India news roundup: Assam floods death toll reaches 100, Jharkhand student protests continue

Police used force to disperse students marching towards the Jharkhand assembly, as protests over alleged irregularities in government recruitment exams entered their third week. DW has more.

Police used water cannons to disperse the crowd of students marching towards the state assembly in Ranchi.

TG Mohandas was arrested in Kerala over remarks he allegedly made about the women at the student protests last month.

Multiple reports indicate that young women involved in the Cockroach Janta Party-led movement are facing severe online harassment.

Model Rhiya Ahir speaks out after online abuse over protest.

Court calls sexual harassment allegations against former wrestling chief 'fabricated'.

The situation in India's northeastern Assam state remained critical on Monday, with the death toll in the floods reaching 100, officials said.

Two more people died overnight on Sunday after weeks of heavy monsoon rain inundated villages, damaged roads and farmland and disrupted livelihoods.

More than 700,000 people have been displaced since the floods began last month, while about 49,000 remain in 125 relief camps and distribution centers, officials said.

Authorities are warning that, several rivers, including the Brahmaputra, remained above danger levels, raising the risk of further flooding in vulnerable areas.

Farukuddin Ahmed, a 47-year-old trader from Nazira town in Assam's worst-hit Sivasagar district, that in a nearby village of 100 houses only a few remain.

"The residents, mainly dairy farmers, have to rebuild their lives from scratch having lost all their cattle," he said, according to the Associated Press.

Authorities are assessing the damage and providing financial assistance to affected residents. According to the government about 50,000 people had already received interim compensation.

While flooding is a recurring problem in Assam during the monsoon, experts warn that climate change is making rainfall increasingly erratic and extreme.

Police used tear gas, batons and water cannons to disperse the crowd of students marching towards the state assembly in Ranchi in the eastern state of Jharkhand on Monday, reports said.

On Sunday, the sixth round of talks between student protesters and the government failed to reach a breakthrough after students alleged irregularities in government recruitment exams.

The sit-in protests in Jharkhand began on July 25.

Student leader Devendra Nath Mahto has been on an indefinite hunger strike since August 2 is demanding action over alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC), Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (JSSC CGL) and other competitive examinations required to qualify for government jobs.

Meanwhile, authorities on Monday arrested former Jharkhand Public Service Commission (JPSC) chairperson L Khiangte in connection with alleged irregularities in recruitment examinations, reports said.

Earlier, Chief Minister Hemant Soren has assured the protesting students that his government would take action over alleged exam irregularities and invited them for talks.

A Delhi court called the sexual harassment allegations against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh "false and fabricated" and part of a "deep conspiracy which seems to be politically motivated," media reports said.

Singh was acquitted last week of the sexual harassment and stalking charges brought by female athletes. The former lawmaker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had denied allegations that he groped wrestlers and demanded sexual favors.

In its detailed judgment, the court cited "material contradictions" in the wrestlers’ accounts, inconsistencies between their allegations and documentary evidence, and the absence of contemporaneous complaints, media reports said.

The court said some allegations appeared "rehearsed, well-practiced and planted."

Lawyer Rebecca John, who represented four of the women, described the acquittal as "deeply, deeply disturbing" on Monday, news channel NDTV reported.

The allegations had triggered months of protests in New Delhi in 2023, led by prominent Indian wrestlers with hundreds joining the sit-in demonstrations accusing authorities of failing to act against Singh.

Delhi police charged Singh in 2023, and a court formally brought charges against him in 2024 over allegations involving five women.

Mumbai-based model Rhiya Ahir, who gained attention after standing in front of a police van carrying protesters during last month's Cockroach Janta Party-led demonstrations, has spoken about facing online abuse and threats following the protest.

In an interview with DW's Shalu Yadav, Ahir said the attention had come at a "heavy price" of online trolling and harassment, adding that women should be able to express their views without being targeted.

She referred to comments made about women protesters, including comments that they "should be raped" and would "enjoy it," saying such remarks could influence others and should not be allowed to go unchallenged.

"I read one comment saying 'we are going to rip you apart from the middle. And nobody's going to come to lay flowers on your grave,'" she said.

Ahir described the attacks as "criminal."

"I will not let it slide," she said. "I will not let them feel that they can sit behind their blank screens and feel so powerful by belittling other people.

Her comments come amid a wider online campaign targeting women who took part in the CJP-led protests, with reports of fake and AI-manipulated images, doxxing and threats against participants.

An activist who considers himself a right-wing "political commentator" was arrested in the southern state of Kerala on Sunday over remarks he allegedly made about the women at the Cockroach Janta Party-led student protests last month, media reports said.

The case was registered following a complaint alleging that videos on TG Mohandas' YouTube channel, Pathrika, were intended to disturb public order and create fear and unrest.

According to reports, in the videos, Mohandas allegedly said the Delhi protests could lead to gang rape and claimed that women attending it "like rape" and that some "enjoy being raped."

He also called for police to open fire at protesters.

News channel NDTV reported that Mohandas is a former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, the RSS has denied any association with the commentator.

The BJP on Monday criticized the arrest as "discriminatory" and accused the Kerala government of attempting to divert attention from other issues, reports said.

Multiple reports indicate that young women involved in the movement are facing severe online harassment. They have been targeted with fake and AI-manipulated images, as well as a barrage of online abuse, including assault threats.

Additionally, their phone numbers and home addresses have been leaked online alongside targeted attacks against their family members.