Neet impersonation: HC relaxes bail conditions of accused; bizman held

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai/Chennai:5.12.2019

The Madras high court has relaxed the bail conditions of a father-son duo and two students who were arrested in connection with the Neet impersonation case.

C A Davis, a resident of Chennai, and his son were arrested by the Theni CB-CID officials as they had allegedly engaged an impersonator to appear for the Neet exam on behalf of the son in an exam centre at Lucknow.

As Davis and his son were out on bail, they moved the Madurai bench seeking to relax their bail conditions.

Similarly, two more students who were arrested and were out on bail in connection with a Neet impersonation case also moved the HC seeking to relax their bail conditions.

When these petitions were heard on Wednesday, Justice G R Swaminathan relaxed the bail conditions of all the four petitioners and directed that they should appear before the investigation officer as and when required.

Meanwhile, the CB-CID police arrested a 60-year-old businessman in connection with the Neet impersonation scam busted in September last. The businessman’s son got anticipatory bail in the Madurai bench of the Madras high court a few days ago.

The arrested man, identified as Ravikumar of Chennai, runs a chemical company in a suburban area. His son applied for medical admission but failed to appear for the Neet exam held earlier this year.

However, Ravikumar allegedly engaged an impersonator to write the exam on behalf of his son. Based on his marks, Ravikumar’s son sought medical admission at the Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute in Porur for academic year 2019-2020. He got enrolled in the college and was studying until the impersonation scam stood exposed.

Following this, he didn’t appear before the college authorities for scrutiny of documents and Neet score card. Subsequently, the college authorities informed the MGR university and police probing the scam. They tracked the student and apprehended his father.

Ahead of Dec 15, complaints pour in on FASTag glitches

Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:5.12.2019

At a time when the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is pushing hard to enforce the mandatory electronic toll collection (ETC) mode in all toll plazas in the country, there are complaints that radiofrequency identification (RFID)-based FASTag is not working properly and deduction of toll fees is often erratic at several outlets in the state.

Netizens have flagged several issues related to FASTag, mandatory after December 15, on social media and demanded that the authorities iron out the flaws.

“I kept the new FASTag in the cover, without opening it, in the dashboard of my car. After reaching home, I saw the messages and found money was deducted,” tweeted@SKPkaruna.

Another tweet said ₹600 was automatically deducted from a FASTag sent by post to Chennai. When checked, the vehicles carrying the postal cover passed through the toll plazas. Hence, the RFID deducted the amount.

N Kumar, a Chennaibased IT professional who has been using FASTag for more than a year, welcomed the move, but said it had some serious flaws.

“The present model is based on film scanning (bar reading). The person manning the toll plaza can deduct money by entering the bar code of a vehicle. There are high chances of misusing the existing system. Instead, the NHAI should opt for chips. It will ensure double check before money is deducted,” Kumar said.

Recalling an incident that happened a year ago, he said toll was collected from his friend’s account at a plaza in Andhra Pradesh when he was at his house in Chengalpet.

“After receiving the message, he immediately drove his car to the toll plaza at Chengalpet and passed through it to keep record that he was at Chengalpet at that time. Later, he took the issue to the notice of NHAI officials,” he said.

Similarly, several vehicle owners, who have switched to the ETC mode, said there were incidents of double deduction while passing through toll plazas. People also complained that the RFID was not reading properly.

“The ETC system in Maduravoyal toll plaza is not functioning properly as whenever I pass through, it fails to read the FASTag fixed on my car,” said S Yuvaraj of Chennai.

Lorry drivers are also facing problems at toll plazas in Sriperumbudur and Walajapet along the busy Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway. They said the RFID reader was not placed properly. NHAI authorities said they had received several complaints of double deductions and technical snags at certain plazas. They said efforts were being taken to rectify the technical snags.

“We are addressing the issues raised by the commuters. We have also done a trial run in certain toll plazas to identify and iron out the issues,” said a senior NHAI official.

Another official said there was a software problem at the toll plaza near Puducherry, and an expert has been pressed into action to rectify it.


