July 29, 2026

A protest over the NEET paper leak issue, in Kolkata, West Bengal. (PTI photo) NEW DELHI: The West Bengal government on Tuesday announced that it would not take any coercive action against students who participated in recent demonstrations over the NEET (UG) paper leak issue.However, the BJP-led state government clarified that the relief would not apply to individuals with criminal antecedents.The directions are in line with the Supreme Court’s interim order earlier in the day, under which states can continue investigations into registered FIRs but cannot take coercive action against students who participated in protests, provided they have no criminal antecedents.According to an official press release, one case had been registered in West Bengal in connection with the NEET (UG) paper leak protest issue and 16 people had been arrested as of 6 pm on July 26.Earlier, two other BJP-led states, Bihar and Assam, announced the withdrawal of cases and legal proceedings against all protesters involved in demonstrations over the alleged NEET (UG) examination irregularities.In Maharashtra, another BJP-led state, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis directed the state home department to issue orders for the withdrawal of cases registered against students who participated in the protests.The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), an online satirical outfit that led the main protests in Delhi, has warned of resuming its agitation if cases against all protesters are not withdrawn. The demand was among the conditions accepted by the Centre, following which the CJP called off its indefinite sit-in on July 25.The CJP had been protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar since June 21.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorTOI News DeskThe TOI News Desk comprises a dedicated and tireless team of journalists who operate around the clock to deliver the most current and comprehensive news and updates to the readers of The Times of India worldwide. With an unwavering commitment to excellence in journalism, our team is at the forefront of gathering, verifying, and presenting breaking news, in-depth analysis, and insightful reports on a wide range of topics. The TOI News Desk is your trusted source for staying informed and connected to the ever-evolving global landscape, ensuring that our readers are equipped with the latest developments that matter most.”Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’Most Filthy Type Of Man’: Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Attack Pralhad Joshi; Massive Ruckus In ParlWhy Delhi-NCR Flooded Again As Four Weather Systems Combined With Years Of Planning Failures’Students Want Justice, Not Charity’: Priyanka Gandhi’s Explosive Speech On Paper Leaks Rocks LSMizoram Minister Opens Up On Drug Menace, Myanmar Border, Disaster Readiness & Ties With Centre”You Removed One Pradhan To Save The PM”: Paper Leak Bill Triggers Massive Showdown In ParliamentPolice Diary Reportedly Reveals RAF Fired Anti-Riot Guns During Jantar Mantar Protest | WatchOnce A Fierce BJP Critic, Ex-TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh To Defend Centre’s Anti-paper Leak Bill | WatchModi Govt Tables Anti-Paper Leak Bill In Lok Sabha: Up To 10 Years Jail, ₹10 Cr Fine & MoreSupreme Court Backs Independent Probe Into Alleged Police Excesses During NEET Protests NationwidePM Modi’s Facebook Post Blocked: Is India’s Digital Sovereignty At Stake?123PhotostoriesWhy you can’t stop checking your phone: Expert warns this anxiety habit may be fueling a harmful reassurance-seeking cycleAlways feeling mentally exhausted? These 8 simple daily habits can help clear your mindWorking out but still can’t lose belly fat? Doctor reveals why hormones, genetics and muscle loss make midlife weight loss so much harderYour refrigerator could be making vegetables unsafe: The storage mistakes experts say you should stop making todayOptical illusion personality test: The first thing that you spot helps you discover your hidden leadership talent7 yoga poses to manage neck pain10 baby names inspired by Norse mythologyFrom Windmill Cottage to his large car collection: 5 of the most expensive things that ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ star Robert Downey Jr ownsHow to identify fake Chikankari: 4 signs every shopper should knowInside Shreya Kalra’s lavish Mumbai home: A luxe Bar, dreamy walk-in closet and more123Hot PicksH.C. VermaUddhav ThackerayMHT CET final merit listDelhi weatherWeather tomorrowe20 PetrolRajasthan Safai Karamchari recruitmentTN supplementary resultsSouth Korea KOSPI crashTop TrendingDelhi Red AlertNitin GadkariChhattisgarh MurderEknath Shinde New ProjectWeather TomorrowKhajuraho AirportDombivli Doctors Assault CaseChitrakoot Gang Rape CaseSuvendu AdhikariDelhi Police Dharna

Vamsikrishna02 mins mins
A protest over the NEET paper leak issue, in Kolkata, West Bengal. (PTI photo) NEW DELHI: The West Bengal government on Tuesday announced that it would not take any coercive action against students who participated in recent demonstrations over the NEET (UG) paper leak issue.However, the BJP-led state government clarified that the relief would not apply to individuals with criminal antecedents.The directions are in line with the Supreme Court’s interim order earlier in the day, under which states can continue investigations into registered FIRs but cannot take coercive action against students who participated in protests, provided they have no criminal antecedents.According to an official press release, one case had been registered in West Bengal in connection with the NEET (UG) paper leak protest issue and 16 people had been arrested as of 6 pm on July 26.Earlier, two other BJP-led states, Bihar and Assam, announced the withdrawal of cases and legal proceedings against all protesters involved in demonstrations over the alleged NEET (UG) examination irregularities.In Maharashtra, another BJP-led state, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis directed the state home department to issue orders for the withdrawal of cases registered against students who participated in the protests.The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), an online satirical outfit that led the main protests in Delhi, has warned of resuming its agitation if cases against all protesters are not withdrawn. The demand was among the conditions accepted by the Centre, following which the CJP called off its indefinite sit-in on July 25.The CJP had been protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar since June 21.