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A 25-year-old national-level tennis player, Radhika Yadav, was allegedly shot dead by her father, Deepak Yadav, at their home in Gurugram on Thursday morning.
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00:00Good evening, hello and welcome. You're with the news today, your primetime destination news.
00:05Newsmakers, talking points tonight, the murder that shocked the nation.
00:09Why would a father kill his daughter who was a tennis player?
00:15Also, we will tell you the story of the coward Yatris and the violence that they are perpetrating during the Yatra.
00:24Who will check them? How can they get away?
00:27Also, a cash video that's triggered another battle in Maharashtra.
00:32So we have plenty ahead of the show as always. First, the nine headlines at nine.
00:38Social media dreams shot down by a father. Autopsy reveals four bullets were pumped into Radha Yadav's chest.
00:47Radhika Yadav's chest. WhatsApp chats access revealed Radhika wanted to lead an independent life.
00:54Was this some kind of an honour killing? What was the motive here?
00:58A day after an income tax notice, Maharashtra Minister Shirshat caught in a video showing him with a bag allegedly full of cash.
01:11He claims it's clothes. The opposition guns for his removal.
01:15A complaint also fired in Mumbai against the Sena's MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, who beat up a canteen staffer, actioned 48 hours after the assault.
01:26Comedian Kapil Sharma's cafe attacked by Khalistani terrorist Nidda. Terror group claims comedian insulted Nihang's Saray cops probe underway.
01:40Coward Yadav Yadav turns violent. Multiple clashes reported in UP and Uttarakhand. Car driver and motorcyclist thrashed with sticks by pilgrims in separate incidents.
01:54A dhaba is also destroyed.
01:56The Congress vs. Tharoor war continues to simmer. Kerala Congress leaders hit out at Shashi Tharoor after he makes a critical article on the emergency.
02:10Party says Tharoor should give up his post or follow the party line.
02:14Himachal Pradesh monsoon fury death toll rises to 91. Mandi records highest rain-related fatalities.
02:27Earthquake tremors of 3.7 magnitude Joel Delhi NCR second quake in two days.
02:36Jaspreet Bumrah breaks Kapil days record.
02:38Jaspreet Bumrah registers most away five wicket hauls for India, becomes the 15th Indian bowler to have his name on the Lord's Honours Board.
02:55But tonight I want to start with a story, a horrific murder that has shocked the nation.
03:00A national level tennis player, Radhika Yadav was shot dead yesterday by her father at their Gurugram home.
03:07He has confessed to the murder, citing anger over a tennis academy and public remarks.
03:14But there is still no clarity as to why a father would kill his daughter, whom he apparently doted upon.
03:23The case has shocked the tennis fraternity, friends of Radhika Yadav and indeed the country.
03:30And a day later, while the father has been arrested, the truth is still not with us.
03:36Take a look at our top story.
03:41A young tennis player who aspired to become a social media influencer.
03:46Inspired by Elvis Yadav, a popular content creator from her village.
03:52Now murdered by her own father on her mother's birthday.
03:55This is the tragic story of 25-year-old national level tennis player, Radhika Yadav, who was allegedly shot dead by her father, Deepak Yadav, at their home in Gurugram, Sector 57, on Thursday morning.
04:10In his confession to the police, Deepak stated that he was troubled by the local's taunts, suggesting that he was surviving off his daughter's income and had even heard people questioning her character.
04:23He said he had asked Radhika multiple times to shut down the academy, but she had refused.
04:28According to police, at the time of the murder, only Radhika, her mother, Manju, and the father were present on the first floor of the house.
04:37The accused father has now been sent to police remand for one day.
04:57According to police sources, Radhika wanted to become an influencer.
05:17But her father, Deepak, was upset about his daughter making reels and posting them on Instagram.
05:23But Radhika had promised her family that she would never do anything that would bring them shame.
05:28She even took her mother along while shooting reels.
05:32Now, as per the probe, Radhika's father, Deepak Yadav, spent over 2.5 crores on her tennis training.
05:38However, mental stress and societal pressure allegedly pushed him to shoot his daughter.
05:44For children, when it happens, the guardians who are observing the children or who are taking care of the children get irritated.
05:53Initially, what they will do is, they will tell them politely not to do this, not to do this, or limit your time, limit your time.
06:01But when the child is not listening, then it creates anger and which can lead to harmful steps.
06:10A tragic end to a life full of joy and a career full of promise.
