India news: Rise in murders over rejected romantic advances

It was a roundup of the latest news from India on Thursday, July 16. This blog is now closed.

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One dead, scores injured at religious festival in Odisha

A crush at a popular chariot festival resulted in one person dead and nearly 100 injured in Puri, in the eastern state of Odisha, the authorities said.

The crash occurred as a result of a sudden surge in the crowd at the popular Hindu festival. Thousands of people had gathered to celebrate the annual Rath Yatra festival, which is considered one of the world's oldest and largest religious processions.

Last year, three people were killed following a crowd surge in the same festival.

Court orders Maruti to replace car in first E20 fuel damages ruling

A consumer court has ordered India's biggest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, to provide either a replacement car or compensation to a customer who alleged the new mandatory E20 fuel damaged his car.

It's the first ruling of its kind and could be closely watched by legal and industry experts, given the potential impacts for other drivers who believe the fuel has caused problems with their vehicles.

Narendra Modi's government and carmakers — including Maruti — have defended last year's rollout of E20 fuel, containing 20% ethanol, saying it is safe for all vehicles.

The fuel aims to reduce India's crude oil imports and cut emissions, but it has come under severe criticism and questions about the its suitability, particularly for older cars.

Maruti must offer the claimant, a doctor in the state of Chhattisgarh, either a new replacement of his Grand Vitara SUV, or 2 million Indian rupees (roughly $20,760 or €18,130) in compensation, the court ruled.

Maruti, which can appeal the verdict, had rejected the claims, saying that the defects likely stemmed from the use of adulterated fuel, not E20. The court order, issued earlier in the week but which gathered traction on Thursday, showed that judges disagreed.

The carmaker had said earlier this month its checks on older cars manufactured before 2023 "have not found anything of concern."

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India losing scientists to private space startups, reports say

India's space agency issued a directive against voluntary retirement and resignations after facing a recent mass exodus of scientists, media reports said on Thursday.

According to NDTV, the Department of Space (DoS) issued a mandate that voluntary retirement and resignation requests from scientists associated with the Gaganyaan and other "important missions" may not be "accepted as a matter of routine."

The Gaganyaan is India's human spaceflight mission, which has been expanded to include building and operating a national space station, planning two crewed and six uncrewed missions by 2028.

Some of the scientists who have quit, according to reports, are joining India's fast-growing space startup sector.

India's private space sector has expanded since the government opened the industry to private players in 2020 and introduced the Indian Space Policy in 2023.

India now has more than 400 registered space startups worth millions in investment. Private firms, once largely restricted to supplying components to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), are now allowed to build, test and launch their own rockets and satellites.

The government allocated about $1.5 billion (€1.31 billion) to the Department of Space for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

Exodus from Mamata Banerjee's TMC continues, Koel Mallick quits as MP

The exodus of politicians from Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC) continued as member of the upper house of parliament, Koel Mallick, tendered her resignation, media reports said.

The actor-turned-politician had taken an oath as a Rajya Sabha member in April.

The former Chief Minister of West Bengal, who lost the state election to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP, has been facing a reckoning as leaders have been quitting her party. Some joined a rebel faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee, while others joined hands with the BJP.

On Wednesday, TMC leader and Banerjee's close aide Madan Mitra quit the party to join the rebel faction.

Banerjee, however, struck a defiant note, posting a video in which she accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of wishing for her death and declared: "I will stay alive 'til I see your end."

Government bars deployment of Indian sailors on Strait of Hormuz

India on Thursday called to stop deploying Indian seafarers on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran.

The Directorate General of Maritime Administration (DGMA) said in a statement on Wednesday that there should be "no deployment of Indian seafarers on vessels undertaking voyages involving passage through the Strait of Hormuz until further orders."

"The DGMA continues to closely monitor the evolving security situation and remains committed to safeguarding the safety, security and welfare of Indian seafarers," it said.

The advisory comes amid growing security concerns in the Gulf and follows the deaths of at least two Indian sailors in attacks on commercial vessels in the region since last week.

On Tuesday, attacks on two UAE-linked commercial vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz with 30 Indian crewmembers left one Indian sailor dead and 10 others injured, the ministry statement said.

India's foreign ministry described the attacks as "deeply worrisome."

According to India's shipping ministry, there are more than 300,000 active seafarers, making India one of the largest contributors of sailors to merchant shipping worldwide.