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorTOI News DeskThe TOI News Desk comprises a dedicated and tireless team of journalists who operate around the clock to deliver the most current and comprehensive news and updates to the readers of The Times of India worldwide. With an unwavering commitment to excellence in journalism, our team is at the forefront of gathering, verifying, and presenting breaking news, in-depth analysis, and insightful reports on a wide range of topics. The TOI News Desk is your trusted source for staying informed and connected to the ever-evolving global landscape, ensuring that our readers are equipped with the latest developments that matter most.”Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’Most Filthy Type Of Man’: Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Attack Pralhad Joshi; Massive Ruckus In ParlWhy Delhi-NCR Flooded Again As Four Weather Systems Combined With Years Of Planning Failures’Students Want Justice, Not Charity’: Priyanka Gandhi’s Explosive Speech On Paper Leaks Rocks LSMizoram Minister Opens Up On Drug Menace, Myanmar Border, Disaster Readiness & Ties With Centre”You Removed One Pradhan To Save The PM”: Paper Leak Bill Triggers Massive Showdown In ParliamentPolice Diary Reportedly Reveals RAF Fired Anti-Riot Guns During Jantar Mantar Protest | WatchOnce A Fierce BJP Critic, Ex-TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh To Defend Centre’s Anti-paper Leak Bill | WatchModi Govt Tables Anti-Paper Leak Bill In Lok Sabha: Up To 10 Years Jail, ₹10 Cr Fine & MoreSupreme Court Backs Independent Probe Into Alleged Police Excesses During NEET Protests NationwidePM Modi’s Facebook Post Blocked: Is India’s Digital Sovereignty At Stake?123PhotostoriesWhy you can’t stop checking your phone: Expert warns this anxiety habit may be fueling a harmful reassurance-seeking cycleAlways feeling mentally exhausted? These 8 simple daily habits can help clear your mindWorking out but still can’t lose belly fat? Doctor reveals why hormones, genetics and muscle loss make midlife weight loss so much harderYour refrigerator could be making vegetables unsafe: The storage mistakes experts say you should stop making todayOptical illusion personality test: The first thing that you spot helps you discover your hidden leadership talent7 yoga poses to manage neck pain10 baby names inspired by Norse mythologyFrom Windmill Cottage to his large car collection: 5 of the most expensive things that ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ star Robert Downey Jr ownsHow to identify fake Chikankari: 4 signs every shopper should knowInside Shreya Kalra’s lavish Mumbai home: A luxe Bar, dreamy walk-in closet and more123Hot PicksH.C. VermaUddhav ThackerayMHT CET final merit listDelhi weatherWeather tomorrowe20 PetrolRajasthan Safai Karamchari recruitmentTN supplementary resultsSouth Korea KOSPI crashTop TrendingDelhi Red AlertNitin GadkariChhattisgarh MurderEknath Shinde New ProjectWeather TomorrowKhajuraho AirportDombivli Doctors Assault CaseChitrakoot Gang Rape CaseSuvendu AdhikariDelhi Police Dharna


After SC order, West Bengal govt says no action against NEET protesters, except those with criminal records
A protest over the NEET paper leak issue, in Kolkata, West Bengal. (PTI photo)

NEW DELHI: The West Bengal government on Tuesday announced that it would not take any coercive action against students who participated in recent demonstrations over the NEET (UG) paper leak issue.However, the BJP-led state government clarified that the relief would not apply to individuals with criminal antecedents.The directions are in line with the Supreme Court’s interim order earlier in the day, under which states can continue investigations into registered FIRs but cannot take coercive action against students who participated in protests, provided they have no criminal antecedents.According to an official press release, one case had been registered in West Bengal in connection with the NEET (UG) paper leak protest issue and 16 people had been arrested as of 6 pm on July 26.Earlier, two other BJP-led states, Bihar and Assam, announced the withdrawal of cases and legal proceedings against all protesters involved in demonstrations over the alleged NEET (UG) examination irregularities.In Maharashtra, another BJP-led state, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis directed the state home department to issue orders for the withdrawal of cases registered against students who participated in the protests.The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), an online satirical outfit that led the main protests in Delhi, has warned of resuming its agitation if cases against all protesters are not withdrawn. The demand was among the conditions accepted by the Centre, following which the CJP called off its indefinite sit-in on July 25.The CJP had been protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar since June 21.



