delhi State Secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), who is also pursuing law from the Faculty of Law, told DU Beat, “This is not the first time that students have lost their lives in road accidents. One way to ensure safety for one and all is to place CCTV cameras at every intersection. Further, students must not engage in driving if they are under the influence of any alcoholic substance. Students must not jump red lights even if it is not the peak hour.”

Vijay Tyagi, the former Social Media Head of the ABVP, who also pursued his Bachelor’s from the Faculty of Law, told the DU Beat correspondent, “The fact that there is no proper road safety mechanism in campus is appalling. And the recurrent road accidents that have been taking place are testimonies of this.” When asked about what can be done to improve the state of affairs on campus, he told this correspondent, “First, personal vehicles should not be allowed on Chhatra Marg. Second, there should be separate lanes for two-wheelers and a well-maintained road for pedestrians across the campus. And third, the University Security Personnel should increase their effort to maintain law and order on campus.”

Feature Image Credits: The Times of India

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

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Freedom of the Press: Investigative Journalism throughout History

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Investigative journalism requires sheer grit, passion and a tenacity to fight against many great odds, including government repression. The article traces some of the best pieces of investigative reporting in the history of journalism.
A recent sting by a news website called Cobrapost revealed the cracks in the “free media” of India. In the lieu of big money donations, 25 media houses agreed to peddle the ideology of Hindutva through the various mediums of print, electronic, FM, radio etc. These media houses included The Times of India Group, India Today, Zee News, Big FM, Red FM, Dainik Bhaskar, Network 18 and many more. The sting, conducted by journalist Pushp Sharma of Cobrapost, is an example of brave undercover journalism that brought forward the ugly truth in the form of evidence such as video recordings. There have been many such meticulous efforts throughout history that were geared towards exposing the ugly side of those in power, sometimes to definitive consequences. Here are a few examples:
1. Watergate by The Washington Post: In what is probably the most famous piece of investigative journalism in recent history, two reporters named Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward of The Washington Post led an expose on the role of the administration of President Richard Nixon in illegally recording conversations in the White House, helping in cover-up of burglaries that lead to massive abuses of power. Exploiting a source nicknamed “Deep Throat” in the FBI, Woodward and Bernstein published a series of reports in 1972 that eventually led to the resignation of President Nixon and the conviction of 48 of Nixon’s top officials.

Image 1

Image Credits – Daytona Beach News Journal
2. Bofors scam expose by The Hindu: In a brilliant piece of reporting, The Hindu’s N.Ram and Chitra Subramaniam acquired around 350 documents from a source in the Swedish police which implicated the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and several of his party members in receiving illegal kickbacks from a Swedish weapons manufacturer called Bofors in lieu of purchasing of their weapons. Under immense pressure from the government, The Hindu was eventually barred from continuing to publish the reports which were later taken up by The Statesmen and The Indian Express.

Image 2Image Credits – Frontline
3. The Snowden revelations by The Guardian: In a shocking news report on 5th June, 2013, the UK-based The Guardian published its first exclusive based on the leaks of the whistleblower Edward Snowden, who revealed a trove of thousands of US intelligence documents. The reports were primarily written by Glenn Greenwald and Ewan MacAskill of The Guardian who were the first to meet Snowden in a hotel in Hongkong. The report revealed how the US government had conspired to illegally engage in surveillance of millions of Americans through telecom giants like Verizon. In a series of reports in the month of June, The Guardian showed how the US government had indulged in global surveillance mechanisms through companies like Google, Facebook, Apple, Yahoo and other giants. The reports led to a global outrage against the American hegemony, a renewed conversation regarding digital privacy of individuals and governments as well as catapulting Snowden to the status of a cult hero for whistle-blowers.

