North Korea reportedly executes 30 officials over flood response

North Korea reportedly executed 30 officials last month for their alleged failure to mitigate the devastation caused by floods and landslides that killed over 4,000 people.

The officials were charged with corruption and dereliction of duty, South Korean outlet TV Chosun reported.

The catastrophic flooding hit the Chagang province in July and also displaced more than 15,000 people.

According to North Korean news reports, the flooding caused widespread destruction in the northwestern city of Sinuiju and neighbouring Uiju, with over 4,100 homes, 7,410 acres of farmland, and many roads, buildings and railway lines affected.

The country’s leader Kim Jong-un ordered authorities to “strictly punish” the officials responsible, the North Korean Central News Agency reported.

An unnamed official in the Kim regime told TV Chosun that 20 to 30 cadres in the flood-stricken area were executed late last month. The report could not be independently verified.

After the floods struck, Mr Kim declared that North Korea would not take any international aid, Associated Press reported.

Instead, he asked officials to relocate thousands of displaced residents to the capital city of Pyongyang, where they would receive better care and support. The rebuilding efforts were expected to take around two to three months, during which time the government planned to provide for nearly 15,400 vulnerable people in facilities within Pyongyang.

Mr Kim also dismissed a senior official, Kang Bong-hoon, from his position as Chagang province provincial party committee Secretary, TV Chosun claimed.

In 2019, Chosun reported that Kim Hyok Chol, North Korea’s nuclear envoy to America, had been executed for his inability to secure a summit between Mr Kim and then president Donald Trump.

It was later revealed that Kim Hyok Chol was alive and well, CNN noted.

North Korea has a history of public executions, with an average of 10 taking place annually before the Covid pandemic, according to the Korea Times, a South Korean media outlet. The number has since increased to an estimated 100 or more, the outlet claimed.

“North Korea’s unstable economy, international sanctions, and the impact of natural disasters have likely contributed,” Yang Moo-jin, president of University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said.

Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Reunification Strategy Studies department at the Sejong Institute, told Korea Times: “North Korea public executions occur relatively frequently. The executions cover a wide range of cases, including heinous crimes, drug smuggling, and, in rare instances, individuals caught producing and selling prohibited content, including South Korean dramas.”

The 2023 North Korean Human Rights Report, compiled from testimonies of 508 defectors, claims a pattern of severe human rights abuses and brutal living conditions endured by citizens.

The report notes that executions are often carried out in public, with residents forced to attend. This practice is designed to intimidate and control the population, experts said.

“The North Korean regime uses public executions as a tool to maintain control and instil fear in its citizens,” said Julie Turner, US special envoy for North Korean human rights. “The international community must work together to expose these violations and bring about change.”

“In the global community, it is imperative that we unite our efforts to expose the regime’s grievous transgressions and institute tangible changes to enhance the lives of the North Korean people,” she said in October 2023, underlining that the human rights situation in the country remains “amongst the worst in the world”.

Pope tours Indonesia in ordinary family car as he begins Asia trip

Pope Francis kicked off his extensive 12-day tour of four Asian countries on a humble note by opting to use a family car and ditching a luxury hotel stay as he arrived in Muslim-majority Indonesia for the first leg.

The leader of the Catholic Church started the first full day of his trip on Wednesday, packed with meetings with political and religious leaders, with interfaith dialogue and climate change at the top of the agenda.

The packed schedule of the Pope’s farthest and longest trip to date would test the stamina of most people, let alone an 87-year-old suffering from myriad health problems.

The pontiff was chauffeured in a white Toyota Innova with the special SCV1 number plate, typically used by Vatican embassies for his appearances.

“The choice of vehicle was based on the Vatican’s specific request for an ordinary, commonly used car,” Major General Achiruddin, Presidential Security Force commander, was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Globe. “We were happy to accommodate this.”

The Indonesian government had arranged for the Pope to stay in a luxury hotel but he preferred to stay at the Vatican embassy in Jakarta instead.

However, he will be chauffeured in a custom-made bulletproof tactical vehicle with a detachable roof during the Mass service at Bung Karno Stadium on Thursday which is expected to draw more than 60,000 people.

The Maung MV3, was customised for Francis by the Indonesian state defence company Pindad.