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Safety of Indian mariners remains the government’s top priority, Sonowal said NEW DELHI: Amid escalating geopolitical tensions affecting key global shipping routes and posing risks to Indian sailors, shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal Tuesday directed officials to ensure “no Indian seafarer finds himself caught in the crossfire of geopolitical conflict”.Safety of Indian mariners remains govt’s top priority, he said while chairing a high-level review meeting on the safety and welfare of Indian seafarers serving aboard merchant vessels in conflict-sensitive regions. The meeting was attended by officials from different departments and heads of Indian missions in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia and Ukraine.“No Indian seafarer should find himself caught in the crossfire of geopolitical conflict. Every possible measure must be taken to safeguard our seafarers, support their families and ensure timely assistance wherever required,” the minister said.Meanwhile, on X, Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI) claimed that AMIR1, currently at Ukrainian port Chornomorsk with 15 crew on board, including 13 Indian seafarers, was trapped in a “terrible and life-threatening situation”.It said, “Repeated drone and missile attacks are being attempted in the immediate vicinity of the vessel. The crew is living under constant fear of a direct hit at any moment,” while appealing to authorities, shipowners, flag state, and govt to immediately secure their safety and arrange prompt repatriation.During the meeting, officials reviewed the prevailing security situation, maritime developments and the preparedness of Indian diplomatic missions.DG Shipping informed the minister that its 24×7 Seafarer Grievance and Assistance Cell remains fully operational. It added that to strengthen preparedness, the maritime regulator has asked Recruitment and Placement Service Licensees (RPSLs) to conduct structured pre-departure orientation programmes to familiarise seafarers with operational conditions, security protocols and evolving geopolitical risks in deployment areas.Recognising the psychological stress of prolonged deployment in volatile regions, Sonowal also directed officials to integrate mental health support into the seafarer welfare framework, including counselling services for seafarers and their families and greater transparency on operational risks before deployment.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’Most Filthy Type Of Man’: Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Attack Pralhad Joshi; Massive Ruckus In ParlWhy Delhi-NCR Flooded Again As Four Weather Systems Combined With Years Of Planning Failures’Students Want Justice, Not Charity’: Priyanka Gandhi’s Explosive Speech On Paper Leaks Rocks LSMizoram Minister Opens Up On Drug Menace, Myanmar Border, Disaster Readiness & Ties With Centre”You Removed One Pradhan To Save The PM”: Paper Leak Bill Triggers Massive Showdown In ParliamentPolice Diary Reportedly Reveals RAF Fired Anti-Riot Guns During Jantar Mantar Protest | WatchOnce A Fierce BJP Critic, Ex-TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh To Defend Centre’s Anti-paper Leak Bill | WatchModi Govt Tables Anti-Paper Leak Bill In Lok Sabha: Up To 10 Years Jail, ₹10 Cr Fine & MoreSupreme Court Backs Independent Probe Into Alleged Police Excesses During NEET Protests NationwidePM Modi’s Facebook Post Blocked: Is India’s Digital Sovereignty At Stake?123PhotostoriesWhy you can’t stop checking your phone: Expert warns this anxiety habit may be fueling a harmful reassurance-seeking cycleAlways feeling mentally exhausted? These 8 simple daily habits can help clear your mindWorking out but still can’t lose belly fat? Doctor reveals why hormones, genetics and muscle loss make midlife weight loss so much harderYour refrigerator could be making vegetables unsafe: The storage mistakes experts say you should stop making todayOptical illusion personality test: The first thing that you spot helps you discover your hidden leadership talent7 yoga poses to manage neck pain10 baby names inspired by Norse mythologyFrom Windmill Cottage to his large car collection: 5 of the most expensive things that ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ star Robert Downey Jr ownsHow to identify fake Chikankari: 4 signs every shopper should knowInside Shreya Kalra’s lavish Mumbai home: A luxe Bar, dreamy walk-in closet and more123Hot PicksH.C. VermaUddhav ThackerayMHT CET final merit listDelhi weatherWeather tomorrowe20 PetrolRajasthan Safai Karamchari recruitmentTN supplementary resultsSouth Korea KOSPI crashTop TrendingDelhi Red AlertNitin GadkariChhattisgarh MurderEknath Shinde New ProjectWeather TomorrowKhajuraho AirportDombivli Doctors Assault CaseChitrakoot Gang Rape CaseSuvendu AdhikariDelhi Police Dharna

Safety of Indian mariners remains the government’s top priority, Sonowal said NEW DELHI: Amid escalating geopolitical tensions affecting key global shipping routes and posing risks to Indian sailors, shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal Tuesday directed officials to ensure “no Indian seafarer finds himself caught in the crossfire of geopolitical conflict”.Safety of Indian mariners remains govt’s top priority, he said while chairing a high-level review meeting on the safety and welfare of Indian seafarers serving aboard merchant vessels in conflict-sensitive regions. The meeting was attended by officials from different departments and heads of Indian missions in Oman, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia and Ukraine.