Image 3Image Credits – Afflictor
4. Novaya Gazeta and the hunt for truth: Sometimes, journalists have to pay for their lives while pursuing stories. The Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta’s efforts since 1993 have been seen as a crusade for the freedom of the press through critical reporting of Russian political and social affairs. Probably the only newspaper in Russia which dares to publish anti-establishment reports, many of the newspaper’s journalists have been assassinated for their heroic efforts. Some of them are Anna Politkovskaya, the journalist who was shot down in October 2006 due to their role in reporting on the Chechen war; the newspaper’s deputy editor Yuri Shchekochikhin who was mysteriously poisoned; reporter Igor Dominikov who was bludgeoned to death. Yet, the newspaper continues to remain the last standing beacon of truth-telling and investigative reporting in Putin’s repressive Russia.

Image 4Image Credits – Piece Research Institute Oslo
5. Undercover in North Korea by Suki Kim: In what took immense courage and sheer pluck, Suki Kim, Korean-born American writer went undercover for 6 months among the ruling elite of North Korea, a world bounded by extreme secrecy, government monitoring and a brainwashing centered around an all-powerful leader. Posing as a missionary working as a teacher in Pyongyang’s University for the boys of North Korea’s ruling elite, Suki Kim spent the 6 months observing, noting, recording her experiences in detail all the while fear of being sent to the gulag (labour camps) haunted her. Out of her experiences, a brilliant narrative emerged in the book called “Without you there is no us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea’s Elite” – possibly the only investigative journalism done by a female reporter in North Korea.
Ultimately, journalism remains an immensely collaborative effort. It takes time, perseverance and a penchant to go on despite failures, for investigative reporters to be successful in their trade. They remain one of the most vital bastions of democracy, the ones rightly holding those in power accountable for their actions.

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Image Credits – Suki Kim

Feature Image Credits – Daytone Beach News Journal
Sara Sohail
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Transvestite Murdered in Delhi, DU student accused

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On 29 May 2018, a transvestite person was stabbed to death by a group of Delhi men, after an altercation with the victim. One of the men accused is a student at the University of Delhi.

Commission of the crime

The accused spotted a woman in a black salwar suit and red chunni and tried to stop her. Once they realised that the person is not a woman, the victim was stabbed in the heart, face, and head with a swiss knife. The crime was committed at about 2 a.m. in the night. The men asked the victim about their mehendi, anklets, and the attire, which led to an altercation as the victim tried to escape.

“This incident reveals the nature of crimes that are carried out against trans femme people. If the victim would have been cis-gender, she possibly would have been raped. The accused probably felt ‘lied to’ in a way and proceeded to commit such a horrible crime.” Bhavya, a student expressed her grief.

Persons identified

“The teams analysed the data of missing persons and identified the [person] as 22-year-old Kalu, who lived near the temple in Kalkaji,” DCP (south-east) Chinmoy Biswal reported to Times of India. The investigation further surfaced that the deceased used to dress up like Goddess Kali on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

As far as the accused go, the police apprehended the accused, Naveen, a first-year student at Kirori Mal College, Delhi University, from Govindpuri area. Six others including three juveniles were also apprehended. The other accused that have been identified are Aman Singh, 20, Mohit, 25, and Sajal Maheshwari, 19. Aman and Sajal are delivery boys while others are school dropouts.

Ruth Chawngthu, co-founder of Nazariya: A Grassroots LGBT-Straight Alliance, brought to light “how much hyper-masculinity is ingrained in our society, to a point where any sign of femininity is seen as an invitation for assault and harassment.” Crimes against women and trans-femme people are being committed at an alarming rate in the country, with no strong judicial mechanism in place.

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Raabiya

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NSUI took out March to Speak Out about Crime Against Women

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Yesterday, an Asmita march was taken out by NSUI to speak out against the recent cases of crime against women and to demand greater safety for women in the varsity.

NSUI took out a march from the Faculty of Arts, University of Delhi (DU) yesterday. The protest aimed to speak out against the rising crime against women. The recent Asifa and Unnao rape cases and the subsequent silence around them compelled them to take out a march, claimed members. Slogans like “Chatron ke sammaan mein, NSUI maidan mein (NSUI is out to protect the rights of students” were raised at the march.
Present at the march were DUSU President and Vice President Rocky Tuseed and  Kunal Sehrawat respectively. NSUI National President, Fairoz Khan was also present along with Deepender Singh Hooda, Member of Parliament. However, the protest was not confined to the Asifa and Unnao cases. The safety of women around campus and the need to implement ICC laws across the University were talked about.