“Pope Francis will use the Maung MV3 when greeting the faithful at the Bung Karno Stadium. We hope the vehicle provides the utmost comfort and safety for the Pope during his time in Indonesia,” defence ministry spokesman Edwin Adrian Sumantha said.

The vehicle, under construction since May, has been specifically tailored to suit the elderly pontiff’s needs.

The Pope arrived at the Merdeka Palace on Wednesday morning to meet with outgoing president Joko Widodo and his incoming successor Prabowo Subianto during the first papal visit to Indonesia in 35 years.

He was greeted with enthusiastic cheers by a crowd of people, including children, gathered at the presidential palace as he stepped out of the car and took to a wheelchair.

At a welcome ceremony marked by grandeur and tradition, cannons boomed in the palace grounds, sending a flock of white pigeons into the sky, symbolising peace.

In his address, the Pope urged the Indonesians, three per cent of whom are Catholics, to live with “harmony in diversity” and fight religious intolerance in the world’s largest Muslim country.

He noted that diversity could become a source of conflict in an apparent reference to episodes of religious intolerance in recent years in the country as well as a broader concern about geopolitical conflicts raging around the world.

“This wise and delicate balance between the multiplicity of cultures and different ideological visions, and the ideals that cement unity, must be continuously defended against imbalances,” he said.

Political leaders had an essential role to play, the Pope said, assuring Mr Widodo of the Catholic Church’s commitment to increasing inter-religious dialogue.

“War will not benefit anyone, war will only bring suffering and misery to the common people,” Mr Widodo said. “Therefore, let us celebrate the differences that we have. Let us accept each other and strengthen tolerance to realise peace, to realise a better world for all humanity.”

A major highlight of the pontiff’s Indonesia visit is set to be his meeting at Jakarta’s iconic Istiqlal mosque, which is connected by a tunnel to the city’s Catholic cathedral.

He is expected to meet Nasaruddin Umar, the imam of the mosque, as well as representatives of all six religions officially recognised in Indonesia – Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Protestantism and Catholicism.

The Pope’s visit comes amid rising concerns over incidents of intolerance in Indonesia. Amnesty International said there were at least 123 cases of intolerance, including the closure or destruction of places of worship, in the country between January 2021 and July 2024.

Amnesty said it hoped the Pope’s visit would encourage an end to acts of intolerance and discrimination against minority groups and promote respect for religious freedom that is enshrined in the constitution.

The Pope will depart for Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea after his final day of engagement in Indonesia on Friday, before travelling to East Timor and Singapore.

Purple cupcake row sees Iran summon Australian ambassador

A picture of Australia’s ambassador to Iran posing with purple cupcakes to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community has led to a diplomatic spat between Tehran and Canberra.

Iran summoned Australia’s ambassador over the Instagram post shared on the annual “Wear It Purple Day” after it was deemed “norm-breaking”, Iran’s semi-official ILNA news agency reported on Tuesday.

Iran’s foreign ministry said the post was “disrespectful and contrary to Iranian and Islamic cultural norms”, according to state news agency IRNA.

A series of pictures of ambassador Ian McConville with his family, smiling and wearing a purple bow tie, were shared on the embassy’s official Instagram account on Monday.

It was to mark Wear It Purple Day, an annual celebration of LGBTQIA+ youth founded in Australia.

“Celebrating ‘Wear it Purple Day’ with a splash of purple in every corner, and some delicious cupcakes made with love,” the post said.

“Today, and every day, we’re dedicated to creating a supportive environment, where everyone, especially LGBTQIA+ youth, can feel proud to be themselves.”

Homosexuality is illegal in Iran, governed by Islamic clerical authorities that impose strict interpretation of Islamic law. Same-sex activities are a punishable offence with punishments ranging from flogging to the death penalty.

Director of the regional department at the Iranian foreign ministry “strongly condemned the action of the Australian embassy in posting such content that was against the accepted norms”, according to Iran’s Mehr news agency.

“The content published by the Australian embassy is insulting and contrary to Iranian and Islamic tradition, customs and culture,” the diplomat said, adding that the move violated international law.

Mr McConville said the Australian embassy “had no intention of offending the Iranian people” and their values, according to IRNA.