06:14Family is in shock and they say that, you know, just because a girl wanted to make Instagram reels doesn't mean that she should be killed for wanting what she wanted to do.
06:27And there are many, many questions within those layers that the police is yet to investigate on.
06:33With Manish in Guru Gram, Milan Sharma for India Today.
06:36Let's turn to the breaking news on that story that we're getting.
06:46The autopsy report, though, has contradicted the suspect, the father's version.
06:51Autopsy indicates that the victim was shot at point-blank range.
06:55Sources say the police not convinced by the motive given that the father was angry by the fact that his daughter was doing Instagram reels.
07:03And the saucer also saying father was not financially dependent on Radhika, as some stories had suggested.
07:12Which leaves open the big question, what was the motive for a father to kill his daughter in this manner?
07:19Joining me now, Milan Sharma joins me.
07:21She's been tracking the story since yesterday.
07:24Milan, we're getting conflicting versions as to what was the motive.
07:27Some are suggesting that the father was upset because the villagers in and around Guru Gram in his biradri were taunting him that his daughter, he's financially dependent on his daughter.
07:40Now we are told he was financially independent.
07:43Others were saying he was upset that she wanted to break out on her own, start her own tennis academy.
07:48Some saying that she wanted to do reels.
07:51And that upset the father.
07:53What really is the cause?
07:55What is the police honing in on?
07:56Well, Rajdeep, this leaves open scope for many layers that the police is still not investigated, which is why he's been taken for remand.
08:07He'll be questioned more, but more so what the autopsy shows here is quite contradictory to what the statement has been given by the father to the police.
08:16Earlier on, the statement said that she was shot from the back while she was cooking food in the kitchen, you know, for her mother on her birthday.
08:25But the autopsy report says that she has four bullet marks in the front in her chest.
08:32So the autopsy says that four bullet marks in the front in the chest area have been seen.
08:38And one, you know, this is one issue where the police is looking at things not adding up.
08:46And of course, there have been some WhatsApp chats as well, where she said that she had too many restrictions at home.
08:52She had asked her father that she wanted to go abroad for some time.
08:55You know, she wanted to enjoy life is what she had said.
08:59And these are other areas of investigation which the police still has to, you know, work on.
09:05Because currently what the father said and what the police is talking about is not adding up as to the clear motive of how a father could actually shoot dead his daughter in cold-blooded murder on the day of the mother's birthday in the house full of family and other members.
09:25So that is very shocking and more details on this investigations are yet to be cleared out. Rajdeep.
09:32Okay, Milank Sharma joining me with the very latest.
09:35Still unclear what the motive was.
09:37Now, among those who we spoke to was a friend of Radhika who had actually worked on a tennis reel, on a reel with him.
09:47My colleague Pooja Shali spoke to the individual on the phone, listening to what he had to say.
09:54So, I told him that Radhika was an unknown person for me and he was also an unknown person, and he was also an unknown person.
10:01So, I just met him for the first time in the tennis team in Punjab Tigers in Delhi.
10:07They told me that he was a shock of my teammates and his acting and his acting.
10:12I told him that Radhika's screen looks very good.
10:16He told me that he was a shock of my teammates and I said, okay, we will tell him that he was a shock of my teammates.
10:23Then, I approached him and he approached him and he was shooting a song.
10:25I didn't approach him.
10:26I didn't approach him because he was shooting another one.
10:28I was not as an actor.
10:29Okay.
10:30When I was in the house and he was not doing it, the director said, yes, your age and your age is fit.
10:37So, ask him.
10:39Because in that case, we were doing the casting of the WhatsApp group.
10:42I sent him a profile.
10:43You can see him.
10:44Then, there was a Zoom call with a director, Ali Ahmed.
10:49And that was final.
10:50After that, we shot him normally.
10:53And after that, I didn't know anything.
10:56What happened after Radhika, I didn't promote him.
10:59One of our collab was accepted.
11:01But after that, he also deleted him.
11:04And you can see anything in the song.
11:08And I think, in my life, only two times, I saw Radhika's face-to-face.
11:14In a tennis scene and in my house.
11:19Now, of course, there's a big question which criminologists often raise.
11:24Why would a father kill his daughter?
11:27What are the psychological issues that can underlie that also?
11:32Because that also is a question mark in a case like this.
11:35Remember, here was a young woman who was ranked as a tennis player.
11:43Was obviously breaking away from a very traditional conservative family.
11:47And then chooses to make her own path in life.