Apart from the implementation of ICC laws, the march demanded installation of CCTV cameras outside girl’s colleges and demanded that a female constable be present outside all colleges to curb stalking and eve teasing. After the march reached the faculty of arts again, a small delegation from NSUI including the Rocky Tusseed, Kunal Sehrawat, Akshay Lakha, and Fairoz Khan met Dean Students’ Welfare, Professor Rajesh Tandon. The delegation presented a memorandum that put forth all the demands raised by the marching body. a detailed discussion on the failure of the administration to make the campus a safer place for women also took place. Fairoz Khan while talking to Professor Tandon expressed his plight at the state of the well-being of women in the Varsity by saying “If DU cannot lead the country, if we the leading institution in the country cannot set an example and be a role model, then it is a shame.” The demand for self-defence classes to be held across the varsity was also put up. The delegation rationed that they had promised the student body of DU CCTV cameras and a safer and secure campus and that they are obligated to ensure that these demands are met.

Approximately 350 students were present at the march; however, women constituted a small fraction of the same. The protest which lasted around two hours remained peaceful and non-disruptive. Heavy deployment of police officials across the campus ensured that the march was carried out smoothly. NSUI leaders claimed that they would take out another march on the same scale, within 10 days, if their requests were ignored by the administration.

Kinjal Pandey

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Feature Image Credits – Pinjra Tod

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Faking News: Who is Accountable?

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In an increasingly globalised world where information is accessible at our fingertips, what role does ethical and responsible journalism play in ensuring the dissemination of facts?

The advent of fake news is one that is unfortunate yet undeniable. It has its own distinct definition, one that differs from satire and practical humour. This relatively new phenomenon can be described as the spread of deliberate misinformation with the intention of misleading consumers. The act may be driven by a desire to garner political or financial gains, or may simply be a result of government propaganda and/or censorship. A defining characteristic of fake news are sensational headlines, also known as “clickbait” headlines to garner more click-based revenue in the online world.

The concept of false reporting came into the global limelight during the 2016 presidential election held in the United States of America (USA), through Donald Trump branding everything he disagreed with as “fake news”. There were numerous instances of reputable personalities and sources quoting morphed information during the election. Closer to home, in November 2017, the University of Delhi’s Kawalpreet Kaur posed in front of the Jama Masjid with a poster, stating her stance against mob lynching. The photo went viral, but the one that the Pakistan Defence Forum chose to tweet to more than 300,000 followers was an edited version, which read that Kaur hated India because of its colonial tendencies.

The problem with fake news in the contemporary world is that its distribution is not restricted to its producers; ordinary citizens with social media accounts can just as easily contribute to the mass propagation of false information. As a Wired article titled ‘It’s the (Democracy-Poisoning) Golden Age of Free Speech’ states, “In the 21st century, the capacity to spread ideas and reach an audience is no longer limited by access to expensive, centralised broadcasting infrastructure. It’s limited instead by one’s ability to garner and distribute attention.”

In this context, it is more imperative that media houses and journalists in positions of responsibility make an active effort to recheck the veracity of their information and stay true to the ethics of reporting. 2nd April 2018 was celebrated as the second annual International Fact-Checking Day, an occasion that seems almost ridiculous on the surface, but is essential in the era of fake news.

Ordinary citizens may not always recognise the dire need for fact-checking before they indulge in sharing fake news on social media. However, this is a luxury that journalists cannot afford. Our national ruling party recently ordered that journalists would lose access to government events if they are accused of fake news. The order has since been revoked, but the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has set up a committee to provide a regulatory framework for online media in the country. Despite the government’s own agenda and threats to the media, journalists owe it to their audience to be principled. Whether it is national print newspapers or student-run campus publications, the ethics remain the same. Before succumbing to over sensationalised headlines and political bullies, we must evaluate our foremost responsibility: to deliver facts.

