Further, the chief minister confirmed that 37, not 30 people have died in the stampedes on Mauni Amavasya.

When confronted with the question of Urdu's omission, chief minister Adityanath passed a communally laced comment against the language.

The court ruled that the witnesses against the three men were not credible and that the prosecution story was doubtful. Harassment has continued from right-wing Hindu groups even after the men were acquitted.

Dharmatma Nishad accused UP cabinet minister and Nishad party chief Sanjay Nishad of lodging false criminal cases against him.

Adityanath’s express focus on crimes against women where the accused belong to the opposition parties stand in contrast to how he has ignored other such incidents during his tenure, especially if the accused person is linked to the ruling dispensation.

Amid the turbulence of majoritarian Hindutva politics, Acharya Satyendra Das was a voice of reason and calm.  

It is generally accepted that the Magh Mela is held annually in the month of Magh, the Ardh Kumbh (half-Kumbh) is held every six years and the Maha Kumbh is held every 12 years. So, where did the question of 144 years arise from?

The voting on February 5 was marred by allegations of voting fraud, intimidation of SP booth agents and attempts by the police and officials to influence the voting in favour of the saffron party.

Traditionally, bypolls have witnessed a much-reduced voter turnout than during assembly elections.

After Adityanath dismissed Prasad’s emotional breakdown as “nautanki” (theatrics), the senior SP leader launched a massive counter-attack to have the final say before Milkipur braces itself to vote.

Milkipur is a constituency reserved for Dalits and both the leading candidates, of the BJP and the Samajwadi Party, belong to the same Dalit sub-caste, Pasi. 

In his election rallies – in Milkipur as well as in Delhi – Adityanath has tried to market the Kumbh Mela as the successful achievement of the “double-engine” governments.

Several Hindutva leaders, known for their rabble rousing, vouched for a Waqf board-like 'Sanatan Board' for the management, maintenance and control of properties of various Hindu temples and mutts in the country.

Two policemen suffered minor injuries in the incident, said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Suman, adding that three-four vehicles were set on fire.

The top court made an example out of the case to show how lower courts were ignoring well-settled principles of bail.

Adityanath's statement comes a day after the Akhil Bharat Akhara Parishad said it would announce a Sanatan Board on January 27.

This comes 16 months after the Allahabad high court granted bail to the couple stating that providing good teachings, distributing Bibles, encouraging children to get education, organising assembly of villagers etc does not amount to allurement for religious conversion.

While since 2017, killings of suspected criminals and accused persons in alleged 'encounters' have become a usual affair, it is still fairly uncommon for four persons to be shot dead in one single incident. 

The Wire accessed seven of these criminal cases and found that all of them were based on almost identical allegations of assault and intimidation. 

Little did Shravan Pandey know then that his personal disappointment and quest to scrutinise his evaluation would lead the Allahabad high court to uncover a number of discrepancies.