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

The Fact: The National Crime Records Bureau's 2024 data has been released, and Delhi once again tops the list for being the most unsafe place for not just women but also the elderly and foreigners. This is the third consecutive year that Delhi has topped the list for being the most unsafe for women. Specifically, the category 'cruelty by husband or relative' accounts for 27.2% of the total data. On the other hand, the state of Uttar Pradesh reportedly sees the largest number of crimes against women. Despite this, crimes against women have decreased 1.5% from 2023, as per the data. The capital also sees the highest rate of crimes committed by juveniles, which is 41.6%. It is far above the national average of 7.9%. Overall, the data recorded a 6% decline in crimes in 2024 from the previous year, i.e., 2023.

The Context: Delhi saw a total of 1,267 cases of crimes against the elderly. Next in line is Mumbai, with 791 cases. For foreigners, the capital remained the most unsafe, with 64 cases reported in 2024. The capital topped the last in previous years as well, with 63 and 40 cases reported in 2023 and 2024, respectively. But one should also note that Delhi generally sees the largest number of foreigners. On the other hand, Tamil Nadu saw the highest number of deaths due to drug overdose in India. As per the NCRB data, the state reported 313 such deaths in 2024. Earlier, it was Punjab that had topped this list for three consecutive years. In 2024, Punjab recorded 106 such cases, far below the southern state. Drug overdose saw a 50% increase in 2024. Among other southern states, Bengaluru saw the highest number of suicide rates among major metro cities. The city saw 2430 cases in 2024. Overall, the country reported 1.7 lakh suicide cases. From this, more than 10,000 cases were from the farming sectors, making up 6.2% of all those who died by suicide. Following this were the daily wage labourers, recording around 31% of total cases.

The Peek Insight: Delhi retaining the tag of India’s most unsafe city despite being the national capital remains a matter of deep shame. Almost every day, horrifying incidents show that even young girls are not safe. At the same time, the rise in crimes against the elderly raises serious questions about the direction in which society is headed. This concern becomes more alarming when viewed alongside the fact that crimes committed by juveniles have reportedly risen. The easy availability of anti-social content on the internet could be one of the contributing factors behind this. More moral and value-based education in schools is also required to shape a sensitised society. Meanwhile, alarm bells should ring for Tamil Nadu, especially at a time when the state is witnessing a significant political shift. What is perhaps even more concerning is that no major political party has meaningfully addressed drug abuse in its election manifestos. And despite India’s claims of rapid progress, public distress continues to grow. Farmers and daily wage labourers being pushed to suicide reflects a moral failure on the part of governments. Authorities have been unable to ensure dignified living conditions for their own citizens, so much so that these people see no way out other than ending their lives.

The Fact: The TVK fell short of the majority mark by 10 seats, which is now proving to be a barrier to its government formation. The Governor of Tamil Nadu, Rajendra Arlekar, has directed that letters of intent be presented from 10 MLAs of smaller parties. Vijay now needs to show that he has their support to breach the majority mark before swearing in as the CM.

The Context: With Congress’ backing, TVK has a total of 112 MLAs, and that leaves 5 more seats to reach the golden ‘118’ mark. Constitutionally, when no party has a full majority, the Governor’s role is to invite a leader who appears most likely to command the confidence of the House. While this drama continues, AIADMK, with 47 seats, has sent a proposal to the former ruling party, DMK, with 59 seats, to form a coalition. Even though it’s unlikely this deal will materialise, the outgoing CM Stalin is expected to hold a meeting within his party to discuss this arrangement.

The Peek Insight: The Supreme Court has repeatedly said that when the majority is disputed, the correct constitutional method is an immediate floor test. With reports of Vijay affirming majority strength, the delay on the Governor’s behalf has led opposing parties to allege that Rajendra Arlekar, a former BJP MLA, is acting under the influence of the BJP. Constitutional morality in India has evolved around one central principle, and that is that the majority must be tested on the floor of the House. Now, according to reports, there are also ongoing backchannel talks between the BJP and TVK over a possible alliance. If that happens to be the case, there will be questions over whether the Governor intentionally slowed down the process to buy the BJP more time for dialogue with TVK. This naturally raises the question: Is the Governor acting as a neutral constitutional authority or a BJP leader?

The Fact: The internet is full of videos showing dramatic celebrations in parts of Bengal after the BJP’s election victory. Some of them show huge crowds of people dancing on streets, others claim to capture scores of BJP supporters chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ on the roads, and even in official buildings. There is a common, underlying theme – the BJP’s first-ever win in the eastern state has triggered a spontaneous outpouring of people in Bengal. Celebrations aside, several videos also claim to show widespread violence, arson, and vandalism. The losing TMC says these videos show targeted attacks by BJP workers. There is no denying that there has been post-poll violence; multiple workers of both the TMC and the BJP have reportedly been killed in the violence. It is also not farcical that supporters of the BJP are celebrating the popular mandate. But this narrative of a ubiquitous celebratory wave gripping the state could be misleading, and here’s why.