He added that the Islamic Republic was not mentioned in the post.

Reacting to the row, Australian foreign minister Penny Wong said: “Australia is a proud advocate for human rights. At home and in the world, we work to advance these principles.”

The bi-lingual post on Instagram remains live on the account and has received hundreds of supportive comments.

Mr McConville is a senior career diplomat who was appointed as the ambassador to Iran in April of this year. He had previously been posted in South Korea and Nigeria and at the United Nations.

The row comes after Iran’s ambassador to Australia was “called in” last month by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade over a post on X stating that “wiping out the Zionist plague out of the holy lands of Palestine happens no later than 2027”.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese denounced the remarks as hateful and anti-Semitic.

The women fighting to finally get divorced in a country where marriage is for life

It took some time for Mavi Veratta Millora to realise that her marriage was not a fairytale. In the end, it turned out to be quite the opposite – her husband, she says, was unemployed and unfaithful, and the effort to keep her home running left her exhausted.

“I had to kick him out of our lives because it had become unhealthy and toxic for our children,” Millora tells The Independent from Manila, Philippines. Her four children, having grown up in a conflicted household, encouraged her to leave the marriage. Her eldest was 16 or 17 years old at the time, she recalls.

After years of emotional turmoil, she decided to separate from her husband. It has been almost 12 years since. Her children have grown up. She has regained her strength and is doing much better in life. But the man legally remains her husband and can still stake claim to the family property.

“You cannot freely move on with your life, especially when it comes to the properties and all that you have worked for, for your children,” she says.

Today, Millora is fighting for the right to divorce in the Philippines, the only country in the world besides the Vatican where divorce is illegal.

In May this year, the lower house of the Philippines parliament passed the Absolute Divorce Bill, legislation that could finally give those in unhealthy and unhappy marriages the right to apply for a divorce. The bill passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting Senate approval. It aims to set out a number of legal grounds for divorce, including abuse, infidelity, and abandonment.

As both an activist and a woman who stands to gain from the new law, the bill’s progress through parliament is a big victory for Millora, although she still expects a bumpy road ahead. She is not just fighting for a legal right but against a predominantly Catholic culture where divorce still carries huge stigma and the Church holds significant influence.

According to the 2020 census by the Philippine Statistics Authority, approximately 1.6 million Filipinos were recorded as annulled, separated, or divorced. In addition to divorce obtained abroad, Filipino Muslims are allowed limited divorces under Islamic law.

But support for divorce is growing, even as the Catholic Church and conservative lawmakers strongly oppose the bill. A survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations research institution in March found that 50 per cent of Filipino adults support the legalisation of divorce, while 31 per cent oppose it.

More women besides Millora are finding the confidence to make news of their separation from their spouses public – unthinkable even a few years ago. Those who oppose divorce see it as “anathema to Filipino culture” and fear it will legalise promiscuity, break up families and be detrimental to children, according to a 2007 paper by legal expert Charmian K Gloria.

AJ Alfafara set out as an advocate for divorce legalisation after realising the adverse impact the illegality of it was having on women. She believes the lack of an option to divorce is fundamentally “unfair”.

She tells The Independent: “The inability to legally dissolve a marriage in the Philippines leaves many trapped in abusive and unfulfilling relationships, which can have detrimental effects on mental health and financial stability.”

She believes that “legalising divorce would provide a means for individuals to escape harmful situations and gain a fresh start, improving their wellbeing and fairness in the distribution of marital assets and responsibilities”.

Ms Alfafara says that people might make mistakes in choosing their partners but “it’s important to legally recognise those who have suffered in unhappy marriages”.

“You can’t just brush it off. The emotional scars are deep, and it affects your whole being,” Clarissa Avendano, an activist who tried and failed to end her marriage through the Philippines’ existing system, tells The Independent. “It is not easy to move on.”

When the country’s president Ferdinand Marcos Jr took office in 2022, he showed openness to legalising divorce, acknowledging that while some cases might warrant it, the process should not be overly simplistic.

Even though Filipinos can pursue legal separation, which permits spouses to live apart and voids shared property rights, it does not formally dissolve the marriage. The Family Code of the Philippines also has a strict set of conditions in which a separation is permitted, including abandonment, repeated acts of domestic violence and being sentenced to more than six years in prison.