“No Indian seafarer should find himself caught in the crossfire of geopolitical conflict. Every possible measure must be taken to safeguard our seafarers, support their families and ensure timely assistance wherever required,” the minister said.Meanwhile, on X, Forward Seamen’s Union of India (FSUI) claimed that AMIR1, currently at Ukrainian port Chornomorsk with 15 crew on board, including 13 Indian seafarers, was trapped in a “terrible and life-threatening situation”.It said, “Repeated drone and missile attacks are being attempted in the immediate vicinity of the vessel. The crew is living under constant fear of a direct hit at any moment,” while appealing to authorities, shipowners, flag state, and govt to immediately secure their safety and arrange prompt repatriation.During the meeting, officials reviewed the prevailing security situation, maritime developments and the preparedness of Indian diplomatic missions.DG Shipping informed the minister that its 24×7 Seafarer Grievance and Assistance Cell remains fully operational. It added that to strengthen preparedness, the maritime regulator has asked Recruitment and Placement Service Licensees (RPSLs) to conduct structured pre-departure orientation programmes to familiarise seafarers with operational conditions, security protocols and evolving geopolitical risks in deployment areas.Recognising the psychological stress of prolonged deployment in volatile regions, Sonowal also directed officials to integrate mental health support into the seafarer welfare framework, including counselling services for seafarers and their families and greater transparency on operational risks before deployment.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’Most Filthy Type Of Man’: Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Attack Pralhad Joshi; Massive Ruckus In ParlWhy Delhi-NCR Flooded Again As Four Weather Systems Combined With Years Of Planning Failures’Students Want Justice, Not Charity’: Priyanka Gandhi’s Explosive Speech On Paper Leaks Rocks LSMizoram Minister Opens Up On Drug Menace, Myanmar Border, Disaster Readiness & Ties With Centre”You Removed One Pradhan To Save The PM”: Paper Leak Bill Triggers Massive Showdown In ParliamentPolice Diary Reportedly Reveals RAF Fired Anti-Riot Guns During Jantar Mantar Protest | WatchOnce A Fierce BJP Critic, Ex-TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh To Defend Centre’s Anti-paper Leak Bill | WatchModi Govt Tables Anti-Paper Leak Bill In Lok Sabha: Up To 10 Years Jail, ₹10 Cr Fine & MoreSupreme Court Backs Independent Probe Into Alleged Police Excesses During NEET Protests NationwidePM Modi’s Facebook Post Blocked: Is India’s Digital Sovereignty At Stake?123PhotostoriesWhy you can’t stop checking your phone: Expert warns this anxiety habit may be fueling a harmful reassurance-seeking cycleAlways feeling mentally exhausted? These 8 simple daily habits can help clear your mindWorking out but still can’t lose belly fat? Doctor reveals why hormones, genetics and muscle loss make midlife weight loss so much harderYour refrigerator could be making vegetables unsafe: The storage mistakes experts say you should stop making todayOptical illusion personality test: The first thing that you spot helps you discover your hidden leadership talent7 yoga poses to manage neck pain10 baby names inspired by Norse mythologyFrom Windmill Cottage to his large car collection: 5 of the most expensive things that ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ star Robert Downey Jr ownsHow to identify fake Chikankari: 4 signs every shopper should knowInside Shreya Kalra’s lavish Mumbai home: A luxe Bar, dreamy walk-in closet and more123Hot PicksH.C. VermaUddhav ThackerayMHT CET final merit listDelhi weatherWeather tomorrowe20 PetrolRajasthan Safai Karamchari recruitmentTN supplementary resultsSouth Korea KOSPI crashTop TrendingDelhi Red AlertNitin GadkariChhattisgarh MurderEknath Shinde New ProjectWeather TomorrowKhajuraho AirportDombivli Doctors Assault CaseChitrakoot Gang Rape CaseSuvendu AdhikariDelhi Police Dharna

Vamsikrishna 0
As NEET protests spur crowd control debate, Kashmir’s scars resurface SEDOW(SHOPIAN): Behind a mesh screen, Insha Mushtaq sits in a mustard headscarf, offering a faint smile. She cannot see the camera or the daylight filtering through her window. She only senses. Ten years after pellets took her eyes during J&K’s 2016 unrest, she still carries scars that have become public property, resurfacing every time India debates crowd control.She wishes they wouldn’t. “I don’t want to remember. It doesn’t help and it hurts,” said the 24-year-old, seated inside her home in Sedow village of Shopian, about 75km south of Srinagar.Yet memory has a stubborn half-life. Images of 14-year-old Insha, her face wrapped in bandages after being struck by pellets during protests following Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani’s killing, travelled across TV screens and social media in 2016. They turned her into perhaps J&K’s most recognisable face of pellet gun wounds. Every fresh political quarrel over use of force drags those photographs back into public view. Insha Mushtaq has been blind since 14Recent protests over NEET irregularities in New Delhi have done exactly that.For Insha, the debate translates into reopening wounds she has spent years trying to close. “I don’t know whether I should talk or not. I want to do a job after completing my education,” she said, her father Mushtaq Ahmad Lone and mother Afroza Akhtar sitting quietly beside her.She has not abandoned her future. Blindness altered her life, not her ambition. She is completing a bachelor’s degree in arts and hopes to find a govt job under disability quota. Speaking publicly, she fears, could jeopardise that dream.