Keerthy kicks off her Bollywood debut as a footballer’s wife

Sharanya.Cr@timesgroup.com

14.03.2019

Several south Indian actresses have debuted in Bollywood, thanks mainly to the work they’ve done in the south. The latest one to join that list is namma Keerthy Suresh, who will be making her debut in the Hindi industry. And like we said earlier, things fell in place for the actress because of her Telugu-Tamil film Mahanati (Nadigayar Thilagam in Tamil), which turned the tables in her career. Keerthy will be debuting in Bollywood in a film with Ajay Devgn that traces the life and time of Indian football player and coach, Syed Abdul Rahim. Directed by Amit Sharma of Badhaai Ho fame and produced by Boney Kapoor, the biopic will also chronicle our national football team’s glory from 1950 to 1963. While Ajay will essay Syed’s role, Keerthy will play his wife in the film. There is a cute love story entwined in the subject.

Ask her about bagging this Bollywood project and Keerthy tells us, “I am elated and honoured to be a part of such a great story. This is a film that will make every Indian proud. I believe this is a story that doesn’t belong to any specific region or language of India but is a great Indian story that the world should know.” The actress is fluent with Hindi and believes that she can do justice to the role. The film is likely to go on floors in June and Keerthy will be joining the team as soon as they begin filming.

We hear that things were finalised last August when Boney, who’s also producing Ajith’s Nerkonda Paarvai in Kollywood, saw Mahanati. A source says, “He was quite impressed with Keerthy’s performance and suggested her name to the director. She then met the director and things eventually fell in place.”

Keerthy Suresh

Vistara gets govt approval to commence foreign trips
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:14.03.2019

The Tata Group-Singapore Airlines JV Vistara has got the government’s nod to fly abroad, making it the first private airline being allowed to do so under recently amended rules.

The Modi government had in 2016 changed the 5/20 rule — which required an airline to complete five years of operations and have 20 planes in its fleet — to fly abroad to 0/20. Since Vistara — which started flying on January 9, 2015 — has over 20 planes, the government set up a group of ministers to examine its request to fly abroad and has now cleared it to do so.

At present, Air India, AI Express, Jet, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir fly abroad, with GoAir starting these flights only last October.

So, Vistara will be the seventh Indian carrier to fly overseas. The other Tata JV airline AirAsia India completes five years this summer and will then fly abroad as it was not considered under the amended 0/20 due to a number of cases filed against the airline.

Vistara is likely to start international flights with service to Colombo. Bilaterals to other nearby places, where any Indian carrier wants to fly like Dubai, China, Qatar and Singapore are almost exhausted, and India did not hike them.

A Vistara spokesperson said, “We are closely working with the ministry of civil aviation. Specific details will be shared at an appropriate time.”

FLYING HIGH: Vistara will be the 7th Indian carrier to fly abroad

Why some women get pregnant even when on the pill

Times of India Chennai 14.03.2019

It’s long been assumed that women who get pregnant on birth control pills somehow erred, possibly by forgetting a dose. But a new study suggests some women may inherit genes that break down contraceptive hormones rapidly, leaving them with hormone levels that are too low to prevent pregnancy, according to a report published in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Researchers found women with a certain genetic variant metabolised estrogen and progesterone so quickly that it could put them at risk for pregnancy if they were taking low-dose birth control pills.

“If a woman came in and said she was taking birth control and got pregnant we assumed she did something wrong, missed a pill or wasn’t using the method like she was supposed to,” said the study’s lead author, Aaron Lazorwitz of the University of Colorado School of Medicine. “We need to believe the patient and to understand that there are other things outside of her control, like genetics, that could cause birth control to fail.”

The new research ought to start a trend, Lazorwitz said. “Women’s health hasn’t had a lot of this kind of research done yet,” he added. “It’s time we catch up with research in other medications that have shown that genetics can affect how the body breaks them down.”