They can also apply for annulment – a costly process that demands solid proof that the marriage was invalid to begin with, or if one partner is incapable of consummating the marriage – or a declaration that they were never legally married in the first place, such as if one or both partners was under the age of 18.

The Catholic Church argues there is no need for divorce in the country because these provisions are sufficient.

Ms Avendano, 52, says pursuing annulment takes years and is a draining process.

Her late husband used to physically assault her and had a drinking problem, she says, as she tears up. She tolerated his behaviour for years but one day he hit her 15-year-old child. For her, that was the turning point.

“He is not only harming me, he is harming my child,” she thought to herself.

Shattered after years of abusive partnership, Ms Avendano left the marriage. After paying a lawyer 250,000 Philippine pesos (approximately £3,360), nothing happened. Three years later, she gave up the hope of annulment. Even though the rich can perhaps afford these costs, the poorest among the country’s 116 million population are left more vulnerable.

Ms Avendano, who suffered in a bad marriage for years, is now committed to supporting others in similar situations.

“Technically and practically, people who got legally separated and annulment – they still need to have this divorce, simply because for the legally separated they cannot be [re]married, and for annulment, you did not recognise that there was a marriage,” Millora says of the annulment process.

“We want to acknowledge that we got married and once upon a time, we were so in love, and we were looking for our forever and happily ever after, but we didn’t know that we wouldn’t have a fairytale.” For some of us, “it is happily never after”, Ms Millora says.

Now the secretary general of Divorce Pilipinas Coalition, an advocacy group, she emphasises: “Divorce is not about making it easy to remarry but about giving people a chance to correct past mistakes and achieve legal recognition for their children.”

There remains strong opposition to the proposed legislation. The bill narrowly passed the lower house on its third reading, with 126 votes in favour, 109 against, and 20 abstentions.

Its principal author, Edcel Lagman, remains hopeful about its prospects in the Senate.

“I am optimistic that before the end of the sitting parliament in 2025, we will join the community of nations in legalising divorce,” Lagman said.

High-profile senators, meanwhile, have instead advocated for expanding costly annulment procedures. A large coalition of anti-divorce groups argues that divorce would harm families, while some campaigners suggest making legal separation more affordable for cases of abuse.

In June, over 40 organisations united to create the Super Coalition Against Divorce, aiming “to work together to prevent anti-family and anti-life laws from being passed in Congress”, according to a Facebook post by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

“Divorce breaks up families on a colossal scale,” said Tim Laws, a campaigner for the Alliance for the Family Foundation Philippines, Inc.

Even though support for legalisation is growing, there is caution. Women speak in hushed tones if there are problems in a marriage. “Many are worried about what their neighbours will say,” Millora says. Women, even survivors of domestic abuse, are scared to come out in public for fear of being expelled from the church or being penalised for supporting divorce.

Miljoy Malicdem, another advocate working with Divorce Pilipinas Coalition, says: “I want to encourage those like me to come out and be strong.”

At the heart of this sisterhood is the resolve of these women to help others achieve freedom. She says they understand how women suffer in patriarchal systems and are willing to take one step at a time to dismantle it. Having known the pain of a bad marriage, they are forming networks of empathy among those who are struggling down the same path.

Indian state passes anti-rape bill with death penalty

India’s West Bengal state passed an anti-rape bill on Tuesday in the wake of widespread protests against last month’s rape and murder of a resident doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital.

The incident sparked nationwide outrage. More than a million medical workers went on strike amid the protests, with demands for stricter laws and harsher punishment for perpetrators of sexual violence.

The bill’s introduction in the state assembly by the governing Trinamool Congress was seen as a response to such demands, as chief minister Mamata Banerjee faced intense pressure and backlash over the case.

The Aparajita Woman and Child Bill 2024 mandates the death penalty for any convicted rapist whose actions leave the victim dead or in a vegetative state.

Ms Banerjee described the bill as “historic” and urged legislators of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to support it. “It is a historic and model bill and any well-meaning person will support it,” she said.

Opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari offered support to the bill but demanded the chief minister’s resignation over the rape and murder.