TEETHING TROUBLE? Some complaints claimed that the FASTag system doesn’t work properly and deduction of toll fees is erratic

PETS SOURCE OF INFECTION; DOCS CALL FOR AWARENESS

City docs remove 759 cysts from woman’s stomach

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:5.12.2019

Doctors at Saveetha Hospitals in the city recently removed 759 cysts from the stomach of a 29-year-old woman.

The women suffered excruciating pain as the cysts — one of which was as large as a football — covered 50% of space in her abdominal cavity. An ultrasound scan showed that the woman had four very large cysts and several other tiny cysts near them.

“These were caused by peritoneal hydatid disease, a parasitic disease caused by the larvae of a tapeworm,” said Saveetha Hospital general surgeon Dr B S Sundaravadanan. These cysts were removed through a complicated surgery.

“We wanted to talk about this to create awareness. The disease is not common in human beings. The usual host for the parasite is either a dog or a sheep. It usually spreads to humans only when contaminated food or water is ingested,” he said.

Echinococcus granulosus, or tapeworm, usually infects dogs that eat the meat of sheep and other livestock. Tapeworm’s eggs can be found in dogs’ stool. Direct contact with infected dogs, particularly intimate contact between children and their pet dogs, may lead to human infection. Ingestion of water and vegetables contaminated with infected dog feces may also lead to infections.

“This patient had some pets and says she had a similar cyst removed when she was seven-years-old. We are assuming the primary cyst was removed then and these secondary cysts had developed over a period of time,” he said.

Removing these cysts were essential because any rupture could have been life threatening. The toxic liquid inside the cysts could have damaged the vital organs such as liver, kidney and intestine that were close to them.

Hospital director Dr Saveetha Rajesh said intake of fresh food, clean water and proper hygiene should be maintained to avoid prevention of such diseases. “The larger issue is hand hygiene. Pets like dogs should be dewormed periodically and handled with care,” she said.

(Patient’s name has been withheld)

Kejriwal announces free Wi-Fi scheme 

11,000 hotspots to come up across Delhi 

05/12/2019 , Special Correspondent, , New Delhi

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday announced the installation of 11,000 hotspots across Delhi as part of the free Wi-Fi scheme promised by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in its 2015 manifesto.

Terming it “an essential promise” in the 70-point manifesto, it is manifesting on the ground, Mr. Kejriwal said at a press conference here. This would make the AAP the only party to fulfill all the schemes proposed by a political party prior to contesting elections in the Capital.

“Providing free Wi-Fi facility was an essential promise. Minimum Internet connectivity and data usage have become a requisite in this digital age. Considering the importance of the Internet, the Delhi government has decided to provide free Internet,” he said.

759 cysts removed from woman’s abdomen in Chennai 

Victim was diagnosed with Peritoneal Hydatid disease, caused by ingestion of contaminated food, water
 
05/12/2019 , Special Correspondent , CHENNAI 


Saveetha Rajesh, Director, Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, B.S. Sundaravadanan, Professor, General Surgery presenting the removed cysts . K. PichumaniK. Pichumani

A team of surgeons from Saveetha Medical College and Hospital removed 759 cysts from the abdomen of a 29-year-old woman early this year. The woman was diagnosed with Peritoneal Hydatid disease that is caused by ingestion of contaminated food and water.

The woman had approached doctors with complaints of severe abdominal pain, difficulty in bowel movement and gradual abdominal distending resulting in difficulty in breathing for three months, doctors said.

“She had undergone a surgery for removal of a cyst when she was seven years old. But no details about the surgery were available with her. She was unable to eat normally and was continuously vomiting for two weeks before she approached us,” B.S. Sundaravadanan, professor of General Surgery told reporters on Wednesday.

On examination, doctors found a large operative scar on her abdomen.

“We did an ultrasound and CT scan that revealed four large cysts that were occupying about 50% of the abdominal cavity with numerous daughter cysts inside,” he added.

The large cysts were adherent to the liver, portal vein, bile duct and duodenum, left kidney, large intestine, urinary bladder and large vessels of the right lower limb, he said, adding that the sizes varied between 10 cm x 5 cm and 10 cm x 15 cm.

It was a life threatening situation, and if left untreated, it could have led to shock and death, he added. “On July 9, a team of surgeons removed the cysts in a 4.5 hour long surgery. The total count of the daughter cysts in all the four cysts was a staggering 759. We had to take precaution as the cysts were adhered to organs,” he said. The woman was discharged and was doing well.

