Your PEEK Into The Day: 5 Stories That Deserve The Front Page

The Fact: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked municipal authorities to adopt all legally permissible measures, including euthanasia for that are rabid, incurably ill or aggressive dogs to tackle the stray menace. A three-judge bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and NV Anjarai also stated that a person's right to live with dignity includes their right to live freely without the fear of any dog bite attack.

The Context: The bench was hearing the challenges to the Supreme Court’s earlier order to curb the stray dog menace in the capital. Dismissing all those pleas, the court held that it found no reason for an interference in the procedure. The Apex court also directed all the States and UTs to remove stray dogs from areas of high footfall like schools, hospitals, or railway stations. Those dogs will then be taken to a designated shelter and will be sterilised as per the Animal Birth Control Rules (ABCs). Further, it also rebuked the States on their lack of efforts on proper sterilisation and controlling the stray dog menace.

The Peek Insight: India faces one of the world’s largest stray dog populations. While Asia and Africa together record around 50,000 rabies deaths annually, India alone accounts for nearly 18,000–20,000 of them, according to the WHO. Naturally, this has led to a growing public anger over the years, especially after several horrific cases involving children and foreign tourists. But while the crisis undoubtedly requires urgent intervention, it cannot be addressed through aggressive and reactionary measures alone. This is a deeply structural problem, which needs to be addressed at its root. In the national capital alone, stray dogs number in the lakhs, while the existing Animal Birth Control infrastructure can accommodate only a few hundred at a time. A more practical interim solution could be mass vaccination and sterilisation while governments simultaneously begin building the necessary infrastructure. The other major concern is implementation. Who decides whether a dog is “dangerous” or “aggressive”? Even though the Supreme Court has clearly said that the euthanasia of such dogs must be done strictly in accordance with the Animal Birth Control rules, experts say, without clear legal safeguards, authorities could misuse the term ‘dangerous and aggressive’.

The Fact: India's state-run oil marketing companies have now raised petrol and diesel prices twice in under a week, by another 90 paise increase on Tuesday. Just days ago, the government raised fuel prices by ₹3, ending a nearly four-year freeze on fuel revisions. The total post-election fuel hike is now nearly 4 rupees. In Delhi, petrol now stands at ₹98.64 per litre, while Mumbai crosses ₹107, and Kolkata touches ₹109.70. The hikes come on the back of global crude prices surging from roughly $69 per barrel in February to over $113 per barrel, driven by the escalating West Asia conflict. Reports indicate that a further gradual increase can still be expected.

The Context: The timing has ignited a fierce political slugfest. The ₹3 hike arrived 16 days after assembly elections concluded in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and West Bengal. During that time, fuel prices were held flat through the entire period despite a sharp rise in international crude. Congress slammed the government for electoral opportunism, with Jairam Ramesh saying the hike "is bound to lead to further inflation now projected close to 6% for this financial year." SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav went further and mocked PM Modi's austerity appeal by pointing out that BJP leaders used chartered flights during campaigns, asking why fuel conservation only becomes urgent once elections are over. 

The Peek Insight: Last week, PM Modi urged citizens to conserve fuel, use public transport, and avoid foreign travel. It was a solemn national appeal delivered days before his own five-nation trip abroad and just ahead of the second price hike in a week. The government spent months telling voters that fuel prices were "under control," while oil companies quietly absorbed ₹750 crore in losses per day. But in reality, the citizens weren't being protected from rising crude prices because they are now made to pay them later, after the votes have been counted.

The Fact: Amidst an intensifying national thermal onslaught, Delhi-NCR registered its hottest day of the summer season so far. Temperatures at several places breached the 45-degree mark, peaking at a blistering 46.5 at the Ridge weather station. The Safdarjung base station recorded a maximum of 43.4, marking the highest May temperature the capital has witnessed in two years. This was atleast 3 to 5 degrees above normal seasonal averages. In response, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued heatwave warnings spanning northern, central, and eastern India.

The Context: The current heatwave gripping India is due to the formation of a massive "heat dome" trapping hot air close to the surface over the Indo Gangetic plains. According to weather data by website AQI.in, a staggering 98 of the world’s 100 hottest locations were concentrated within India during this thermal spike. Climate experts and the IMD attribute this to a combination of compounding factors like the absence of Atmospheric Disruptions, a complete lack of moisture-bearing cyclonic circulations, and active Western Disturbances. At the same time, continental northwesterly winds originating from the Thar Desert and central Pakistan are trapping heat tightly over urban environments. Climatically, on a macro level, the evolution of global sea surface temperatures toward a "Super El Niño" is compounding regional heat stress

The Peek Insight: While the IMD relies on strict, legacy thermodynamic parameters to declare a heatwave, these frameworks fail to capture real-time human heat stress. The compounding impact of high humidity, the lack of nocturnal cooling due to anti-cyclone traps, and dense urban concrete environments means that the "feels-like" temperature is far more lethal than what is reported on a standard thermometer. While governments introduce measures like ‘cooling stations’ in the capital, what we really need is a permanent solution and round-the-year focus on afforestation.

The Fact: Several alleged procedural lapses have brought the alleged dowry-related death of former model-actor Twisha Sharma under scrutiny. As per the latest police reports, a nylon belt was recovered from Twisha's matrimonial house, which she allegedly used to hang herself. According to the post-mortem report prepared at AIIMS Bhopal, this belt was not provided by the investigating officer during the autopsy exam. Because of this, doctors failed to correlate the marks found on Twisha's neck with the alleged material. Meanwhile, several claims by Twisha's mother-in-law, retired judge Giribala Singh, have given the case a different angle.

The Context: Twisha Sharma was found hanging in her matrimonial home in Bhopal just five months after her marriage to husband Samarth Singh. Her family has accused Twisha's in-laws and husband of mental and, in some cases, physical harassment for dowry. Twisha's husband has been absconding, and her mother-in-law, Giribala, was given an anticipatory bail, which was later challenged by the prosecution. Addressing a press conference, the retired judge dismissed all the dowry-related allegations and instead claimed that Twisha was suffering from schizophrenia and had a dual personality. She has accused Twisha of consuming drugs and alleged that the former model would require "continuous monitoring."

The Peek Insight: There were concerns in place that the involvement of a retired judge’s family could potentially influence the fairness of the investigation. Earlier too, Twisha’s father had alleged that there had been attempts by the police to shield the Singh family. On the other hand, Twisha’s brother has claimed that they have been receiving threats from the other side. All this has made the case shift beyond just an alleged dowry-related crime to a story about power and influence. Meanwhile, the allegations reportedly made by Twisha’s mother-in-law against her own daughter-in-law have changed the narrative in a deeply problematic direction. Time and again, in cases involving alleged suicide linked to harassment, there is always an attempt to portray the victim as mentally unstable to deflect accountability. But even if that is the case, authorities must investigate the case without any external influence and bring the full truth to light.

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