The proposed law aims to strengthen protections for women and children by revising and introducing new provisions related to sexual offences.

The bill stipulates a life sentence without parole for any person convicted of rape and gang rape. It further proposes a three-week deadline for investigating such offences, with a possible extension of up to 15 days.

Additionally, the bill seeks to create a special police task force at the district level to investigate such offences as well as special courts to try them. It states that publishing any matter related to court proceedings without permission will be punishable with imprisonment and fine.

“We are looking at this as a moral victory,” Aniket Mahato, a protesting resident doctor, was quoted as saying by The Hindu. “We thank all the people who have supported us through these days.”

In a related development, the Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s federal investigative agency, arrested four people, including former principal Dr Sandip Ghosh, over allegations of corruption at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

Dr Ghosh, who served as principal from 2021 to 2023, was questioned for about two weeks and put through a polygraph test, India Today reported.

The arrest of Dr Ghosh, vendors Biplav Singha and Suman Hazara, and security officer Afsar Ali were linked to alleged financial irregularities at the hospital. The CBI charged them with criminal conspiracy, cheating and dishonesty under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The bill will now be sent to West Bengal’s governor CV Ananda Bose and to Indian president Droupadi Murmu for formal assent.

Afghan women are singing in acts of rebellion against Taliban

Afghan women are reportedly defying the Taliban through the forbidden act of signing after a ‘bizarre and brutal’ new ban on their voices in public.

The lyrics of a popular song ringing out on social media says: “Their boots might be on my neck. Or their fists to my face. But with our deep light inside, I will fight through this night.”

The women are flooding social media with recordings of this and other songs after the Taliban published its first set of laws for the country last week, ordering women to cover their entire bodies, including faces, while stepping out of home.

Women are also banned from reading, singing, or speaking in public by the Taliban in their so-called bid to discourage vice and promote virtue.

The Taliban have also banned images of living beings, which also includes photographs. Women are not supposed to befriend other women or they will be deemed infidels under the new rules which are largely seen as the Taliban’s interpretation of Islamic Sharia law.

“We are nothing that have a price… They have sold us once for a gun and toys for a bag of fries…,” two women dressed in burqas were seen singing in a video shared on social media. “You placed the stamp of silence on my mouth until further notice,” sang another woman. Slogans of “my voice is not private” and “stand with Afghan women” were used to share the video.

The authenticity of the videos has not been verified by The Independent.

Human rights groups have criticized the Taliban’s new laws.

“These are the latest bizarre and brutal rules the Taliban have imposed to deny women and girls their rights to freedom of expression and movement, as well as their autonomy and identity,” said Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher with Human Rights Watch.

She called the fresh set of restrictions “a further sign of their determination to structurally re-engineer Afghan society to ensure women are seldom if ever seen or heard outside the home”.

Since the laws kicked in, the Taliban have also fined women in Herat who were seen without a male guardian or mehram, and those who did not cover their faces, reported local news channel Amu Television.

Already three years into controlling Afghanistan, the Taliban has managed to ban girls and women from public spaces as it barred education for girls above the sixth grade because they said it didn’t comply with their interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law. Girls and women are also banned from salons, public parks, gyms and markets.

The decree must be revoked, said Amnesty International as it shared the videos of several women singing.

Roza Otunbayeva, who heads the UN mission in the country, UNAMA, condemned the laws for their “distressing vision” for Afghanistan’s future.

The laws extend the “already intolerable restrictions” on the rights of women and girls, with “even the sound of a female voice” outside the home apparently deemed a moral violation, she said. The official had engaged with the Taliban in June in Doha after removing women and civil society members from the discussion table, which many experts said was at the behest of the Taliban.

“After decades of war and in the midst of a terrible humanitarian crisis, the Afghan people deserve much better than being threatened or jailed if they happen to be late for prayers, glance at a member of the opposite sex who is not a family member, or possess a photo of a loved one,” Ms Otunbayeva said.

The criticism was also echoed by the Japanese embassy in Kabul which has started active diplomatic relations with the Taliban rulers.

It urged the authorities to “listen to the voice of Afghan women and girls for education, employment, and freedom of movement” for the future of the country in a rare public criticism.