To take a closer look at the issue, Lazorwitz and his colleagues recruited 350 women with an etonogestrel implant in place for at least a year and no more than 36 months. The long-lasting contraceptive comes in the form of a small plastic strip that is injected into the skin of a woman’s upper arm and slowly releases pregnancypreventing hormones over the course of three years.

The researchers chose to study the impact of genetics on hormone metabolism in women using the implant because “it was much easier to study and there was no concern about anyone missing a dose,” Lazorwitz said.

Lazorwitz and his colleagues focused on a gene, called CYP3A7*1C, that is turned on in all fetuses but switches off in most infants. In some women, the gene never switched off. Instead, it continues to make the CYP3A7 protein, which breaks down the hormones used in birth control, Lazorwitz said. REUTERS

BLAME IT ON YOUR GENES

Doctor among four booked for ‘stealing’ kidney

Devanathan.Veerappan@timesgroup.com

Madurai:14.03.2019

The K Pudur police in Madurai have registered a case against a doctor at a kidney hospital, his wife and two others, including the father of the recipient of a ‘stolen’ kidney. They allegedly ‘stole’ the kidney of a teenager and transplanted it to another person without the consent of the boy’s family members.

In her complaint, the donor’s mother, Shakeela Banu, 35, claimed that her son’s kidney was harvested in the hospital on the pretext of curing his ‘blood infection’. Though the incident took place in November 2017, a case was registered with K Pudur police station on Wednesday based on a petition the woman handed over to city police commissioner S Davidson Devasirvatham about 10 days ago. As reported earlier, the Madurai bench of the Madras high court had directed the commissioner to probe the issue. According to police sources, though Shakeela Banu had approached Melur police station in the district police unit to get a case registered, it was not done. Dr Palanirajan of Shastha Kidney and Multi Specialty Hospital, his wife, the recipient’s father Basheer and his friend Raja Mohammed were booked under IPC sections 420-cheating, 506 (i)- punishment for criminal intimidation and sections 18, 19, 20 of The Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994.

Dr Palanirajan told TOI that he was shocked to know about the case. He did the transplantation after getting all the required approvals and following the procedures including the approval from the authorization committee of Government Rajaji Hospital. “We have already submitted all the documents to the police officers, who inquired into the case before and were convinced. I think some money dispute between the donor and the recipient has dragged us into this,” he said.

Assistant commissioner of police Anna Nagar, Lilly Grace, who is the investigation officer, said that the case was registered based on the petition the woman had given to the commissioner and they were yet to start the inquiry. In her complaint, Shakeela Banu stated that Basheer and Raja Mohammed had been helping her with grocery items as she was struggling to make both ends meet. They told her that Basheer’s son had some disease and wanted blood transfusion frequently for which they sought her son’s blood.

Death sentence of Theni rape, murder convict upheld

Srikkanth.D@timesgroup.com

Madurai:14.03.2019

The Madurai bench of the Madras high court on Wednesday upheld the death sentence by a trial court of a man who raped and murdered a college student and her male friend near Suruli fallls in Theni in 2011 In March 2018, the principal district and sessions judge, Theni, sentenced Diwakar to death after the offences against him were proved.

The verdict was referred before the division bench of Justices R Subbiah and B Pugalendhi and the bench upheld the trial court’s verdict.

Diwakar, now 30, had committed the crime when attempting to rob the couple after confronting them when they were spending time together near the falls, the prosecution held. He had also chopped off the limbs of the woman after raping her.

The woman’s family had filed a missing complaint initially and five days later, both the bodies were found in the forest area. The Rayappanpatti police eventually arrested the accused and substantial circumstantial evidence proved that he had committed the crime.

Diwakar, before the rape and murder, had threatened another couple the same day in the forest region and the man identified the accused after he came to know that a couple had been murdered.

“The brutality of the attack on the young and helpless girl, after raping her, would show the inhuman act of the accused. We are shocked by the savagery of the offence,” the division bench said, adding that the conduct of the accused showed that he is an extremist and would be a menace to society The bench also noted that the accused had criminal antecedents and he once attacked a policeman with a sharp object when police attempted to arrest him for jumping bail in this case.