11:51And then her father shoots her.
11:56And therefore, questions arise.
11:58Why would someone do that?
12:00I'm hoped to be joined by Dr. Deepak Raheja.
12:05He's a psychiatrist and looks at these issues.
12:08Thanks very much, Dr. Raheja, for joining us.
12:10This entire murder throws a huge question mark over the relationship of a parent with his or her daughter.
12:20And why would a parent kill a daughter who, by all indications, he doted on?
12:26Why would someone take such an extreme step?
12:29This to me clearly is a patriarchal control over a child.
12:38Over a child, you know, you've programmed the child to grow, to shine.
12:43But are you able to handle that shine?
12:45So as much as he, you know, there are reports to say that he was depressed.
12:49But this clearly is more about feeling let down as we hear in reports of being let down.
12:56And maybe surviving or, you know, supporting the livelihood by the earning of the daughter for her to shine.
13:06I mean, we program our children, our daughters to shine.
13:11But are we ready to be able to handle that shine?
13:15Is it just about beti padao, beti bachaao?
13:20Or is it also about beti padao and beti, you know, to connect and to see how you would deal with the success?
13:29So are you saying, Dr. Raheja, that maybe the father just could not handle Radhika's success,
13:34the fact that she was breaking away and trying to live an independent life?
13:39Does that become a cause for killing your daughter?
13:42I mean, it clearly shows that he got into a phase of instability, a mental instability in which he was not in control of himself.
13:54I mean, it's not an easy decision to pick up a gun and shoot your child whom you've doted and you love.
14:00But it's probably a subtle violence that continued to brew in the form of a huge discontent that may have happened in the family over a period of time.
14:13And because we are not sensitized to acknowledge that, to deal with mental health issues ourselves, he was probably not perceptive.
14:22There was not a support system that could reflect to him to possibly seek an intervention where he could find the support and be able to deal with the instability that he experienced that led him to take that huge decision of killing the child.
14:43So you're saying there could be an element of instability and depression and therefore in that kind of mood, you perhaps stop seeing right from wrong.
14:54I don't think depression per se can drive you to feel unstable enough to kill a child.
15:03So this has to be a mix of a mental instability, a patriarchal letdown, a shame and rage where you see your daughter grow.
15:13But she's also on social media and we see reports that he was unhappy with certain reels and certain certain videos that she was posting online.
15:23So it is also how you perceive the control over the image and the body of your children, your daughter, especially, especially, especially the females, the women.
15:37I mean, the, the, the, the, the manner in which the wife, which is the mother of the child has chosen to be quiet and to be silent and not to voice is also reflective, reflective of a family system where we are not, we are not programmed to voice our discontent or unhappiness about a possible, you know, the onslaught that happens on the identity of a person.
16:03And in question here, the, the, the, the daughter of the person.
16:06Okay. Dr. Raheja, for joining me there, for, for giving us a sense of how should we look at this case, I appreciate you joining us.
16:14Clearly, this is sad, sad, sad, tragic that a young woman's life should just go away like this.
16:22We'll keep tracking that story.
16:24We're turning now to a political row that's broken out once again in Maharashtra, this time over the assets of a minister from the Shindei.
16:33Shiv Sena, part of the ruling BJP-led alliance.
16:35A day after the minister, Sanjay Sirsat received, Shirsat received an income tax notice over an abnormal increase in his assets over the last five years,
16:46Shiv Sena UBT leader, Sanjay Raut posted a video of a minister which has gone viral.
16:51The video shows the minister with a bag of cash.
16:55The minister claims its clothes, but the opposition wants him to step down.
16:59Take a look at the latest minister who's been caught with cash.
17:04This viral video has triggered a political storm in Maharashtra.
17:12It shows State Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat in a room where an open suitcase with cash can also be seen.
17:20Another suitcase and a pet dog are also seen in the video, which has been posted on X by Shiv Sena UBT MP Sanjay Raut on Friday.
17:28In his post, Raut suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should take note of this.
17:37Today, Sanjay Sirsat is the president of the
18:07Now, Sanjay Sirsat has alleged a conspiracy to frame him.
18:17The video came out a day after the income tax department served a notice to Shirsat.
18:42Seeking explanation on the rise of his wealth from 3 crores in 2019 to 35 crore rupees in 2024.
18:49Sanjay Raut from the rival Sena camp makes a stunning claim showing viral video of Shirsat allegedly with a bag full of cash at his home.