Schoolboy chased and shot dead by ‘cow protection’ vigilantes in India

An 18-year-old schoolboy was shot and killed by so-called cow protection vigilantes in India after they chased him for miles over suspicion of being involved in cattle smuggling.

The incident took place in Faridabad in the northern Indian state of Haryana on 23 August, days after a migrant worker was beaten to death by another cow vigilante group in the state’s Charkhi Dadri district over suspicion of consuming beef.

Cows are considered sacred and worshipped by many Hindus, the religion that makes up a large majority of India’s population. Cow vigilante groups are accused of enforcing, often violently, Indian laws banning cattle slaughter and beef consumption.

Scores of cow “protectors” in recent years have been accused of using violence to carry out extra-judicial activities, often finding themselves at odds with law enforcement. Yet their activities have also received a degree of public support from those who believe they are defending the Hindu faith. Their activities have seen an increase since prime minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 as the head of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The vigilantes were allegedly searching for cattle smugglers when they chased Aryan Mishra’s car for about 18 miles (30km) before opening fire, reported NDTV.

Five members of the group have been arrested in connection with the incident. The accused, identified as Anil Kaushik, Varun, Krishna, Adesh, and Saurabh, claimed they had received information that smugglers were active in the area in large Renault Duster and Toyota Fortuner cars, hoping to pick up cattle.

Mishra and his friends, Harshit and Shanky, were in a Renault Duster car when they were stopped by the vigilantes. The occupants of the car are said to have had a prior dispute with another individual, mistook the vigilantes for their rivals and sped away.

The vigilantes, convinced that the occupants were cattle smugglers, chased the car and opened fire, hitting Mishra. When the car finally stopped, the attackers fired another shot into Mishra’s chest, resulting in his death, reported India Today.

According to the police, the suspects initially attempted to mislead the investigators, saying they threw the weapon into a canal. However, it was later recovered from Kaushik’s home, police said. The arrested men are currently in police custody, and further investigation is underway.

The killing of Mishra comes on the heels of another brutal incident in Haryana where Sabir Malik, a migrant worker from West Bengal, was beaten to death by a group of cow vigilantes on 27 August on suspicion of consuming beef. Authorities arrested seven individuals, including two minors, in connection with Malik’s death, as the state grappled with the rising tide of such crimes.

Hardline Hindu groups have been demanding a complete ban on cow slaughter across India, with several states enacting strict laws against it. Critics say that these laws have emboldened the vigilantes, leading to an increase in attacks on those accused of killing cows for meat or leather – predominantly people from the minority Muslim community and those on the lower rungs of India’s ancient caste system.

Last week, a 55-year-old woman died, reportedly of a panic attack, after police raided her home in Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh state to see if she was storing beef. In the end their searches showed she wasn’t.

Uttar Pradesh enforces strict laws against cow slaughter, with violations punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to Rs500,000 (£4,500). The state’s anti-cow slaughter law not only bans the animal’s killing, but also the sale and transport of beef.

In the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh, authorities bulldozed the homes of 11 people in June after allegedly finding beef in their refrigerators and cows in their backyards. Police later claimed that the homes were demolished for being illegally built on government land, without providing evidence.

In September last year, police arrested Mohit Yadav, better known by his alias Monu Manesar, after he was accused of inciting deadly religious violence in the north Indian state of Haryana in July.

The head of a unit set up by a hardline Hindu group to protect cows, he was detained for allegedly uploading “objectionable and inflammatory” posts in the run-up to religion violence in Nuh in which at least six people were killed and several injured. He was also accused in the murder of two Muslim men in the neighbouring state of Rajasthan.

In April last year, four members of the right-wing group All India Hindu Mahasabha were arrested in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly slaughtering cows to falsely implicate Muslim men. The arrests were made after police uncovered the group’s involvement in filing a false complaint against four Muslim men for alleged cow slaughter.

In March 2023, police in Bihar arrested three men in connection with the death of a Muslim man, Naseem Qureshi, who was attacked because he was suspected of carrying beef.

On 1 September, an elderly Muslim man was assaulted by his co-passengers on a moving train in Maharashtra’s Nashik district on suspicion of carrying beef. Police arrested three men allegedly involved in the incident after a video of the assault went viral on social media.