Dweep Tulika

A fact-check of a Dera Sacha Sauda publicity campaign defending its chief amid a standing rape conviction and pending criminal proceedings By Dweep Tulika A full-page advertisement published on September 12, 2026 , in The Hindu and Dainik Bhaskar presents Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh through a familiar narrative of conspiracy, alleged false witnesses and misinformation. The advertisement is titled “What is Dera Sacha Sauda? — Facts vs Fiction.” The Hindu has stated in a disclaimer that it had no editorial or journalistic involvement in the creative or content of the advertisement. But when the advertisement's claims are placed alongside the judicial record, the picture is more complicated. The issue is not whether Ram Rahim's followers believe in him or whether Dera Sacha Sauda has undertaken charitable or social-service activities. The relevant question is: What has actually been established by courts, what has been overturned, and what remains pe...

A voter from Sikar says polling officials told him his vote had already been cast before he arrived. He alleges that he was repeatedly asked to wait and ultimately left without being allowed to vote. He also claims several other voters at the same polling location reported similar experiences. Sikar, Rajasthan: What happens when an eligible voter reaches a polling station, presents himself for verification and is told that his vote has already been cast? That is the question raised by a voter from Ward No. 45 of Sikar Nagar Parishad , who has shared a detailed first-person account with Dweep Tulika following the circulation of a social-media video concerning the alleged incident. The voter claims that he reached the polling station with his mother. His mother was allowed to vote first. When his turn came, however, he says polling officials informed him that his vote had already been recorded earlier that morning. According to his testimony, officials pointed to a marking against h...

  From exposing broken roads and civic failures to facing criminal allegations over social-media posts, Pandit's arrest has raised questions about free expression, police procedure and the limits of online criticism Pune: For years, Santosh Gajanan Pandit built his public identity around a deceptively simple idea: point a camera at problems that citizens had learned to live with. A pothole. A damaged road. A broken drain. An alleged traffic violation. A civic project he believed had been poorly executed. Pandit recorded them, confronted officials and public representatives, posted the encounters online and, in some cases, returned repeatedly until the issue received attention. His approach turned ordinary civic complaints into highly visible social-media content. Now, the 48-year-old Pune activist and content creator is in judicial custody in connection with cases concerning allegedly obscene, sexually suggestive, abusive and defamatory content posted online. A Pune court re...

Residents say household waste is not consistently collected from doorsteps and seek clarity on the service attached to the municipal user fee Sri Vijaya Puram, September 11, 2026: Residents of South Point have raised questions over the collection of a ₹250 household waste-management charge for five months , particularly regarding the manner in which garbage collection is being carried out in parts of the locality. A digital payment receipt shared with Dweep Tulika shows a payment of ₹250 to the Municipal Council on September 11, 2026 . Residents describe the payment as a charge associated with household waste collection, which works out to ₹50 per month . While user fees form part of the solid-waste management framework, residents are questioning whether the service being delivered corresponds with what they understand as door-to-door garbage collection. The Solid Waste Management Rules provide for user fees as specified in local-body bye-laws and also provide for door-to-door coll...

Sri Vijayapuram: Talent can exist across communities, but access to platforms, networks and resources that help individuals develop that talent is not always equally available. Against this backdrop, MaaSanskriti Society presents itself as a community-focused initiative seeking to connect people with talent, ideas and aspirations to opportunities and resources that can support their growth. The concept is centred around bringing together a diverse group of people, including students, artists, creators, entrepreneurs, professionals and other community members , with the aim of encouraging connections, learning and collaboration. At the core of MaaSanskriti's vision is the idea of acting as a bridge between individuals with talent and potential and the organisations, mentors, institutions, businesses and resources that may help them move forward. The initiative's broader approach is to encourage communities to become active participants in creating connections and opportuni...

Port Blair, September 10, 2026:  The Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Andaman & Nicobar Islands, has urged the State Transport Services (STS) to temporarily divert college-timing buses through RGT Road directly towards JNRM College to ease difficulties faced by students travelling from southern parts of South Andaman . In a representation dated September 10, 2026, addressed to the Director of STS, SFI State Convenor Abdul Warish said students travelling to JNRM from areas including Jirkatang , Namunaghar, Mithakhari, Ferrargunj, Tushnabad, Wandoor, Chouldhari and surrounding areas were facing inconvenience due to traffic arrangements linked to the ongoing police recruitment process . According to the representation, STS buses carrying JNRM students are currently being dropped near Netaji Stadium, after which students have to walk approximately 2 kilometres to reach the college. SFI said the issue is particularly difficult during the morning college hours betw...

Her meetings with senior officials come amid renewed scrutiny of Great Nicobar , a leadership transition at Raj Niwas and a fresh push for strategic and energy infrastructure Sri Vijayapuram: A recent social-media post by Haryana-cadre IPS officer Srishti Gupta about her meeting with Admiral D.K. Joshi at Raj Niwas has drawn attention beyond the meeting itself. Gupta's public posts about her visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands refer to interactions with senior defence officers and discuss themes including national security, ecological sensitivity and development. Her post about meeting Admiral D.K. Joshi also described him as the “Chairman of Islands Development Authority” and referred to his tenure as Lieutenant Governor as “10 years”. Those descriptions require correction. The official body is the Islands Development Agency (IDA) , not “Islands Development Authority”. Government records identify the Union Home Minister as chairing the IDA, while Admiral Joshi served as i...