19:15However, Shirsat later hits back refuting the claims and calling it a conspiracy against him.
19:21He is now the second leader from Ekna Chinde party under fire after an offense was finally registered against the Bulldhana MLA Sanjay Gaikwad for his boxing antics at the MLA hostel canteen.
19:34Now, one thing is clear that these episodes clearly mounts pressure on Ekna Chinde as he tries to keep his flock together with challenges posing from alliances and the oppositions alike.
19:48With camera person Rajui Namdar, myself, Hrithik Bhalekar for India Today Mumbai.
20:18Now, you've got Mr. Shirsat facing an income tax probe after his cash video has embarrassed the party while the assembly is on.
20:26The opposition wants instant action, wants the minister to be sacked.
20:31Hrithik Bhalekar who has been reporting that story joins us.
20:34Hrithik, we are told that Ekna Chinde met Amit Shah.
20:37Either in the last 48 hours, a series of meetings have been held amid speculation that the Devendra Patnavi's government is putting pressure according to the opposition on Ekna Chinde.
20:48They are encircling him.
20:49What are you picking up?
20:52Is Ekna Chinde under pressure now to drop his minister?
20:55Absolutely, Rajdeep, as you very well know that there is no dull point in Maharashtra politics.
21:03And now that UBT Sena MP Sanjay Raut has claimed that Ekna Chinde had gone to Delhi to visit Amit Shah and, you know, take his blessings on the Guru Purnima Day.
21:17At the same time, he has also claimed that Ekna Chinde is worried about his position in the Mahayuti Alliance government.
21:26And there is where it comes that he often goes to Delhi to have talks with Amit Shah to let him know that how he has been cornered in Mahayuti Alliance government.
21:36And how his MLAs and his ministers are being targeted every now and then.
21:42As the ongoing monsoon session, we are watching one MLA from Bulldhana.
21:48Shinde Sena's MLA, Sanjay Gaikwad, was caught on camera how he was thrashing the canteen employees.
21:57But at the same time, on the very next day, we saw Shinde Sirsat, the minister, who again caught on a video camera and the video has gone viral where a bag full of cash is seen around him.
22:10So, one after the another, cases are coming up and Shinde's, you know, tensions are rising day by day.
22:17So, Shinde's visit is seen as something that he wants some kind of relief from the central leadership.
22:26And he wants to put his flock together and fight out the internal differences within the Mahayuti Alliance.
22:33Hrithik Balekar, Ekna Chinde, Deputy Chief Minister, clearly increasingly finding himself encircled.
22:40That's how politics changes.
22:41Last year, he was the face of the Mahayuti Alliance going into the election as Chief Minister.
22:47Then he had to be, he was downsized as Deputy Chief Minister.
22:50The BJP perhaps no longer is as dependent on him as they were then.
22:55And Ekna Chinde finds that his ministers now are also facing tax problems and more.
23:01Okay, let's turn to another interesting and intriguing story.
23:04During a book release event earlier this week in Nagpur, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat has reignited a political war over retirement age and politics.
23:14He quoted a former RSS leader, Moropant Pinglee and said,
23:19When someone is felicitated at 75, it means your time is up.
23:23The Congress Party has latched on to the RSS Chief's remark and targeted Prime Minister Modi.
23:28Both Mr. Bhagwat and the Prime Minister will turn 75 this September.
23:34Here's more.
23:35Here's more.
23:36What was seemingly made as part of an innocuous anecdote
23:56has ended up triggering a major political storm.
24:01On Ben's day, Mohan Bhagwat was speaking at the release of a biography
24:06on former RSS leader Moropant Pinglee.
24:10While recounting his memories of Pinglee,
24:13the RSS Chief ended up making a rather intriguing remark.
24:16The RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat is not the case of the RSS Charmant.
24:30The Congress sees this as a dig at the Prime Minister, who is supposed to turn 75 this
24:55year and claims that the RSS chief is giving him the hint that he should consider moving
25:02on.
25:25While the BJP is refusing to respond to jibes from the opposition, its ally JDU has thrown
25:43its weight behind the Prime Minister.
26:08For the record, the BJP had initially viewed being 75-plus as the reason why parties stalwarts
26:15such as LK Advani and MM Joshi were shifted to the Marg Darshak Mandel to guide the current
26:21leadership.
26:22But the party has all throughout maintained that there is no automatic cut-off of 75 years
26:28for its leaders to retire.
