Four nurses duped by consultancy
29/11/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,BENGALURU

The Halasuru police have taken up a case of cheating against a -based job consultancy firm that allegedly duped as many as four nurses by falsely promising them employment in Ukraine, and then taking their money and passports.

Based on a complaint filed by Avinash B., a nurse from Mysuru, the police have booked a cheating case against the owner of the firm — Pranay Kiran Shah — who is absconding. In his statement to the police, Avinash said that Shah runs a consultancy firm in Murphy Town and had advertised that there were job opportunities for nurses in Ukraine. Avinash and three other nurses — Devaiah, Karyappa and Venkatachala — approached him and paid the required fee of ₹1 lakh each. In September 2019, they submitted their passports to the firm.

The cheating came to light this month when the victims went to collect their visas and air tickets as was promised to them and found the office locked up. They tried to reach Avinash but found that his phone was switched off, after which they went to the police to register a complaint.

Fake aviation firm scam

In a similar incident, a city based businessman filed a cheating complaint against an aviation firm for duping him by promising to to train his son to become a pilot.

The victim Mahadevaswamy, 57, a resident of Banashankari, told the SJ Park police that the accused Naveen Ravindran, owner of Suguna Aviation academy, had taken the money for the course in 2014, but kept prolonging the training session. On Wednesday, when the businessman went to the firm’s office to get his money back, he learned that Naveen had vacated the premises, and was unreachable on his phone.

Don’t withhold information sought under RTI : DGP

29/11/2019, GAUTAM S. MENGLE,MUMBAI

The office of the Director General of Police (DGP), Maharashtra, has issued instructions for information on ongoing cases, sought under the Right To Information Act, to be given out to applicants provided it can be established beyond doubt that giving out the information will not hamper the case.

The circular, signed by Special Inspector General of Police Milind Bharambe, Law and Order, on behalf of Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, DGP, refers to repeated observations about police officers refusing point blank to share information about ongoing cases, saying it will hamper the investigation.

“It has been brought to the notice of the State Information Commissioner that applications filed under the RTI that seek information about registered cases are summarily dismissed, with the only reason given being that the information can not be revealed as it is an ongoing investigation. Police officers have been observed to refuse or avoid giving information using this reason,” the circular states.

It further says that following these observations, instructions were issued by the State Information Commissioner about making information available about records, case diaries and reports, and CCTV footage as requested under the RTI.

The circular also instructs police personnel to save a copy of every footage released to applicants.

When contacted, Mr. Bharambe said,

“We have observed ample examples of RTI applications being filed for frivolous reasons, which is why it is important to consider each application based on its merit.”

Gujarat

Kuwait domestic help issue raised in House

Action taken against apps: Minister

29/11/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, ,CHENNAI

V. Muraleedharan

The Kuwait government has clamped down on apps and websites used to sell domestic help, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

He was responding to query raised by Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi MP D. Ravikumar.

“According to certain reports in the media, a digital application was used to solicit the services of domestic workers for Kuwait. The country’s laws are against human trafficking,” the Minister said in his reply. The authority concerned of the Government of Kuwait responded promptly to the media reports and took necessary action against such applications as well as other similar websites, he added.

Protective measures

Mr. Muraleedharan said the Indian Mission was also in touch with the Kuwait authorities to protect Indian workers from such applications. No case of an Indian victim duped through such means had come to the knowledge of the Mission, he said.

The Minister highlighted the measures put in place by the Indian government to safeguard Indian women workers and regulate their emigration for overseas employment in Gulf countries. All women emigrants (except nurses) emigrating on ECR [Emigration Check Required] passports, irrespective of the nature/category of employment, must be above the age of 30 years, he said. If foreign employers wanted to recruit Indian female workers holding ECR passports for overseas employment in 18 ECR countries, they could only do so by engaging any of the State-run recruiting agencies, Mr. Muraleedharan said.

No database

The foreign employer had to deposit a bank guarantee in the respective Indian Mission equivalent to $2500 for recruiting a woman worker in case of direct recruitment, the Minister said. Embassy attestation had been made mandatory in respect of direct recruitment of all ECR passport holding women workers in respect of all ECR countries, he said

Mr. Muraleedharan, however, said there was no mechanism at present to prepare a comprehensive database of women working as domestic servants in the Gulf countries because a number of such category of workers are holders of Emigration Check Not Required (ECNR) passport and they were not required to take either clearance or register themselves before departure from India. In addition, many often go to Gulf Countries on tourist visa/ family visit visa and subsequently take employment there. Naturally, in such cases also, there is no clearance or registration.