Kannan, professor of Surgical Gastroenterology, said Hydatid disease, a tapeworm infestation, was endemic in certain places of the State such as Madurai.

“It spreads through animal faeces. The cycle involves dogs and sheep, and human beings are accidental intermediate hosts. When ingested, tapeworm eggs go to the liver first. Cases of Hydatid disease is reducing due to improvement in hygiene,” he added.

P. Anbalagan, professor of Surgical Gastroenterology said that patients are usually asymptomatic. The cysts grow slowly for 1 to 5 cm a year, doctors said.

They stressed on hygiene practices including hand washing, washing of vegetables, fruits and greens, ensuring safe drinking water, de-worming of pets and maintaining cleanliness at slaughter houses. Care should be taken when consuming salads too.

N.M. Veeraiyan, founder and chancellor, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences and Saveetha Rajesh, director of the hospital were present.

New Registrar (in-charge) appointed at MKU 

Panel to appoint Registrar will be formed

05/12/2019 , Staff Reporter, MADURAI

Sankar Natesan, Professor, Department of Genetic Engineering, has been unanimously appointed Registrar (in-charge) of Madurai Kamaraj University at a special meeting of the Syndicate convened here on Wednesday.

Syndicate members also decided to appoint S. Chandrasekaran, Head, Department of Plant Morphology and Algology, Coordinator for Rastriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA). P. Rajkumar, Professor, School of Political Sciences, would be NSS Coordinator, and Pandiarajan, who is in the cadre of Assistant Registrar, would be the Public Relations Officer, they said.

The decisions were taken after a series of objections were raised against the administration by Madurai Kamaraj University Faculty Association (MUFA), which questioned ‘non-adherence of rules’ in the appointment of PRO, NSS Coordinator and RUSA Coordinator. The Registrar in-charge, R. Sudha, had tendered her resignation on Friday.

University Vice-Chancellor M. Krishnan said all posts had been filled up according to the MKU Acts and Statutes. “We are merely following the rules and ensuring that there are no violations,” he said.

A member privy to the meeting said, on condition of anonymity, that the decision to appoint a Registrar was made because former Registrar in-charge R. Sudha wanted to resign.

“On November 7, Ms. Sudha wanted to resign but we requested her to stay until we could appoint a Registrar. However, since she submitted her resignation on Friday, we accepted it,” the member said.

The member said a panel to appoint Registrar would be formed and a decision would be taken in three weeks.

Special court set up for speedy trial in Telangana vet murder
Police get custody of accused for seven days

05/12/2019 , Special Correspondent, HYDERABAD

Protests continue: People holding a rally demanding justice for the rape victim in Hyderabad. G. RAMAKRISHNA

The Telangana government on Wednesday issued an order designating the first additional district and sessions judge of Mahbubnagar as the special court for speedy trial of the rape and murder case of the veterinarian. The Registrar General of the High Court would issue further directions on the matter, the order said.

The crucial process of reconstructing the sequence of events in the rape and murder of the woman veterinarian will commence after the Shadnagar court, 50 km from here, on Wednesday allowed a petition from the Cyberabad police seeking custody of the four accused in the case.

Three days after the investigators filed a petition, the court passed an order allowing them to take custody of the accused for seven days. As the order was issued late in the evening, the police are likely to take the four into custody on Thursday from the Charlapally Central Prison. “We need to ascertain several facts. How they shifted the victim’s body after violating her and several other dots need to be linked,” the investigators said.

Tight security

Security arrangements were made at the court in Shadnagar town in Rangareddy district. No journalist was allowed inside the court. The accused were not brought to the court for the hearing on the police petition.

With the Shadnagar and Mahbubnagar district bar associations saying that none of their members would represent the accused, there were no counter arguments on the petition seeking their police custody.

The petition for their custody was filed on Monday. No arguments were presented that day too as the local prosecutor was not available. The prosecutor from the Jadcherla district court eventually appeared on behalf of the police.

On Tuesday, notices were issued to the accused. They were told the investigators wanted to take them into custody. On Wednesday, the court finally issued an order for their custody.