26:31Interestingly, Mohan Bhagwat himself turned 75 in September, just six days before the Prime
26:39Minister does.
26:40So was his statement referring to the PM, to himself or just a harmless anecdote of Morpan
26:47Pingli's views?
26:49Only time will tell.
26:51Let's turn from there to our other big focus today.
26:59The Kavadiatra, the sacred pilgrimage that draws millions of devotees is now fully underway.
27:06But amidst the chants and religious fervour on the streets, a darker side has been emerging
27:11over the years.
27:12Devotion of faith is now turning into lawlessness, often into outright hooliganism.
27:18Violent clashes, road rage, vandalism are being reported along the Yatra route.
27:23And in many cases, innocent bystanders are bearing the brunt from dhaba owners to car owners.
27:30As you will see in this story, the question that I want to raise today, what happens to faith
27:36when it turns into hooliganism?
27:39Is violence being normalised during the Kavadiatra?
27:43And why is the government, both in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, not acting against these Yatris?
27:50Take a look first at this report.
27:52Kavadiatra, the annual pilgrimage to Haridwar is on.
28:06The village's fervour is rising.
28:09But so is lawlessness on the streets by a few Yatris.
28:14In Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffar Nagar, a man was thrashed by a group of Kavadiyas.
28:20After an accident involving his motorcycle, they assaulted him and vandalised his bike.
28:25In another shocking incident near Haridwar, Kavadiyas got into a scuffle with a car driver on the Roorkee State Highway.
28:50The pilgrims alleged his car hit a holy kalash.
28:54The situation soon spiralled out of control.
28:57The police have arrested three individuals for the assault.
29:03And it's not just road rage.
29:06On July 8th, a group of Kavadiyas vandalised a dhaba on the Delhi-Dehradun Highway, alleging the food served to them meant to be satwik-contained onions.
29:19In a shocking act, they mercilessly thrashed up the staff members, even as they pleaded to be let off.
29:27I was in an accident.
29:34I was standing on my hands.
29:36My husband and me told me that you had a first time to buy the food.
29:41I told him to take the money.
29:44He was 5,000 rupees in his home.
29:47He is running away.
29:49He is running away, he is running away.
29:51I have never been able to feed my husband to feed my husband, so I don't even know what to do with him.
29:59While arrangements are meticulously made for the Kavadi Yatra, from free food to tight security,
30:06many incidents of violence are also reported in which the common citizen bears the brunt of unchecked aggression.
30:14What's even more shocking is that other Kavadiyas defend this behaviour.
30:21We have to do the wrong with the bikes.
30:25We are going to take a bike, so we can't do it.
30:29With the police and authorities handling such violence with kit gloves, many others are emboldened to do the same.
30:38With Ashitosh Mishra, Bureau Report, India Today.
30:47Let's raise the big questions then.
30:49We will check this gundaism and I am calling that gundaism by the Kavadiyas.
30:54Police handling vandals with kit gloves.
30:57Dadagiri replacing faith.
30:59Hooligans giving devotees a bad name.
31:01Joining me now, Sriraj Nair is spokesperson Vishwa Hindu Parishat.
31:06Vikram Singh is former DGPUP.
31:08And Anand Kumar is sociologist.
31:10He also had set up a group that promoted communal harmony.
31:14Appreciate all of you joining us on the show today.
31:16I want to come to you Sriraj Nair first.
31:19How do you explain this hooliganism of the Kavadiyas?
31:24Different instance, not just one stray isolated instance and it's been happening year after year.
31:29Cars being bashed, dhabas being broken and a general sense that they can get away with this lawlessness.
31:34What is your response?
31:37Is this a classic example of faith being overtaken by rampant hooliganism?
31:43Well Rajiv, I was seeing on your screen a couple of incidences.
31:53Now Kavadi Yatra has been taking place for centuries.
31:57And the incidences which we have shown, that's supposed to be from UP or from Uttarakhand.
32:04All three governments from where Delhi, Uttarakhand and UP have BJP government and are known for strict law and order.
32:14In UP the government has eliminated a lot of big dons and criminals.
32:19Now anybody who is taking law in the hand, whether it is anybody for that instance should be brought to books.
32:26And we as Vishwa Hindu Parishat, we believe in discipline and we believe these are some stray incidences.
32:32And let the law and order of UP check.
32:37Sir, you are saying these are stray incidences.
32:40Sir, you are saying these are stray incidences but they are happening year after year.
