Disappointed burglar leaves a note behind

Was it justified to leave an empty cash chest, he asked, when he had risked his life?

03/08/2019,S. PRASAD  CUDDALORE

Failed mission: Articles lie strewn in the shop, left, and the handwritten note from the perpetrator. Special Arrangement

Burglars often leave some evidence at the scene after pulling off a successful heist. But one burglar, who broke into a grocery shop in Neyveli in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district only to come upon an empty cash chest, left behind a handwritten note with a lesson on risk and reward for the shop owner.

According to the police, the burglar gained entry into the shop in the Mandarakuppam locality by removing the tiles on the roof of the premises on Thursday. He then proceeded to look for the cash chest, but to his dismay, found that it was empty.

Frustrated by the experience, he ransacked the shop and wrote a note in Tamil on a piece of paper that he took from the shop. In it, he asked the owner, “Is it justified on your part to keep the cash chest empty when I had come to steal risking my life?” He went on to add : “To express my disappointment I have performed this ‘monkey’ act [the ransacking].”

The elderly shop owner Jayaraj discovered the attempted burglary, the ransacking, and the note, when he came to the shop in the morning.

He was amused by the note on the cash chest, but lost no time in filing a complaint with the Mandarakuppam Police.

The incident left the police baffled, as thieves only unwittingly leave behind clues.

Handwritten clue

“This is the first time we have come across such a case in our jurisdiction,” a police officer in Cuddalore said, referring to the burglar’s handwritten note on the cash chest.

The handwriting could eventually help the police conclusively prove the involvement of the culprit as and when he is traced.

In the past, there have been instances in Tamil Nadu of burglars, after breaking into homes, having cooked a meal or watched television, dozed off, and then left without any hurry at the break of dawn.

Bonanza for officials who did election duty
Govt. staff to get one month’s basic pay as honorarium

03/08/2019, S. VIJAY KUMAR , CHENNAI

Satyabrata Sahoo

Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo on Friday wrote to all District Electoral Officers, including Vellore, which goes to the polls on August 5, informing them that the government would sanction an honorarium equivalent to one month’s basic pay subject to a maximum of ₹33,000 for the officials’ “strenuous” work during the general election this year.

He called for the details of basic pay of officers and other staff members as on May 1, 2019 for the sanction of honorarium. The period of attending election work would be from the date of notification till counting of votes.

While officers in the rank of District Election Officer, District Revenue Officer, Personal Assistant (Elections), Returning Officer, Commissioner of Corporation, Tahsildar (Election)’ Deputy Tahsildar (Election), Zonal Officer and Liaison Officer to Poll Observers would get a month’s basic pay subject to a maximum of ₹33,000, whichever is less, members of the flying squad, video surveillance team, video viewing team, accounting team, assistant expenditure observers, status surveillance team and zonal assistants would also get a month’s basic pay, but subject to a maximum of ₹24,500 whichever is less. Other category of staff who took part in election duty would get a honorarium of ₹17,000, ₹7,000 and ₹5,000 depending on their respective designations.

Details sought

Zonal Officers/Zonal Assistants or any other staff who were paid remuneration for having attended election duty may be sanctioned honorarium after deducting the amount already paid.

The District Election Officers have been told to furnish the details of officers and staff along with the honorarium they are entitled to before August 10, 2019.

Ironically, the quantum of honorarium sanctioned for police officers on poll duty vide a separate GO issued in June is comparatively much less. The honorarium for 735 police officers from the rank of Director-General of Police to Assistant a Commissioner of Police/Deputy Superintendent of Police has been fixed at ₹20,000. The quantum of funds calculated for the 735 police officers alone is ₹1.47 crore.

Though the funds would be debited from the State’s expenditure, the DGP was directed to send necessary proposal for reimbursement of the amount from the Government of India, the order said.

The order made no mention of payment of honorarium to the police personnel in the ranks of inspector or constable on election duty.

In a separate development, the State government on Friday issued an order enhancing the festival advance payable to government employees, teachers, teaching and non-teaching staff of local bodies, aided education institutions and others eligible from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000.

The order would take immediate effect and apply to festivals to be celebrated after August 2, 2019.

Power bills shock and awe consumers

Over 20 Kotturpuram residents complain of overbilling

03/08/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,CHENNAI

In a few cases, the accumulated meter readings were recorded. File photo

Electricity officials have identified a manual error in the meter readings for a group of residents of Kottur Gardens, Kotturpuram, who received exorbitant power bills for the bi-monthly billing cycle in July.

Nabarun Ghosh, a resident of Riverdale apartments in Kottur Gardens, said he was shocked at his electricity bill which showed ₹13,528 as dues. He said that he normally paid ₹3,000 as power bill. Similarly, another resident, Vineet Singhal, in the same gated community, got an electricity bill for ₹14,452.

The residents gave a representation to the Assistant Engineer, Taramani. Immediately, senior Tangedco officials directed the revenue section to check all assessments done by the assessor in that area to rectify the billing mistakes.