“I don’t know what happened in Delhi but I know many lives were destroyed by pellet guns in Kashmir,” she said. Then her face brightened. “I am blind but we can operate phones.”Pellet guns entered J&K’s security arsenal around 2010 as a supposedly non-lethal alternative to bullets. They left behind hundreds of eye wounds, partial blindness and permanent loss of vision. Years dulled national attention, but memories never disappeared. Protests in New Delhi breathed fresh life into an old controversy.Political sparring has followed. Governing National Conference has accused opposition Peoples Democratic Party of condemning pellet guns in New Delhi while defending their use in J&K. PDP, in turn, has blamed CM Omar Abdullah for introducing pellet guns during his earlier tenure to tackle protests after about 110 demonstrators were killed in security action during 2009-10.According to BJP, use of bullets and pellets ceased after Article 370’s abrogation in 2019 because protests largely ended.Former J&K DGP SP Vaid, who headed police during 2016 unrest, said pellet guns were first used during 2009-10 protests and again in 2016. “All those 110 people killed in 2010 died due to bullets not pellets. Pellet gun should be used only as a last resort, from a proper distance and aimed below the waist,” Vaid said.Describing them as 12-bore pump-action guns, he said: “I’m not saying pellet guns are good. I am saying they are a better last-resort option than direct firing with live ammunition. If the choice is between bullets and pellet guns, pellet guns can save lives.”Politics feels distant inside Insha’s two-storey home. She now climbs stairs unaided. Certificates marking completion of classes 11 and 12 line her room. But July 12, 2016 remains etched with painful clarity.Clashes had broken out outside her home. Tear gas shells landed nearby. Curious, she walked to a window overlooking the village road. The instant she opened it, a volley of pellets shattered glass and ripped into her face. “My forehead felt like it was burning from inside,” she said.She was taken first to Shopian district hospital before doctors referred her to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar. She slipped into a coma for 4 days.Her photographs quickly became emblematic of 2016 unrest, prompting intervention by then PDP-BJP govt. Then CM Mehbooba Mufti promised assistance — gave Insha’s father a job. After spending nearly a month at SMHS Hospital, Insha was shifted to AIIMS New Delhi, where she remained for almost 2 months.On Sept 13, 2016, she was moved to Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital in Mumbai, where ophthalmologist Dr S Natarajan treated her for nearly 24 days. Natarajan, then hospital director and president of Ocular Trauma Society of India, operated on hundreds of pellet survivors during repeated visits to J&K that year.Doctors eventually told her family she had no perception of light. Blindness would be lifelong.An intervention proved transformative. “Nadir Ali helped me continue my education. He kept insisting that I should study. Had he not been there, I would have been finished,” Insha said.Ali, chairperson of J&K Centre for Peace and Justice Foundation, first met her in late 2017. “She was not born blind. She was angry, very angry and undergoing surgeries regularly for removal of pellets,” he said.Ali admitted her to special education department at Delhi Public School in Srinagar, where she spent nearly 2 years learning Braille, mobility skills and computer applications. “When I visited her home, I saw people had given her certificates but no one seemed to be thinking about how she would build a future,” he said. “She wanted to study and I wanted to help her. She had to learn how to walk independently, use a computer and adapt to a completely new way of life.”Today, Insha studies political science, English, education and sociology through Ignou. Graduation is within reach. “This is her final year… Our aim is to make her financially independent,” Ali said.Ali has another appeal, one directed at journalists: “Once you tell them to recount their past, they again slip into trauma. Let them heal.” For Insha, that may be hardest of all. The country remembers a photograph. She lives its aftermath.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’Most Filthy Type Of Man’: Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Attack Pralhad Joshi; Massive Ruckus In ParlWhy Delhi-NCR Flooded Again As Four Weather Systems Combined With Years Of Planning Failures’Students Want Justice, Not Charity’: Priyanka Gandhi’s Explosive Speech On Paper Leaks Rocks LSMizoram Minister Opens Up On Drug Menace, Myanmar Border, Disaster Readiness & Ties With Centre”You Removed One Pradhan To Save The PM”: Paper Leak Bill Triggers Massive Showdown In ParliamentPolice Diary Reportedly Reveals RAF Fired Anti-Riot Guns During Jantar Mantar Protest | WatchOnce A Fierce BJP Critic, Ex-TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh To Defend Centre’s Anti-paper Leak Bill | WatchModi Govt Tables Anti-Paper Leak Bill In Lok Sabha: Up To 10 Years Jail, ₹10 Cr Fine & MoreSupreme Court Backs Independent Probe Into Alleged Police Excesses During NEET Protests NationwidePM Modi’s Facebook Post Blocked: Is India’s Digital Sovereignty At Stake?123PhotostoriesWhy you can’t stop checking your phone: Expert warns this anxiety habit may be fueling a harmful reassurance-seeking cycleAlways feeling mentally exhausted? These 8 simple daily habits can help clear your mindWorking out but still can’t lose belly fat? Doctor reveals why hormones, genetics and muscle loss make midlife weight loss so much harderYour refrigerator could be making vegetables unsafe: The storage mistakes experts say you should stop making todayOptical illusion personality test: The first thing that you spot helps you discover your hidden leadership talent7 yoga poses to manage neck pain10 baby names inspired by Norse mythologyFrom Windmill Cottage to his large car collection: 5 of the most expensive things that ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ star Robert Downey Jr ownsHow to identify fake Chikankari: 4 signs every shopper should knowInside Shreya Kalra’s lavish Mumbai home: A luxe Bar, dreamy walk-in closet and more123Hot PicksH.C. VermaUddhav ThackerayMHT CET final merit listDelhi weatherWeather tomorrowe20 PetrolRajasthan Safai Karamchari recruitmentTN supplementary resultsSouth Korea KOSPI crashTop TrendingDelhi Red AlertNitin GadkariChhattisgarh MurderEknath Shinde New ProjectWeather TomorrowKhajuraho AirportDombivli Doctors Assault CaseChitrakoot Gang Rape CaseSuvendu AdhikariDelhi Police Dharna