The Context: When Peek TV tried verifying one such widely-shared video claiming to show a sea of BJP supporters celebrating with national flags in their hands, we found that the video was not from Bengal at all. The video is from UP’s Prayagraj from nearly two months ago. We found videos of the same celebration taken from different angles on an Instagram handle. The caption suggested that the people in the video are celebrating India’s March T20 World Cup win. Peek TV fact-checked the video with the help of a simple Google image search of some of the elements in the video – the jewellery shop in the background and a saffron flag amid the tricolour ones. One senior journalist captioned the video, saying, ‘West Bengal Celebrations by the BJP supporters. Jai Shri Ram chants all across!’ Another handle used the dated video to say, ‘Mamata was like Khamenei of India. No wonder people celebrated her defeat like this.’ Not only the BJP, but even the TMC used an old video to claim their office was attacked by BJP workers in the aftermath of their victory. All this takes place when West Bengal is already politically charged with instances of violence being reported in different parts of the state. On one hand, the BJP is using all tools at its disposal to celebrate its landslide victory, on the other, Mamata Banerjee has been firm to not resign from her CM post. The Governor, RN Ravi, has meanwhile dissolved the state’s legislative assembly.

The Peek Insight: A party coming to power in a state for the first time will naturally be celebrated by its workers. In India, such post-poll pomp and show is not unusual. However, to give it a spin and use unrelated or old videos to claim a pervasive mood taking over the entire state after the fall of a government is hugely irresponsible. Even a media advisor to the I&B Ministry shared the old video Peek TV fact-checked, saying, ‘Never before in the country has such a celebration been seen after any election.’ This looks like a well-oiled narrative machine at play, which makes anyone on social media, from Bengal or not, believe that the BJP has already done tremendous justice to Bengal by simply winning the state; the BJP has liberated the state from the shackles of a “ruthless dictator”. While many of the other videos might be true, and sections of people might actually be carrying the sentiment, creating this narrative of a pan-Bengal fervour for the BJP pouring out on the streets is dangerously misleading. That too in a state that is almost always pushed to the precipice after an election mandate.

The Fact: At a government school in the Godda district of Jharkhand, partially developed embryos were found inside eggs served during the school’s mid-day meal. Parents staged a protest and claimed the eggs were rotten and unsafe for children. This issue came to light when eggs distributed to students were cracked open and found spoiled.

The Context: The incident took place at a government school in Basant Rai block, where students from Classes 1 to 8 receive meals under the mid-day meal scheme. Parents had previously accused the school administration of repeatedly serving poor-quality food, including spoiled biscuits and rotten eggs. Videos from the school showed angry guardians confronting authorities over food safety concerns, to which the district administration had stated that it would investigate the matter. But this is unfortunately not the first such case. In the last few months, several similar instances have been reported of students falling sick after consuming poorly prepared mid-day meals. Reports from states like Karnataka, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra have shown dead snakes, lizards, and even cockroaches in students’ mid-day meals.

The Peek Insight: Mid-day meals were launched in government schools in India three decades ago to encourage kids from economically weaker families to come to school, get educated, and eat nutritious food. When basic food safety standards fail in schools, they not only risk children’s health but also weaken trust in welfare schemes designed to support vulnerable communities. Such incidents across states point to a widespread lack of oversight. But the blame doesn't solely lie with schools. Reports say that many government schools in India do not have the appropriate infrastructure or staff to provide a standard mid-day meal. Many times, a single person has to perform multiple jobs like cooking, cleaning, and washing utensils for hundreds of students on a meagre salary of around ₹3,000-4,000 a month. A school we visited in Odisha had a teacher going out to buy groceries for mid-day meals and managing their logistics due to a shortage of administrative staff. What is required is regular inspection of meals, filling up vacancies in these schools, and establishing clear quality controls.

The Fact: The torchbearer of 24-hour cable television, CNN founder Ted Turner, passed away at the age of 87. In 2018, he was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a rare progressive neurodegenerative disorder. He was also briefly hospitalised in early 2025 for treatment of pneumonia before being shifted to a rehabilitation facility for recovery. Since the unfortunate announcement by the Turner family, tributes have been pouring in for the man who revolutionised television news.

The Context: In 1963, a 24-year-old Turner took over his father’s billboard business, Turner Outdoor Advertising, after his father died by suicide. He later transitioned the business into radio station ownership and then to Channel 17. In 1976, the previously struggling television network became the premier superstation in the United States via satellite. Ted Turner believed the best platform to promote a variety of opinions was the ‘almighty’ television, the most popular way to reach an ‘ill-informed’ American society. He viewed it as a tool to potentially ‘save the world’. On June 1, 1980, Cable News Network (CNN) went live and altered the course of news broadcasting forever.

The Peek Insight: Ted Turner changed the way the world consumed information, fundamentally altering the speed of journalism. His career, in more ways than one, laid the foundation for how we consume news and information today. Before CNN, news was consumed at fixed hours. After CNN, it became continuous, competitive, and instant. The 24-hour format created pressure to constantly fill airtime, transforming journalism from a periodic public service into a relentless real-time product and business. That model later evolved into today’s era of breaking-news alerts, outrage cycles, doomscrolling, and eyeball-driven media. Whether that transformation ultimately informed societies better or simply made them more anxious and polarised remains one of the biggest debates in modern media. But there can be little doubt that the architecture of today’s information ecosystem traces back to Ted Turner’s gamble in 1980.

And finally,

We’ve all seen it enough: TV debates chasing noise, newspapers weighed down with complexity, and social media flooded with misinformation. But none of that means you should be left confused, misled, or disconnected from the truth.

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