A senior official admitted that the mistakes were committed by the assessment staff while noting down the reading of the domestic consumers in Kottur Gardens. In a few cases, the meter readings were interchanged, while in others, the accumulated readings were recorded, which meant the staff were recording the readings without visiting the house for a number of months. Complaints of over-assessment were received from more than 20 residents in Kotturpuram. A report has been sought from the assessor and suitable action will be taken, the official said.

Restaurant courts trouble with poster

STAFF REPORTER

MADURAI, AUGUST 03, 2019 00:00 IST

A restaurant, Hotel Milagu, on North Masi Street here found itself in the middle of a controversy over a poster on Thursday.

The poster advertising ‘Kumbakonam Iyer Chicken’ was pasted prominently at the eatery. As it was offensive in taste, members of Tamil Nadu Brahmins Association staged a protest in front of the restaurant.

They alleged that the sentiments of the community was offended by clubbing the name with a food item unrelated to it.

Following the protest, partner of the restaurant Immanuel Devavaram tended an unconditional apology to the association and took down the poster immediately.

“It was a mistake made by one of the inexperienced staff, while I was out of station and it was not done intentionally to offend any community or religious sentiments. I have given an apology letter,” the restaurateur said.

TNAU gets ICAR funds for improving academics

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

COIMBATORE, AUGUST 03, 2019 00:00 IST

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has secured Rs. 30 crore from the Indian Council for Agricultural Research under National Agricultural Higher Education Project.

A release from the University said the funding was for three years, starting 2019-20.

The TNAU competed with 64 state agricultural universities for securing the project, which would enable it to strengthen learner-centric environment by adopting innovative techniques in teaching, promote student and faculty diversity, leverage alumni network among others in nine constituent colleges covering six UG programmes.

As part of the project, the release said, scientists and academics from the University would get to visit universities abroad for exchange of ideas.

The release also said that the TNAU getting the funding followed the steps taken by Vice-Chancellor N. Kumar to gain ICAR accreditation.

Anna varsity recommended for IoE status

R. Sujatha

CHENNAI, AUGUST 03, 2019 00:00 IST

Anna University has been recommended for the Institute of Eminence status by the University Grants Commission. The awarding of the status, however, rests on the outcome of consultation with the State government.

Under the scheme, the selected institutions would receive Rs. 1,000 crore funding for five years. The institutions on their part must raise 20% from within. In the case of State universities, 50% of the funding will have to come from the State. Higher Education Secretary Mangat Ram Sharma said based on the guidelines from the Central government the State would provide the funding.

The IIT Madras has also been recommended to be declared as Institute of Eminence.

‘No stipend for students who fail to submit sureties’

Legal Correspondent

CHENNAI, AUGUST 03, 2019 00:00 IST

HC told their studies won’t be affected

The State government has decided not to disrupt the studies of postgraduate medical degree and diploma course students who fail to submit, within three months, sureties from two government employees along with bonds for Rs. 40 lakh and Rs. 20 lakh respectively to assure that they would serve the government for two years after completing the course in government colleges.

Advocate-General Vijay Narayan told Justices S. Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad of the Madras High Court that the defaulters would not be paid stipend for the entire period of study if they do not submit the sureties. The stipend would be paid in lump sum after completing the course if the doctors agree to be in government service for two years.

When the senior judge in the Division Bench questioned how the government could force doctors to work only for it and not take up jobs in private hospitals, the A-G said the State spends around Rs. 2 crore to educate every postgraduate medical student. Hence, it becomes their bounden-duty to serve the poor and needy who approach government hospitals. The submission was made during the hearing of a public interest litigation petition filed by T.K. Saravanan of Chennai, through his counsel S. Ayyathurai, against the insistence on submitting sureties from government servants.

The petitioner feared that students who could not obtain such sureties might face the threat of being asked to quit studies midway. However, after the A-G assured the court that the fears were unfounded, the judges wanted the assurance to be filed in the form of an affidavit by Tuesday. They sought details regarding the vacancy position of government doctors by then so that appropriate directions could be issued.

In a counter affidavit that had already been filed in reply to the PIL petition, A. Sugavanam, Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare department, stated that there were 24 government medical colleges in the State and 48 government hospitals attached to medical colleges. There were also 29 district headquarters hospitals and 1,806 primary health centres (PHCs).

In order to serve them, the government had made it mandatory for government doctors who want to pursue post graduation, under a special quota for them, to undertake to serve the government till their retirement.

It also requires non service doctors to serve the government for two years in non scarce specialities and for five years in scarce specialities. Pointing out that none of the doctors had refused to give such a bond so far, the court was told that even the present PIL petitioner was an advocate by profession and not a doctor.

The government also expressed concern over a majority of doctors refusing to serve the poor in government hospitals after pursuing postgraduate courses in government colleges.

“During the past five years, the government has given posting orders for 338 non-service candidates after the completion of post graduate degree/diploma courses but only 228 had joined. Further, 20 candidates left service before completing the tenure and 110 did not turn up,” the counter read.

The State spends around Rs. 2 crore to educate every postgraduate student. Hence, it is their duty to serve those who approach government hospitals

Vijay Narayan

Advocate-General