The Observer Post

For nineteen days, one student refused to eat so that thousands could vote. On October 9, Yasir Fahad’s hunger strike ended and Aligarh Muslim University’s students’ union, silent since 2018, was back. The Office of the Chief Election Officer issued the schedule for the AMUSU election 2026-27, with polling on November 5. Vice-Chancellor Naima Khatoon then reached Duck Point and offered Fahad a glass of juice, ending a fast that began on September 21.

The strike nobody could ignore

Fahad, an MA Urdu student, began his indefinite hunger strike after being suspended without a show-cause notice, following a memorandum seeking an election notification within 48 hours. The administration maintains that the suspension concerns an earlier protest at Abdullah Hall and is unrelated to the election demand.

It began with one man at Duck Point. It did not stay that way. Students from almost every major department boycotted classes, Urdu and Law students stood at the site. By October 7, protesters estimated about 2,000 gathered there. Students blocked all four campus gates on October 3 and shut the Maulana Azad Library. JNUSU leaders came to the ground, and the Bhim Army chief urged dialogue.

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The BJP was leading by more than one lakh votes in Nandigram and over 37,000 votes in Muslim-majority Rejinagar during the West Bengal Assembly by-election counting on Friday, October 9, according to Election Commission figures.

The trends showed the BJP’s Hasirani Rath building a substantial lead in Nandigram, while party candidate Shankharavh Sarkar was ahead of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) nominee in Rejinagar, a constituency in Murshidabad district with a predominantly Muslim electorate

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Delhi Police has tightened security across the national capital ahead of a protest called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), student organisations and civil society groups at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, October 10, demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.

Police have denied permission for the demonstration, citing prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). Officials have warned that gatherings in violation of the orders could lead to legal action.

Since Thursday night, police personnel have been making public announcements near Parliament, urging people not to participate in the protest. Police have also approached colleges, mosques, resident welfare associations and other public places to discourage participation.

The security arrangements include the deployment of thousands of police and paramilitary personnel, checks at Delhi’s entry points and preparations for detention facilities. Several transport restrictions have also been announced or proposed ahead of the demonstration.

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The family of a 37-year-old man from Uttar Dinajpur district in West Bengal has alleged that he was detained by security personnel and subsequently pushed back across the international border into Bangladesh without due legal process.

Abdul Rahim, a resident of Kuilara Anantapur village under Bhatol Gram Panchayat in Raiganj, has reportedly been contacting his family from Bangladeshi telephone numbers. His family claims that they were not informed of his whereabouts after he was taken into custody and that authorities have not clarified how he allegedly ended up across the border.

The allegations have prompted Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a human rights organisation, to approach the National  Human Rights Commission (NHRC), seeking an independent investigation and information about Rahim’s current whereabouts.

Family Alleges Police Detained Rahim

According to Rahim’s family, the incident began late on June 2, 2026, when police personnel, Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and civic police personnel allegedly arrived at his residence.

The family alleged that the personnel were looking for Rahim but, when they did not find him at home, they took his elder son, Abu Kalam, around 26, into custody.

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Dalits in Perumpalli village near Perundurai in Tamil Nadu’s Erode district were allegedly forced to fall at the feet of dominant caste residents to seek permission to bury a relative at a common burial ground on October 5.

The incident occurred after residents allegedly blocked a Dalit family from taking the body of 90-year-old Senni to the burial ground, claiming that Dalits could not be buried there.

According to The Times of India, police have registered a case against some members of the dominant community under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

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The Karnataka High  Court on Thursday directed police not to take coercive steps against BJP leader Ravi Patil and two of his supporters in a case alleging an attempt to delete the names of 198 Muslim voters from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Belagavi.

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The Railway Protection Force (RPF) detained 57 people suspected to be Bangladeshi nationals at Kamakhya railway station in Guwahati on Thursday evening. The group was reportedly travelling on the Brahmaputra Mail.

According to initial information, the group was intercepted at the Maligaon Kamakhya railway station. The RPF suspects that they had travelled from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. Their identities and nationality would need to be established through official verification.

The detention comes amid separate operations by Assam Police in Guwahati over the past two days involving people suspected of entering or staying in India without valid documents.

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Four migrant workers from Murshidabad who were detained in Chhattisgarh on suspicion of being Bangladeshi nationals have been released following intervention by the Calcutta High Court, ending more than a month of detention.

The four workers have been identified as Safiqul Islam, Sabir Sheikh, Nasiruddin Sheikh and Laltu Sheikh. They are residents of the Suti and Shamsherganj areas of Murshidabad and were among 23 migrant workers detained by Chhattisgarh Police on September 4.

The workers were released on Wednesday night, days after the High Court questioned the basis for their continued detention and the authority of officials to determine their citizenship while proceedings concerning the deletion of their names from West Bengal’s electoral rolls were pending.

23 Workers Detained in September

The case dates back to September 4, when Chhattisgarh Police detained 23 migrant workers from Murshidabad in the Bilaspur area.

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The West Bengal government has abolished the West Bengal Madrasah Service Commission (WBMSC) and merged its recruitment functions with the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC), Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said that the Madrasa Service Commission had been dissolved and its responsibilities transferred to the School Service Commission. “The Madrasa Service Commission has been abolished; it has been merged with the School Service Commission,” the Chief Minister stated.

The decision means that recruitment to recognised madrasas will now be handled through the School Service Commission rather than through a separate recruitment body. The move is part of the state government’s broader effort to bring educational institutions under a more unified administrative framework.

Under the existing system, the School Service Commission and Madrasa Service Commission operated separately for teacher recruitment in general schools and madrasas, respectively. Following the merger, recruitment for teachers in High Madrasas is expected to be conducted through the School Service Commission, with a common recruitment process and merit panel.

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