Pro-Tibet activists detained in Delhi, Mumbai bail granted, West Bengal staff bill sparks outcry, Indonesia seeks rescued orangutans

Four members of Students for a Free Tibet were taken into custody near Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam after they displayed banners calling for Tibetan independence and condemning China’s policies, just as Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived for the BRICS summit. The Delhi Police has not commented, and the group appealed to BRICS leaders to denounce China’s occupation and alleged river-project encroachments. In a separate case, a Mumbai court granted bail to former TISS student Abhirup Paul, who had been arrested for shouting slogans supporting activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam and for possessing downloaded material the prosecution said reflected Maoist ideology; the court found no link to any banned organization.

The West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed a bill allowing the state to transfer teaching and non-teaching staff between public universities, a move criticized by teachers’ unions as a tool to silence critics, though Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said it would curb “brainwashing” at Jadavpur University. Finally, Indonesia’s forestry ministry has asked India to return five infant orangutans rescued from a forest in Odisha’s Balasore district, alleging they were trafficked, while the Odisha government awaits Central Zoo Authority permission to keep them at Nandankanan zoo under quarantine.