As NEET protests spur crowd control debate, Kashmir’s scars resurface SEDOW(SHOPIAN): Behind a mesh screen, Insha Mushtaq sits in a mustard headscarf, offering a faint smile. She cannot see the camera or the daylight filtering through her window. She only senses. Ten years after pellets took her eyes during J&K’s 2016 unrest, she still carries scars that have become public property, resurfacing every time India debates crowd control.She wishes they wouldn’t. “I don’t want to remember. It doesn’t help and it hurts,” said the 24-year-old, seated inside her home in Sedow village of Shopian, about 75km south of Srinagar.Yet memory has a stubborn half-life. Images of 14-year-old Insha, her face wrapped in bandages after being struck by pellets during protests following Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani’s killing, travelled across TV screens and social media in 2016. They turned her into perhaps J&K’s most recognisable face of pellet gun wounds. Every fresh political quarrel over use of force drags those photographs back into public view. Insha Mushtaq has been blind since 14Recent protests over NEET irregularities in New Delhi have done exactly that.For Insha, the debate translates into reopening wounds she has spent years trying to close. “I don’t know whether I should talk or not. I want to do a job after completing my education,” she said, her father Mushtaq Ahmad Lone and mother Afroza Akhtar sitting quietly beside her.She has not abandoned her future. Blindness altered her life, not her ambition. She is completing a bachelor’s degree in arts and hopes to find a govt job under disability quota. Speaking publicly, she fears, could jeopardise that dream.“I don’t know what happened in Delhi but I know many lives were destroyed by pellet guns in Kashmir,” she said. Then her face brightened. “I am blind but we can operate phones.”Pellet guns entered J&K’s security arsenal around 2010 as a supposedly non-lethal alternative to bullets. They left behind hundreds of eye wounds, partial blindness and permanent loss of vision. Years dulled national attention, but memories never disappeared. Protests in New Delhi breathed fresh life into an old controversy.Political sparring has followed. Governing National Conference has accused opposition Peoples Democratic Party of condemning pellet guns in New Delhi while defending their use in J&K. PDP, in turn, has blamed CM Omar Abdullah for introducing pellet guns during his earlier tenure to tackle protests after about 110 demonstrators were killed in security action during 2009-10.According to BJP, use of bullets and pellets ceased after Article 370’s abrogation in 2019 because protests largely ended.Former J&K DGP SP Vaid, who headed police during 2016 unrest, said pellet guns were first used during 2009-10 protests and again in 2016. “All those 110 people killed in 2010 died due to bullets not pellets. Pellet gun should be used only as a last resort, from a proper distance and aimed below the waist,” Vaid said.Describing them as 12-bore pump-action guns, he said: “I’m not saying pellet guns are good. I am saying they are a better last-resort option than direct firing with live ammunition. If the choice is between bullets and pellet guns, pellet guns can save lives.”Politics feels distant inside Insha’s two-storey home. She now climbs stairs unaided. Certificates marking completion of classes 11 and 12 line her room. But July 12, 2016 remains etched with painful clarity.Clashes had broken out outside her home. Tear gas shells landed nearby. Curious, she walked to a window overlooking the village road. The instant she opened it, a volley of pellets shattered glass and ripped into her face. “My forehead felt like it was burning from inside,” she said.She was taken first to Shopian district hospital before doctors referred her to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar. She slipped into a coma for 4 days.Her photographs quickly became emblematic of 2016 unrest, prompting intervention by then PDP-BJP govt. Then CM Mehbooba Mufti promised assistance — gave Insha’s father a job. After spending nearly a month at SMHS Hospital, Insha was shifted to AIIMS New Delhi, where she remained for almost 2 months.On Sept 13, 2016, she was moved to Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital in Mumbai, where ophthalmologist Dr S Natarajan treated her for nearly 24 days. Natarajan, then hospital director and president of Ocular Trauma Society of India, operated on hundreds of pellet survivors during repeated visits to J&K that year.Doctors eventually told her family she had no perception of light. Blindness would be lifelong.An intervention proved transformative. “Nadir Ali helped me continue my education. He kept insisting that I should study. Had he not been there, I would have been finished,” Insha said.Ali, chairperson of J&K Centre for Peace and Justice Foundation, first met her in late 2017. “She was not born blind. She was angry, very angry and undergoing surgeries regularly for removal of pellets,” he said.Ali admitted her to special education department at Delhi Public School in Srinagar, where she spent nearly 2 years learning Braille, mobility skills and computer applications. “When I visited her home, I saw people had given her certificates but no one seemed to be thinking about how she would build a future,” he said. “She wanted to study and I wanted to help her. She had to learn how to walk independently, use a computer and adapt to a completely new way of life.”Today, Insha studies political science, English, education and sociology through Ignou. Graduation is within reach. “This is her final year… Our aim is to make her financially independent,” Ali said.Ali has another appeal, one directed at journalists: “Once you tell them to recount their past, they again slip into trauma. Let them heal.” For Insha, that may be hardest of all. The country remembers a photograph. She lives its aftermath.