 

Vineeta Rana
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AISA Burns Effigy of Modi Government in Support of Bharat Bandh

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On 20th March 2018, the Supreme Court through a ruling had allegedly diluted the Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989, which protects the marginalised communities against discrimination and atrocities.

It had issued a slew of guidelines banning automatic arrests and registration of criminal cases under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 without conducting a preliminary enquiry.

This means that the arrest of an accused under the aforementioned Act is not mandatory and action would take place only after preliminary inquiry and sanction by the competent authority has taken place.

This verdict of the highest court had triggered widespread criticism from the Dalit community which fears that this order will lead to more discrimination and atrocities against the backward communities. Dalit organisations called for a Bharat Bandh today to protest against the alleged dilution of the act.

In support of the ‘bandh’, the All India Students’ Association (AISA) burnt the effigy of the Modi Government in front of the Arts Faculty on Monday. President of AISA (DU unit) Kawalpreet Kaur remarked, “The Modi government is the biggest anti-Dalit government to come to power.”

Speaking to the crowd which had gathered to witness the effigy burning, she asserted, “We know that the Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989 was in itself a weak act. Neither was it ever implemented properly. But the new ruling of the Apex Court which dilutes the already weak provisions of the 1989 Act would render the disadvantaged communities completely vulnerable to discrimination and atrocities.”

The protesters raised slogans such as, “Minority Pe Atyachaar Bandh Karo” (Stop atrocities against minorities), “SC-ST Kanoon Mein Badlav Nahi Chalega” (We will not allow changes in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act) and “Modi Sarkar Murdabad” (Down with the Modi government). Members of the AISA also burnt effigies of the government at Aurobindo College, Satyawati College, and Jamia Milia Islamia.

 

 

Feature Image Credits: Kawalpreet Kaur

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
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DU Student Murdered, Abductors Demanded 50 lakhs

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Ayush Nautiyal, a final year student at Ram Lal Anand College was found murdered last night, after he went missing on 21 March. His body was recovered from the drains in Sector 13, Dwarka.

After Ayush did not reach home from college, his family filed a report with the police, but allegedly, they adopted a careless and callous approach. Ayush’s father Dinesh Nautiyal was contacted by the abductors through the student’s Whatsapp. The message comprised of a photo of Ayush who had suffered injuries on his head and he appeared to be tied up. The abductors also demanded 50 lakhs as ransom.

Keeping close contact with the abductors, Ayush’s family was able to reduce the ransom amount to 10 lakhs. The police asked his family to avoid going to the media, for it could have been adverse to Ayush’s life, and his family followed their advice. After trying to find the abductors and hand over the ransom money for more than two days, Ayush’s body was found in Dwarka.

While the reason for his abduction and murder has been unclear, the police have yet to make any statement about the same. A student at Ram Lal Anand College reported to DU Beat that he reportedly “had gone on a Tinder date before he was abducted”. It is uncertain if this may have had any connection.

Given the number of cat-fishers and perpetrators that linger on such websites that prey on innocent people, such an angle must be appropriately investigated. It is vital that justice is served and the murderers are punished. The source also reported that “Ayush was also active on social media after he had gone missing”.

A candle light march in the victim’s memory will be held from Ram Lal Anand College to South Campus police station on 2nd April from 10 a.m. onwards by the students.

DU Beat will be following the case closely. This report will be updated with the relevant details as received.

 

 

Feature Image Credits: Ram Lal Anand College

Raabiya Tuteja

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New Year’s Drug Supply Crackdown: Narcotics Bureau Arrests Four University Students

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The students were involved in the supply chain of over a kilogram of Charas and LSD blot papers to Jaipur and around NCR.