32:45The fact is that the same Kavadi Yatra, they are given VIP treatment, they have been given free food.
32:52There were rose petals showered on them not too long ago.
32:56I mean they seem to believe that they can get away with it.
32:58Why are they then doing it? Or they are unemployed youth who are totally lumpenized and simply seduced by consumerized religiosity.
33:05Listen Rajdeep, the way, listen Rajdeep, recently we saw UP hosting Kumbh Mela, crores of people came in and they went from where they came.
33:18Now these are all not organized Yatras. Who comes, we don't know. So that is the reason I am saying, who were these people?
33:26Let the process go. Law and order is there in UP. Let them check who were these people.
33:33Now all these incidents which you show on your camera, we also, we don't stand by it. We condemn this kind of incidences.
33:42But at the same time straight away blaming Kavadi Yars is, we are jumping the gun.
33:48No, no, who are they? They are Kavadi Yars sir. I am not straight away blaming them. They are Kavadi Yars.
33:54I take your point that a few people may well be giving a bad name, bad name to the entire yatra.
34:01Rajdeep, there are con men everywhere. There are con men who are who poses reporters also.
34:05Okay. I would take…
34:06There are con men everywhere in the society posing as cough, posing as reporters. Now who are these people?
34:12Whether they are real Kavadi Yars or who pose as Kavadi Yars. So let, we have Vikram Sanji here. We have seen several insistence people, you know, Jihad is posing as cow vigilantes and blaming on the Bajrang Dal.
34:28So similarly, this could be one of these incidences. So let us not jump the gun.
34:31Okay. I have taken your point. Just hold on. Let there be proper investigation.
34:37Okay. You are saying that you do believe that these incidences are to be condemned. I have taken your point. Let Professor Anand Kumar respond. Professor Anand Kumar, do you believe as Sriraj Nair said, this yatra has been taking place for centuries.
34:49Has something fundamentally changed because, dare I say, religion and state power have come together. So the Yatris, many of them young youth who possibly are unemployed, feel a sense of empowerment. This is their moment in the sun. They can get away with anything. They are VIPs.
35:05It is true that there has been a tradition of walking from one secret place to another secret place and connecting death with some kind of ritual and some kind of practice. But if you compare with the 70s, in the last 30 years, it has become a public spectacle.
35:26There has been competition between various parties, not only government, but parties to solicitate these cowardias. And these cowardias are a mixed group. There are people who are faithful people, faithful Hindus, but there are people who think that Hinduism and hooliganism can go together.
35:46They think that when they are walking, they monopolize the whole public space called roads. And nobody should walk their way. Nobody should come in their way. And then they have a right to beat them, punish them.
35:59So I'm happy that Vishwindu Parishali's spokesperson condemns this kind of attitude. But there has to be a real tough positioning. There is a softness about it.
36:10You know, people walk around all over the country, in south, north, east, west, from one place to another place. And this has been a way of expressing your faith and your commitment.
36:23But Cambodia's in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh have become more aggressive. And this is something which has to be looked into very carefully. If you ignore it, you will be ignoring some kind of a trend which is equating Hinduism with hooliganism.
36:35Was it very different, Anand Kumarji, earlier? Do you believe it was very different? Has something changed in the last few years now that you have a party in power in the BJP which has openly said,
36:49We will wear our religiosity on our sleeves. Does that make a difference?
36:56No, this is some kind of a negative assertion of your identity. Religious identity is an important factor in culture of every community. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs.
37:07But the way Kavadiyas are behaving in this area, around capital region, I have been a student in the 70s and I taught in the 90s and 80s. I think there is a radical difference. There is open patronage and there is open benign neglect of misbehavior by some of the Kavadiyas.
37:26They are advised by the traffic police itself, don't go that way sir. Please turn your car around because Kavadiyas are ahead of you. Is this a real practice?
37:37You made an important word which I want to take to Vikram Singh, open patronage. Vikram Singh, there is a sense that the Kavadiyas are now given complete patronage by the state.
37:49All the lines between state and religion have got blurred. The state, as I said, showers them with petals, free food. The roads are opened up for them.
37:58Does that make the police's task that much more difficult if you have to actually act against them seriously?
38:04Asdeep and gentlemen, good evening.
38:07The job of the police was never easy. And wherever you have crowds, political patronage is a compulsion.
38:13And I feel that irrespective of any political party, they would like to patronize wherever there is the gathering, irrespective of which community.
