From murder of a Class 2 student in Haryana, Panchkula violence to murder of senior journalist Gauri Lankesh, 2017 saw it all. As the year is coming to an end, here’s a list of main tragedies that hogged the limelight in 2017

Pradhyuman case:

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Pradhyuman Thakur, a Class 2 student, was found murdered with his throat slit inside a washroom of the Ryan International School at Bhondsi in Gurugram in Haryana on September 8 this year.

A school bus conductor was apprehended by the police and the case was eventually handed over to the CBI. The CBI apprehended a class XI student in connection with the murder.

The investigating agency said that the Class XI boy committed the murder to get the scheduled exams and parent-teacher meeting postponed. The agency also cleared the school bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who was earlier arrested by the police as a suspect. The bus conductor has been granted bail.

Also read: 2017 review: When the news was bad | Main tragedies in India

Drought protest by TN farmers:

Over 100 farmers from Tamil Nadu, carrying human skulls of farmers who have committed suicide, staged a marathon protest in New Delhi.

The farmers demanded the Centre to announce a drought relief package and a loan waiver. The drought was declared the worst in last 140 years.

The protesting farmers were demanding Rs. 40,000-crore relief over Rs. 20,000 crore and setting up of the Cauvery Management Board. The issue of drying up of the Tamil Nadu leg of the river Kaveri was also raised during the protest.

The drought was officially declared on 10 January, 2017.

The National Human Right Commission Cow Slaughter Act:

The Union government banned the sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter through animal markets.

The new rules do not amount to a blanket ban on cattle trade or their slaughter, and license breeding remains legal. But the move will crimp supplies to the country’s Rs 1-lakh crore meat and allied industries that source about 90% of their requirements from animal markets.

The worst hit, however, were the meat and leather traders who face mounting violence by increasingly assertive cow vigilante groups. Farmers will also be hit because they will be deprived of a traditional source of income from selling non-milch and ageing cattle.

Panchkula violence:

The conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, on 25 August on two counts of rape by special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa in Haryana, leaving 38 people dead and another 264 injured. Isolated incidents of violence were also reported from Delhi and several places in Punjab.

Ram Rahim has been sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of over Rs 30 lakh has been imposed on him.

The Haryana Police arrested 524 persons under eight different FIRs registered against the Dera followers.

Around 32 people died in during the Panchkula violence. In all, 28 persons, including 24 men, three women and one child, were killed during the violence in Panchkula.

As many as 250 persons were injured, including 50 police personnel.

The Haryana government also suspended Ashok Kumar, IPS, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Panchkula for carelessly handling the Panchkula episode.

Padmavati row:

Controversy surrounding ‘Padmavati’, the epic drama directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, gained traction in 2017. Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor starrer film has been facing ire of the Rajput community, who believe that Bhansali-led team is distorting Khastriya history.

In January, 2017 Jai Rajputana along with Karni Sena workers vandalised the film’s set in Jaipur and even attacked the crew. They also demanded for a pre-release of the film or they would burn the cinema houses and multiplexes.

President of Karni Sena, Mahakaal Makrana threatened to assault actress Deepika Padukone, who plays the titular role of ‘Rani Padmavati’, and said that he will ‘chop her nose’ if the movie is released.

Abhishek Som, President of Akhil Bhartiya Kshatriya Mahasabha, had also announced a reward of Rs. 5 crore for beheading actress Deepika Padukone, and of its director Sanjay Leela Bhansali for the ‘wrongful portrayal’ of the historical character.

Gauri Lankesh:

Senior Kannada journalist and social activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead by unidentified men at her residence. Three bullets were fired at Lankesh’s forehead, killing her instantaneously.

The state government had announced Rs 10 lakh reward to anyone giving information leading to the killers. The state government had announced Rs 10 lakh reward to anyone giving information leading to the killers.

The murder of Lankesh was reminiscent of the way Kalburgi was killed in August 2015 at his residence in Dharwad in the state’s northwest region, about 400 km from Bengaluru.

Her murder led to a national outrage and protests by several groups over “rising intolerance” in the country and attempts to muzzle dissent, with the criticism targeted at the BJP-led central government and right-wing groups.