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’Most Filthy Type Of Man’: Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Attack Pralhad Joshi; Massive Ruckus In ParlWhy Delhi-NCR Flooded Again As Four Weather Systems Combined With Years Of Planning Failures’Students Want Justice, Not Charity’: Priyanka Gandhi’s Explosive Speech On Paper Leaks Rocks LSMizoram Minister Opens Up On Drug Menace, Myanmar Border, Disaster Readiness & Ties With Centre”You Removed One Pradhan To Save The PM”: Paper Leak Bill Triggers Massive Showdown In ParliamentPolice Diary Reportedly Reveals RAF Fired Anti-Riot Guns During Jantar Mantar Protest | WatchOnce A Fierce BJP Critic, Ex-TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh To Defend Centre’s Anti-paper Leak Bill | WatchModi Govt Tables Anti-Paper Leak Bill In Lok Sabha: Up To 10 Years Jail, ₹10 Cr Fine & MoreSupreme Court Backs Independent Probe Into Alleged Police Excesses During NEET Protests NationwidePM Modi’s Facebook Post Blocked: Is India’s Digital Sovereignty At Stake?123PhotostoriesWhy you can’t stop checking your phone: Expert warns this anxiety habit may be fueling a harmful reassurance-seeking cycleAlways feeling mentally exhausted? These 8 simple daily habits can help clear your mindWorking out but still can’t lose belly fat? Doctor reveals why hormones, genetics and muscle loss make midlife weight loss so much harderYour refrigerator could be making vegetables unsafe: The storage mistakes experts say you should stop making todayOptical illusion personality test: The first thing that you spot helps you discover your hidden leadership talent7 yoga poses to manage neck pain10 baby names inspired by Norse mythologyFrom Windmill Cottage to his large car collection: 5 of the most expensive things that ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ star Robert Downey Jr ownsHow to identify fake Chikankari: 4 signs every shopper should knowInside Shreya Kalra’s lavish Mumbai home: A luxe Bar, dreamy walk-in closet and more123Hot PicksH.C. VermaUddhav ThackerayMHT CET final merit listDelhi weatherWeather tomorrowe20 PetrolRajasthan Safai Karamchari recruitmentTN supplementary resultsSouth Korea KOSPI crashTop TrendingDelhi Red AlertNitin GadkariChhattisgarh MurderEknath Shinde New ProjectWeather TomorrowKhajuraho AirportDombivli Doctors Assault CaseChitrakoot Gang Rape CaseSuvendu AdhikariDelhi Police Dharna

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Govt says birth certificate gives one legal identity NEW DELHI: A bill seeking to make the provision for delayed registration of births and deaths more stringent, is set to be introduced in the Lok Sabha, and shall require every birth or death reported to the registrar after two years of its occurrence, to be registered on only an order made by a judicial magistrate of the first class.As per the statement of objects and reasons of The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the proposal to make the law more stringent is based on consultations held with the state/UT govts and other stakeholders and “will encourage timely reporting of events of birth and death”.It added that “the registration of births and deaths is mandatory under the Act and the birth/death certificate issued after such registration, provides legal identity to an individual” and “is admissible as evidence for the purpose of proving the birth and death of a person”.Birth certificate is also the key document for determining a person’s citizenship status. It is one of the documents accepted during the special intensive revision (SIR) electoral roll, as a proof of citizenship. The bill seeks to add sub-section 3A to Section 13, requiring any birth or death intimated to the registrar after two years of occurence, to be registered only on the order of a first-class judicial magistrate, “after verifying the correctness of the birth or death and on payment of such fee as may be prescribed”.The existing Section 13(3) mandates that a birth or death, of which delayed information is shared with the registrar after one year but within two years of its occurrence, will be registered only on order of a district magistrate, sub-divisional magistrate or an executive magistrate authorised by the district magistrate and appointed under Section 14(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).The rules to implement Section 13(3A) — including determination of the prescribed fee for delayed registration — may be framed by the state govt, empowered under Section 30 to do so.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorBharti JainBharti Jain is senior editor with The Times of India, New Delhi. She has been writing on security matters since 1996. Having covered the Union home ministry, security agencies, Election Commission and the ‘prime’ political beat, the Congress, for The Economic Times all these years, she moved to TOI in August 2012. Her repertoire of news stories delves into the whole gamut of issues related to terrorism and internal strife, besides probing strategic affairs in India’s neighbourhood.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’Most Filthy Type Of Man’: Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Attack Pralhad Joshi; Massive Ruckus In ParlWhy Delhi-NCR Flooded Again As Four Weather Systems Combined With Years Of Planning Failures’Students Want Justice, Not Charity’: Priyanka Gandhi’s Explosive Speech On Paper Leaks Rocks LSMizoram Minister Opens Up On Drug Menace, Myanmar Border, Disaster Readiness & Ties With Centre”You Removed One Pradhan To Save The PM”: Paper Leak Bill Triggers Massive Showdown In ParliamentPolice Diary Reportedly Reveals RAF Fired Anti-Riot Guns During Jantar Mantar Protest | WatchOnce A Fierce BJP Critic, Ex-TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh To Defend Centre’s Anti-paper Leak Bill | WatchModi Govt Tables Anti-Paper Leak Bill In Lok Sabha: Up To 10 Years Jail, ₹10 Cr Fine & MoreSupreme Court Backs Independent Probe Into Alleged Police Excesses During NEET Protests NationwidePM Modi’s Facebook Post Blocked: Is India’s Digital Sovereignty At Stake?123PhotostoriesWhy you can’t stop checking your phone: Expert warns this anxiety habit may be fueling a harmful reassurance-seeking cycleAlways feeling mentally exhausted? These 8 simple daily habits can help clear your mindWorking out but still can’t lose belly fat? Doctor reveals why hormones, genetics and muscle loss make midlife weight loss