38:21Whether it is Kavad, whether it is Kumbu or whether it is Muharram or whether it is Idgah, all such congregations are patronized by political people.
38:30But the police have a job at hand. They should see to it that no such ugly incident takes place.
38:35Whether it is by Kamadiyas or anybody else, they should have planned these arrangements.
38:39I have done them for years. It requires meticulous planning.
38:42And now you have the luxury of the drone technology. You could have the drone technology.
38:46You could have plain clothes men and women who could have absolutely been merged with the crowds, anticipated something.
38:52No, but are they treated as special? No, no, sir. But, you know, the police, I know, has to do it. Are they given special privileges now?
38:59Because, as I said, the lines you have, for example, in Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu monk who is the chief minister of the state,
39:11who has openly endorsed the Kavadiatras as a spiritual journey and therefore the Kavadiyas perhaps feel that they have got complete support from the state.
39:22Yes, there are anti-social elements in every community, but this seems to be more people drunk on par.
39:29You destroy a dhaba because you claim that onions were being served in the food.
39:34You break someone's car because it's touched by. It seems that they believe they can get away.
39:39Where does that impunity come from is all I'm asking.
39:42My answer to your very specific question is that impunity comes from the fact that the police could have done their job much better.
39:49I have handled these positions for years together and nothing like this happened ever because there was planning and there was meticulous planning
39:56and we did not have anything taken by chance or allowed the grass to grow underneath our feet.
40:01The planning was such that no lumpen elements would ever, unless he had suicidal tendencies, would do a thing like that.
40:08Now, perhaps to your question, two or three dimensions have added now, like shouting them with flower petals.
40:15This again, something very, very simple, but it gives a signal that perhaps they have a special status.
40:21The very fact that this posturing has happened also tends to embolden the people, especially those who would like to take the law in their own hands.
40:29I would have been very happy that every sick person who has transgressed the rule of law is taken to task and given exemplary punishment.
40:38Unfortunately, that has not happened either in Muharram festivals or also in the Kamad Mela, irrespective of the festival.
40:44The law should be unsparing and all those who break the law should be taken to task and given a lesson for a lifetime.
40:50But that is not happening. I am sorry to say that.
40:53But I am very, Srirad Nayar, you are very clear that all these people should be given the strictest punishment. Am I clear?
41:00Yes, there has to be proper investigation and it is the police's duty to find out who the real culprits are, whether they are real cowardice…
41:14Real culprits, they are on camera? No, no, no, who are the real culprits?
41:16No, no, no, Mr. Nayar, how can you say they are not the culprits? We are catching them on camera.
41:21So, anybody who takes the law and order in their hands should be punished, of course.
41:26You can't say that they are not the real culprits.
41:30Every yatra as far as Hindu dharma is concerned, whether Shabaribala yatra, Wari or Kaavadi yatra, all are pure and pious yatras.
41:38But I categorically am saying, let there be investigation. Let us not jump the guns.
41:45Whether they were real kaavadiyas or criminals posing as kaavadiyas, let there be investigation.
41:51Okay, let there be investigation.
41:53Let us not go in for a media trial. I condemn violence in any form. I definitely condemn, but it's a big congregation.
42:03Large number of people coming in and let the police check, let the police investigate.
42:09If they are caught and let them, they should be purished.
42:12Okay, I will ask, let me ask Professor Anand Kumar one final question. Professor, is this lumpanization of our youth?
42:19In many cases, we found them to be unemployed youth. They get a sense of empowerment by going on the kaavadi yatra.
42:25According to Sriraj Raya, they may not be actual kaavadiyas. They may be disguised as kaavadiyas to give the kaavadi yatra a bad name. What will you say?
42:34Rajdeep ji, it is, in a way, vulgarization of culture. It is not only kaavadiyas.
42:42Throughout the year, if you make a calendar of events and activities, there are people who are collecting donations on the highways in the name of Saraswati Puja, Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Dashara, Diwali.
42:56And of course, there are other religious groups, but they are not so dominant, so daring. So, it is something which has to be noted.
43:04It should not be put on the police. How can police get into the bio data of every person who happens to be a kaavadiya?
43:11It has to be both the cultural leadership must take responsibility and then administration comes into play. I think Vikram Singh ji has something to say.
43:21I am going to leave it there. Vikram Singh ji, you want to add 30 seconds very quickly.
43:26Absolutely. It is the job of the police to be proactive and to anticipate the incident. And in these cases, where there is spotters at the dhaba or at the vandalization or the attack on the car, which is including lady drivers, there can be no question that it is incontrovertible evidence and they should be booked under the NSA also.