Holding that the present case came under the rarest of rare category propounded by the Supreme Court, the division bench upheld the trial court’s order.

Diwakar raped and murdered a college student and her male friend near Suruli fallls in Theni in 2011. He had also chopped off the limbs of the woman after raping her

College students protest in Pollachi, Coimbatore

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Coimbatore/Chennai:14.03.2019

College students from across Coimbatore district on Wednesday continued protests seeking proper investigation into the Pollachi sex scandal.

About 1,000 students from colleges in Pollachi on Wednesday gathered in front of the Pollachi municipality office and staged a road roko. Police dispersed them from the spot.

At least 100 students of the Coimbatore Arts College gathered in front of the college gate and raised slogans demanding that the accused be given the severest of punishment. “All those who were involved in the incident should be found and given the highest penalty, the death sentence. Only then such incidents won’t happen again,” said a protester.

College students in Chennai also staged protests seeking stringent action against the accused in the case. More than 500 students of MGR University in Maduravoyal staged a protest and tried to block the bypass road. But police prevented them from blocking the road. The students raised slogans against the accused. They also demanded that police initiate action against politicians or their relatives who were trying to protect the accused individuals.

More than 200 students of Pachaiyappas College staged a sit-in on the college premises demanding action against the accused. Holding placards, they raised slogans against the accused and sought stringent punishment.

Panel may hold inquiry

Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women Chairperson Kannagi Packianathan said that the commission is an individual body and it would conduct inquiry with the two sons of assembly deputy speaker Pollachi V Jayaraman if needed.

Pollachi sex abuse case goes to CBI

Agency To Probe Assault Case As Well

Julie.Mariappan & Subburaj.A TNN

Chennai/Coimbatore: 14.03.2019

The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday ordered transfer of the Pollachi sexual harassment case and a related assault case from the Crime Branch CID to the CBI. Governor Banwarilal Purohit has accorded consent to the transfer of case.

An order to this effect was issued by the home department based on the recommendation of DGP T K Rajendran. The case was initially registered by Pollachi East police station and it was subsequently taken over by the CBCID.

In a communication to the state government, the DGP said the two cases were transferred to the Crime Branch-CID on March

12. Since the investigation involves technical issues, including analysis of Facebook data, IP logs/addresses, internet usage logs, communication with Facebook service providers and other internet service providers in various countries and since the nature of the crime is extremely serious demanding some specialised attention, the central agency would be best placed to handle it.

The government has decided to accept the proposal of the DGP and transfer the case to CBI for further probe by issuing a notification under Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act of 1946, said home secretary Niranjan Mardi in his order.

The case came out in the open after a girl student from a Pollachi college complained to the Pollachi East Police Station on February 24 that she was physically and sexually harassed and robbed of her gold chain worth Rs 20,000 by a group of men inside a car. A case was registered under Sections 354 A (Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment), 354 B (Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and 392 (Punishment for robbery) of the IPC and Section 66-E of the Information Technology Act and Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act against the accused, Sabarirajan, Thirunavukkarasu, Sathish and Vasanthakumar. They have been arrested and remanded in judicial custody.

On February 26, brother of the victim filed a complaint at the same police station that he was assaulted by Senthil, Babu, Mani and Vasanthakumar. While Senthil, Babu and Vasanthakumar were arrested the same day and remanded in judicial custody, another accused, Nagaraj, was arrested a day later.

Tasmac bar ransacked

A Tasmac bar owned by A Nagaraj, arrested for assaulting the brother of a Pollachi sex scandal victim, was ransacked by a mob at Suleeswaranpatti near Pollachi on Wednesday. A resident of Suleeswaranpatti said, “Nagaraj has escaped by getting conditional bail in the assault case. But, he was involved in the sex scandal. We have a video of Nagaraj sexually abusing a woman. Police is trying to help Nagaraj. He should be arrested immediately for sexual abuse.” TNN

UP IN ARMS: Goverment arts college students demand action in the Pollachi sex abuse case in Coimbatore on Wednesday