Train passengers seek better access facilities at Tambaram station

29/11/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,CHENNAI

When Tambaram railway station was designated as the third railway terminal in the city a few years ago, it brought cheer to the residents in the southern parts of the city.

While Southern Railway has started operating long-distance trains and has also provided stoppages for several trains at the station, it is yet to become a full-fledged railway terminal.

Despite good multi-modal facilities, the station suffers due to poor access facilities. Senior citizens particularly face severe hardships to reach the platforms to board trains.

V. Rama Rao, a senior citizen, rued the absence of an escalator or lift in platforms 7 and 8.

A senior official of the Chennai Division of Southern Railway said several passenger amenities have been created including the concrete-paved access road, parking facilities, and food plazas on both sides of the station.

On the absence of escalators and lifts at platform nos. 7 and 8, he said there is a proposal to instal escalators and lifts on the northern side of the station.

Another school meal shocker: One litre milk diluted with water for 81 children
Binay Singh@timesgroup.com

Varanasi:29.11.2019

A litre of milk was allegedly diluted with copious amounts of water to meet the nutritional needs of 81 children at a primary school in UP’s Sonbhadra district on Wednesday, reminiscent of the midday meal controversy stoked by a viral video purportedly showing students of a school in Mirzapur having roti with salt.

As news of the latest midday meal sham spread on social media, the district education authorities laid the blame at the school’s door. Basic shiksha adhikari Gorakhnath Patel, who visited Salaibanva Primary School in Chopan block on Thursday, held the staff there accountable for the lapse. “Appropriate action will be taken against the erring staff after a probe,” he told TOI later. The children at the school were to be served tehri (vegetable mixed rice) and milk on Wednesday. But since only a litre of milk was available in the kitchen, water was generously used to make up for the shortfall. Dev Kalia, a member of the Kota gram panchayat, reported the alleged adulteration.

“According to midday meal norms, each student of a primary school should get 150ml of milk. In junior high school, the prescribed quantity for every child is 200ml,” Patel said. “It was sheer carelessness on the staff’s part not to arrange the required quantity of milk for the children. More milk was arranged and served to the children after the lapse was brought to our notice.”

In August, a video purportedly showing “roti-namak” being served to children at a primary school in Mirzapur district had triggered a furore. The administration accused the journalist who shot the video and the person who had invited him there of criminal conspiracy to malign the government’s image.


MIDDAY MEAL SHAM: The children at the school were to be served tehri (vegetable mixed rice) and milk on Wednesday. But since only a litre of milk was available in the kitchen, water was generously used to make up for the shortfall

Pharma companies offer women to bribe docs: Study

TIMES NEWS NETWORK
29.11.2019

Medical representatives have revealed the widespread use of bribes including foreign trips, microwave ovens, expensive smart phones, gold jewellery and even women by pharmaceutical companies even as the government drags its feet on a 2016 proposal to bring in a Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP) “with teeth” in the form of penal provisions.

In a report on pharmaceutical marketing practices compiled by a public health group Support for Advocacy and Training to Health Initiatives (SATHI), medical representatives (MRs) talked of the tremendous pressure exerted by companies on them through high sales targets. They also revealed how training for MRs is focused less on technical knowledge and more on salesmanship and ‘management of customer (read doctors) relations’.

The report is based on indepth interviews with 50 MRs, area sales managers, allopathic and Ayush doctors and pharma executives from six cities conducted last year. Though the code of ethics of the Medical Council of India bars doctors from accepting any gifts, cash, travel facilities or hospitality from pharma companies for themselves or any member of their family, there are no laws to deal with such corrupt marketing practices of pharmaceutical companies.

According to the MRs, hardly 10-20% doctors follow the MCI code of ethics, while the rest accept or even demand ‘incentives’ to prescribe products of a company. The most common inducement is the sponsoring of doctors for national and international conferences. In many high value deals, such as instalments on the purchase of a car, the company even threatens the doctor if the targeted business (a certain number of prescriptions for a drug) is not achieved, revealed MRs. The report revealed how cash bribes have changed to petrocards, credit cards or e-vouchers for online purchases.

Full report on www.toi.in


The report is based on in-depth interviews with 50 MRs, area sales managers, allopathic and Ayush doctors and pharma executives from six cities conducted last year