India news: Cockroach party demands Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation

Here are some of the major headlines from India on Thursday, September 24:

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CJP targets Gyanesh Kumar over SIR, alleges voter deletions benefit BJP

Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijeet Dipke has accused India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of undermining the country's democracy and alleged that the Election Commission's voter-roll revision is being used to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Dipke called Kumar "the biggest threat to India's democracy" and demanded his resignation.

CJP said it would launch protests across the country ‌if ⁠India's ⁠chief election officer does not resign in 48 ​hours.

Dipke's accusations came after the Indian Express published an investigation that fellow Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised at least 14 formal objections over 10 months to decisions concerning voter registrations, deletions and restorations, as well as control of electoral-roll data, the report said.

In one of the objections, Sandhu complained that the Election Commission acted against the written advice of two commissioners and claimed its action was "unauthorized and illegal."

Sandhu and Joshi, along with Kumar, are responsible for overseeing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The process is meant to remove redundancies in India's electoral rolls, but the process is accused of having gone far beyond that remit and removed millions of legal voters.

According to the Election Commission, the revision was needed to remove the names of deceased individuals, those who have permanently moved and duplicate entries — as well as avoiding the "inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants."

Dipke alleged that more than 130 million names have been struck off draft electoral rolls across 30 states and union territories during the SIR process.

Dipke alleged the removals from voter registries were intended to widen the BJP's electoral advantage as voter deletions had disproportionately affected opposition strongholds.

Dipke pointed out that during the 2024 election the difference in total votes between the ruling party and the opposition coalition was 2%.

"Deleting 130 million votes means deleting approximately 13 to 14 percent of the votes," Dipke said. "So, is Gyanesh Kumar intentionally deleting them so that the two-percent gap, where it appears that the BJP could lose, becomes larger, so that they never have to leave power?"

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also alleged earlier that the SIR process benefits the BJP. The ruling party has dismissed such claims, arguing that those removed largely involve dead voters and illegal immigrants, thereby protecting India's democracy.

Three arrested over alleged gang rape of 17-year-old girl in New Delhi

Authorities have arrested three men accused gang-raping a 17-year-old girl in southeast Delhi.

The girl had been visiting a temple with a male friend on Monday evening before the two went to a nearby park, where the suspects allegedly intercepted them. The men posed as police officers to intimidate the minor and her friend.

One of the men reportedly restrained the girl's friend while the other two assaulted her.

The suspects allegedly threatened the pair with arrest if they reported the incident, according to police cited by The Hindustan Times.

On Wednesday, ​hundreds of students protested in Delhi, demanding better safety for women. The alleged assault occurred barely 2 km (1.2 miles) from Lady Shri Ram (LSR) College, one of the country's top women's colleges.

India has a high rate of reported sexual violence against women and girls. National Crime Records Bureau data shows that more than 80 rape cases are reported to police across the country each day.

SIT files chargesheet in Ayodhya Ram Temple donation theft case

An investigation team probing the alleged embezzlement of donations and offerings at the Ram Temple in the northern city of Ayodhya has filed a chargesheet against eight arrested suspects, media reports said on Wednesday.

The police filed a 74,000-page chargesheet before a local court. All eight accused are in judicial custody.

The Special Investigation Team's (SIT) status report documented 105 instances of theft captured by CCTV cameras at the temple premises.

The controversy over alleged embezzlement forced authorities to appoint an Indian Air Force veteran, Jeetendra Mishra, as the chief executive officer of the temple earlier this month.

The construction of the temple, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2024, was a longstanding political issue and a key commitment of Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

It built at the site of the Babri mosque, which was demolished by Hindu nationalist mobs in 1992.

Devout Hindus believe that the god Ram was born there more than 7,000 years ago, but that the Babri mosque was built over his birthplace by a 16th-century Muslim emperor.

Fire on sleeper bus kills nine outside of Delhi

Nine passengers were killed late on Wednesday after an overnight sleeper bus caught fire outside of the national capital, New Delhi, according to media reports.

A police report, cited by the media, said the bus' air conditioning unit caused the fire while on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida.

Police added that the bus driver and conductor managed to escape the fire and are detained by the authorities, according to The Times of India newspaper.

A passenger who managed to escape the tragedy told ANI news agency that the bus was packed with passengers.

"I was sleeping when someone woke me up saying the bus had caught fire, and we all scrambled to get out," the passenger said. "It was not an easy situation to escape, there was a lot of smoke. We somehow managed to get out."

The police are investigating the incident.

This is the latest in similar incidents of deadly fires on buses:

Hi, this is Shakeel from DW's New Delhi studio bringing you the latest updates from across India.

Nine passengers were killed late on Wednesday when their overnight sleeper bus caught fire just outside Delhi.

Meanwhile, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) filed a nearly 70,000-page chargesheet against eight people arrested in connection with the Ram Temple donation embezzlement case on Wednesday.

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