In a major development before the New Year celebrations, the Delhi Zonal Unit of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested four students from across the top Delhi Colleges on Saturday. Among the arrested were Sam Mallick from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Gaurav Kumar and Tenzin Phunchog from Hindu College of University of Delhi and Anirudh Mathur from Amity University. The arrest was made after the the Narcotics Bureau received information on 28 December about the drug use and peddling around these campuses.

“For the last few months, NCB Delhi Zonal unit had been receiving inputs about drug peddling and intense abuse of drugs around institutional areas like Delhi University, Jawaharlal University and Amity University,” Times of India quoted S K Jha, Deputy Director General, NCB as saying.

Acoording to sources of the department, the authorities were given intelligence reports about a parcel of banned substances dispatched to Jaipur via DTDC, following which they reached the Vijay Nagar DTDC office and confiscated the consignment containing 1.14 kg Charas and 3 strips of LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide). The source was traced and the students were subsequently arrested. However, the major actor behind the drug racket functioning from Himachal Pradesh, Neelchand, is still at large.

The authorities confirmed that the students will be prosecuted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

 

Feature Image Credits: ANI

Nikhil Kumar
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Motilal Nehru College Terminates 3 ad hoc Professors

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The college administration cited the surplus staff strength as the reason following the calculation of the required ‘workload’.

University of Delhi’s Motilal Nehru Morning college released a press release on its official website on Tuesday stating the termination of three ad hoc teachers. Among the discharged was a teacher from the Computer Science department whose name could not be learnt in addition to Arunakar Pandey and Shashi Kumar from the Hindi Department. The teachers believe that the college used faulty calculation methods, as 41 teachers at the staff council meeting went on to complain the “wrong calculation”.

Workload is the number of a teacher’s teaching hours at the college. The workload at the University has been a cause of tussle between the Teacher’s Union and the University Grants Commission (UGC) ever since the Regulations introduced in 2010 which specified that the workload to be not less than 40 hours a week for 30 weeks in an Academic Year. Later it was further increased after the 2016 UGC gazette notification, leading to widespread protests last year. The Ministry of Human Resource Development had later intervened and asked UGC to re-examine the guidelines, leading to the University’s resolution on workload.

The sacked teachers opined that the college administration had infringed these guidelines in their case. “Blatantly violating the rules, the college sent me a termination letter late in the evening. Following protests against this calculation, the college principal said the standing committee is reviewing it,” The Indian Express quoted Shashi Kumar as saying.

The college administration could not be reached for any further response on the subject inspite of our repeated efforts. The student community was particularly disturbed with these developments. A student from the Hindi Department when approached by our correspondent said, “Mr. Kumar had been serving at the college from eight years. It is most unfortunate.”

 

With valuable inputs from The Indian Express. 

Feature Image Credits: College Dunia 

Nikhil Kumar
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An Unreserved Student Gets Admission in a Reserved Seat at DU’s Law Faculty

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Student Manmeet Kaur Sareen had filed a plea in Delhi High Court questioning the policy of admission into the Law Faculty of Delhi. Even after the last cut-off list as 233-34 for the unreserved category, seats were left vacant. Ms. Sareen had scored 231 in her LLB entrance exam and there were 14 seats left in total at the three Law Centres.

Law Centre 2 had 7 seats for reserved category and one for a foreign national but after filing for an affidavit, the university declared that these seats won’t be carried forward to the next year.

The following is the rule by the University for reserved category students, ‘The seats reserved for SC/ST shall be filled by SC/ST candidates only. However, in case of non-availability of the eligible candidates, the reserved seats may be interchanged between the SC and ST. If still, any seats remain unfilled, the same shall be left vacant’.

In Justice Indermeet Kaur’s own words, “The ends of justice would definitely not be served if available seats in educational institutions are allowed to go waste; this could also not have been the intention of educational legislators…This would be a denial of opportunity to an otherwise meritorious student…”. to which DU argued that there were 67 students before Ms. Sareen.

The court ordered admission only for Ms. Sareen since only she approached the court and nobody else. She has been given admission at the University’s Law Centre 2.

Image credits: dubeat.com

 

Prachi Mehra

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