so much harderYour refrigerator could be making vegetables unsafe: The storage mistakes experts say you should stop making todayOptical illusion personality test: The first thing that you spot helps you discover your hidden leadership talent7 yoga poses to manage neck pain10 baby names inspired by Norse mythologyFrom Windmill Cottage to his large car collection: 5 of the most expensive things that ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ star Robert Downey Jr ownsHow to identify fake Chikankari: 4 signs every shopper should knowInside Shreya Kalra’s lavish Mumbai home: A luxe Bar, dreamy walk-in closet and more123Hot PicksH.C. VermaUddhav ThackerayMHT CET final merit listDelhi weatherWeather tomorrowe20 PetrolRajasthan Safai Karamchari recruitmentTN supplementary resultsSouth Korea KOSPI crashTop TrendingDelhi Red AlertNitin GadkariChhattisgarh MurderEknath Shinde New ProjectWeather TomorrowKhajuraho AirportDombivli Doctors Assault CaseChitrakoot Gang Rape CaseSuvendu AdhikariDelhi Police Dharna

Govt says birth certificate gives one legal identity NEW DELHI: A bill seeking to make the provision for delayed registration of births and deaths more stringent, is set to be introduced in the Lok Sabha, and shall require every birth or death reported to the registrar after two years of its occurrence, to be registered on only an order made by a judicial magistrate of the first class.As per the statement of objects and reasons of The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2026, the proposal to make the law more stringent is based on consultations held with the state/UT govts and other stakeholders and “will encourage timely reporting of events of birth and death”.It added that “the registration of births and deaths is mandatory under the Act and the birth/death certificate issued after such registration, provides legal identity to an individual” and “is admissible as evidence for the purpose of proving the birth and death of a person”.Birth certificate is also the key document for determining a person’s citizenship status. It is one of the documents accepted during the special intensive revision (SIR) electoral roll, as a proof of citizenship. The bill seeks to add sub-section 3A to Section 13, requiring any birth or death intimated to the registrar after two years of occurence, to be registered only on the order of a first-class judicial magistrate, “after verifying the correctness of the birth or death and on payment of such fee as may be prescribed”.The existing Section 13(3) mandates that a birth or death, of which delayed information is shared with the registrar after one year but within two years of its occurrence, will be registered only on order of a district magistrate, sub-divisional magistrate or an executive magistrate authorised by the district magistrate and appointed under Section 14(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).The rules to implement Section 13(3A) — including determination of the prescribed fee for delayed registration — may be framed by the state govt, empowered under Section 30 to do so.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.About the AuthorBharti JainBharti Jain is senior editor with The Times of India, New Delhi. She has been writing on security matters since 1996. Having covered the Union home ministry, security agencies, Election Commission and the ‘prime’ political beat, the Congress, for The Economic Times all these years, she moved to TOI in August 2012. Her repertoire of news stories delves into the whole gamut of issues related to terrorism and internal strife, besides probing strategic affairs in India’s neighbourhood.Read MoreEnd of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideos’Most Filthy Type Of Man’: Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi Attack Pralhad Joshi; Massive Ruckus In ParlWhy Delhi-NCR Flooded Again As Four Weather Systems Combined With Years Of Planning Failures’Students Want Justice, Not Charity’: Priyanka Gandhi’s Explosive Speech On Paper Leaks Rocks LSMizoram Minister Opens Up On Drug Menace, Myanmar Border, Disaster Readiness & Ties With Centre”You Removed One Pradhan To Save The PM”: Paper Leak Bill Triggers Massive Showdown In ParliamentPolice Diary Reportedly Reveals RAF Fired Anti-Riot Guns During Jantar Mantar Protest | WatchOnce A Fierce BJP Critic, Ex-TMC MP Saayoni Ghosh To Defend Centre’s Anti-paper Leak Bill | WatchModi Govt Tables Anti-Paper Leak Bill In Lok Sabha: Up To 10 Years Jail, ₹10 Cr Fine & MoreSupreme Court Backs Independent Probe Into Alleged Police Excesses During NEET Protests NationwidePM Modi’s Facebook Post Blocked: Is India’s Digital Sovereignty At Stake?123PhotostoriesWhy you can’t stop checking your phone: Expert warns this anxiety habit may be fueling a harmful reassurance-seeking cycleAlways feeling mentally exhausted? These 8 simple daily habits can help clear your mindWorking out but still can’t lose belly fat? Doctor reveals why hormones, genetics and muscle loss make midlife weight loss so much harderYour refrigerator could be making vegetables unsafe: The storage mistakes experts say you should stop making todayOptical illusion personality test: The first thing that you spot helps you discover your hidden leadership talent7 yoga poses to manage neck pain10 baby names inspired by Norse mythologyFrom Windmill Cottage to his large car collection: 5 of the most expensive things that ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ star Robert Downey Jr ownsHow to identify fake Chikankari: 4 signs every shopper should knowInside Shreya Kalra’s lavish Mumbai home: A luxe Bar, dreamy walk-in closet and more123Hot PicksH.C. VermaUddhav ThackerayMHT CET final merit listDelhi weatherWeather tomorrowe20 PetrolRajasthan Safai Karamchari recruitmentTN supplementary resultsSouth Korea KOSPI crashTop TrendingDelhi Red AlertNitin GadkariChhattisgarh MurderEknath Shinde New ProjectWeather TomorrowKhajuraho AirportDombivli Doctors Assault CaseChitrakoot Gang Rape CaseSuvendu AdhikariDelhi Police Dharna

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