Sonam Wangchuk continues hunger strike, court directs health monitoring

On the 19th day of environmental and education reform activist Sonam Wangchuk's hunger strike, Delhi High Court on Thursday reportedly directed authorities to monitor his health daily amid concerns over his deteriorating condition.

The government assured the court that the activist's health would be monitored, the Hindustan Times reported.

Wangchuk, along with supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), are camped at the capital's historic grounds of Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Supporters of the viral "cockroach" movement are calling for Pradhan's ouster over alleged exam irregularities.

Wangchuk on Wednesday refused to end his fast, saying doing so would send a message to the government that they don't have to be accountable to the people.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke earlier reported that the 59-year-old was rapidly losing weight and muscle mass with blood sugar dropping to abnormally low levels.

Meanwhile, the CJP organized a one-day mass hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in solidarity with Wangchuk on Thursday.

What is driving instances of violence following rejected romantic advances?

Most of the recent cases of violence following rejected romantic advances disproportionately involve men attacking women.

Mumbai-based psychotherapist Arpita Bohra told DW that such possessiveness and entitlement stem from perpetrators' viewing of women as something they possess rather than as autonomous individuals.

Bohra said the violence comes "from the sense that this is mine. It belongs to me. If I can't have it, nobody else can have it," a mindset she said is driven by the dehumanization of women.

"When a boundary is set, when the woman becomes unavailable, there is a very destructive aggression and entitlement that comes out," she said, adding that such violence is often used to "punish women" and "put women in their place."

Riya Khanna, a psychologist, points out that men are brought up with a sense of entitlement that "dictates them to take extreme action if something is not going their way."

"Such men might have been privy to instances of violence, abuse, or volatile environment which can make them believe that is normal," Khanna said.

Is violence against women an epidemic no one cares about?

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India's spate of gender violence following rejected romantic advances

The death of the student in Bangalore was one of many similar incidents across India resulting in murder following rejected proposals or romantic advances:

May 16, Jadcherla, Telangana: A 22-year-old woman was stabbed multiple times after reportedly rejecting a man's marriage proposal, according to The New Indian Express newspaper

May 29, Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh: An 18-month-old boy was killed by a man after the boy's mother allegedly rejected the man's marriage proposal, multiple news reports said. The man was sentenced to death

June 29, Bengaluru, Karnataka: A 23-year-old woman was stabbed to death by her boyfriend after she allegedly refused to marry him, The New Indian Express reported

July 3, Bolangir, Odisha: A man attacked the family of woman who had called off their marriage earlier and killed her uncle, the India Today reported

July 9, Bengaluru, Karnataka: A man stabbed his ex-girlfriend after she rejected his attempts to revive their relationship and was going to marry someone else, NDTV reported. The woman survived the attack

July 9, Chennai: A man was arrested for assaulting and threatening to kill a woman after she pressed him to marry her following a relationship, the Times of India said

July 15, Howrah, West Bengal: A 16-year-old schoolgirl was stabbed to death by a man after allegedly rejecting his advances, according to the Times of India

India's women step up: Courage against violence and misogyny

Bengaluru student's dies after being attacked following rejected proposal

A student in her 20s died in the southern city of Bengaluru on Wednesday evening, over 48 hours after she was reportedly stabbed by the brother of a man whose marriage proposal she had rejected, the Times of India said, citing local police.

According to investigators quoted by the newspaper, the student called off her relationship with her partner, Dhanush, after she found out that he had allegedly concealed that he had previously been married and had a child.

Dhanush's brother, Surya, had threatened the victim over her decision and during an altercation at her home on Monday, he allegedly stabbed her in the chest and the back, the report said.

The suspect was apprehended by police. Both Surya and Dhanush are in police custody as authorities investigate their roles in the incident.

There have been a spate of such attacks over rejected proposals in India recently.

Hello! This is Shakeel from DW's New Delhi Studio, bringing you the latest news from across India.

On Wednesday, a student died in Bengaluru after she was reportedly stabbed by the brother of a man whose marriage proposal she had rejected. This was just another in a string of murders and attacks over failed romantic overtures.

In New Delhi, the Cockroach Janta Party protest is ongoing as hunger-striking activist Sonam Wangchuk's condition deteriorated on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Indian government barred Indian seafarers from the Strait of Hormuz following an upsurge in attacks in the region.

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