43:44Okay. Let me leave it there. Certainly, we won't see bulldozers at their house, I fear. And I don't want to say more than that. But if you are going to have a uniform law, I don't believe that bulldozers should be there in the first place when they short-circuit the law, go through the entire process.
44:02But you can't have bulldozers for one community and rose petals for another if those individuals are involved in criminal activities.
44:12Let's turn to tonight's Get Real India story. Even as we continue to report on the worrying situation of bridges across the country, now shocking visuals have surfaced from Jarkhand's Khunti district, where school children are being forced to cross a collapsed bridge over the Banai River using a fragile bamboo ladder.
44:32The bridge collapsed on June 19th after heavy rainfall, leaving locals stranded and students with no safe route to school.
44:40This is not just the collapse of concrete, but of credibility. The latest in our series of collapsing bridges across the country. Take a look.
45:02The bridge over the Banai River in Khunti collapsed on June 19th following heavy rainfall. Since then, traffic has been diverted through other long routes.
45:16The villagers, including school children and Delhi workers, find it easier to use a ladder and cross the severely damaged bridge in Khunti district instead of taking a detour.
45:27Some of them were also seen cautiously walking on another damaged section of the bridge. This shocking video exposes the alarming decay of public infrastructure.
45:46The bridge has been appeared in Khunti district.
45:47The bridge was also seen in the Hussar forward with whichping on the border. It was still under the bridge to Jarkhandar.
45:48The bridge is moving directly to the Kuala River. This bridge into the Kuala River, it was still under the bridge.
45:53This bridge is also located here, the bridge leading to the bridge. The bridge has been being removed.
45:54foreign
46:00foreign
46:08foreign
46:22Another such video
46:52from Jharkhand's Bokaro district
46:53is now going viral on social media.
46:57An old woman was captured on camera
46:58crossing what is left of a bridge.
47:01One misstep could have cost her life.
47:15The Vadodara bridge collapse on Wednesday
47:17that killed 19 people
47:19has put the focus on unsafe bridges
47:21across India
47:22with many videos flooding social media.
47:26But will they force
47:27any course correction by the authorities?
47:30With Satyajit Kumar in Jharkhand,
47:32Bureau Report,
47:33India Today.
47:34And right through this month,
47:39we will bring you stories
47:40from different parts of the country
47:42on collapsing bridges.
47:44Today was Jharkhand.
47:46Let's turn and end this week
47:49ahead of the weekend
47:50with a good news today story.
47:52A Panipuri vendor's son cracking the J.E.
47:55and securing admission at IIT Roorkee.
47:58The story of a 19-year-old Harsh Gupta
48:01who overcame poverty, illness
48:02and academic setbacks
48:04through sheer determination and support.
48:06I leave you with that good news story.
48:09Stay well, stay safe.
48:10Good night, Shubratri.
48:11Jharkhand Namaskar.
48:17When Harsh Gupta
48:18is not helping his father
48:20at his Panipuri stall in Kalyan,
48:23he's busy in his studies.
48:24He does not use a mobile phone
48:44but instead refers to the notes
48:47stuck on the wall
48:48in one corner of the rented house.
48:50All that hard work has paid off.
49:15He has cracked the joint entrance examination
49:18and secured a seat at the IIT Roorkee.
49:23But his journey hasn't been easy.
49:27He could not appear for class 11th
49:29during pandemic
49:30due to his health condition.
49:32In class 12th, he again fell in.
49:34Harsh even opted out
49:49of an NIT admission last year
49:51as his dream was to join the IIT.
49:53But he just did not give up.
49:55All through this,
49:57his parents stood by him.
49:58Santosh, who has been selling
50:23Panipuri for 20 years
50:25is overjoyed
50:26with the success of Harsh.
50:28Harsh has told me
50:29that my father
50:30will do it until 12 months.
50:32I will do it until 12 months.
50:33Then I will do it after the rest of my life.
50:34I will do it after the rest of my life.
50:34I will do it after the rest of my life.
50:36I will not think about it.
50:37But today I am feeling
50:39that I will do it after you.
50:41I will do it after you.
50:42Harsh Gupta now wants to fulfill
50:47his father's dream
50:48of buying a house
50:49and fund the education
50:50of his younger brothers.
50:53With Dharmendra Dubey,
50:54Bureau Report, India Today.
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