Pioneer in short
HP Bus Plunges into Gorge, 14 Dead
At least 14 people were killed and more than 52 injured after an overloaded private bus plunged into a nearly 500-foot-deep gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district on Friday afternoon. The accident occurred near Haripurdhar village when the bus, travelling from Shimla to Kupvi via Rajgarh, veered off the road and fell into the gorge, landing upside down around 95 km from district headquarters Nahan. Officials said the bus had a seating capacity of 39 but was overcrowded. Rescue operations were launched on a war footing under the supervision of Sangrah Sub-Divisional Magistrate Sunil Kayath, with the injured shifted to hospitals in Sangrah and Dadahu. Local residents played a crucial role in rescuing passengers from the wreckage amid difficult terrain and weather conditions. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed grief and directed authorities to provide all assistance to victims’ families and ensure proper medical care for the injured. Several political leaders also conveyed condolences. While the exact cause is yet to be ascertained, locals suspect the driver lost control due to frost accumulation on the road.
SC flags rampant misuse of POSCO
The SC has flagged the rampant misuse of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and urged the Centre to consider introducing a “Romeo-Juliet” clause to exempt genuine adolescent relationships from its stringent provisions. A bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh said repeated judicial notice had been taken of POCSO being misused to settle personal scores, and suggested legal mechanisms to prosecute those who abuse the law, even while reaffirming POCSO as a vital statute to protect children. In a significant ruling, the court held that high courts cannot order mandatory medical age-determination tests of victims at the bail stage. Setting aside an Allahabad HC direction that required such tests in all POCSO cases, the bench ruled that this exceeded the court’s jurisdiction under Section 439 of CrPC.
Chicken to divert kites on R-Day
Ahead of the Republic Day celebrations, the Delhi Forest Department has adopted a unique wildlife-management strategy to ensure flight safety during the aerial display by Indian Air Force jets and fighter aircraft. To prevent bird strikes, the department will use 1,275 kg of boneless chicken to divert black kites away from aircraft flight paths. The annual exercise, carried out in coordination with the IAF, involves feeding birds at designated locations so they remain engaged at lower altitudes and away from sensitive air corridors. This year marks a shift from buffalo meat to chicken, aimed at balancing effective bird control with smoother event management. The exercise will be conducted from January 15 to 26 at 20 identified hotspots across the capital, including the Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Mandi House and Delhi Gate, areas known for high kite activity.
