Oh God! Thief dressed as Lord Shiva nabbed in Tamil Nadu's Villupuram

When ‘Lord Shiva’ came home to bless him six months ago, little did S Munusamy (40) of Eyagunam near Gingee, realise that his fortunes would take a turn for the worse.

Published: 25th December 2019 05:24 AM 

Image for representation

By Express News Service

VILLUPURAM: When ‘Lord Shiva’ came home to bless him six months ago, little did S Munusamy (40) of Eyagunam near Gingee, realise that his fortunes would take a turn for the worse. He ended up ‘offering’ gold jewellery and a sum of Rs 5,000 after drinking an intoxicating ‘teertham.’

However, Munusamy came across the fake lord and his friends near the Melmalayanur temple on Monday, and managed to nab two of them with help from the public.

According to police, Munusamy, who is into fixing CCTV cameras, was facing personal problems six months ago. A team of six people had come to his village in a car, and one of them, dressed as Lord Shiva, claimed to be a ‘fortune-teller.’

As people started approaching him seeking solutions to problems, Munusamy invited the person home for his blessings.

The ‘fortune teller’ offered Munusamy and his wife an intoxicating ‘teertham,’ and the couple went into a semi-conscious state after drinking it.

‘Fake lord’ gang men arrested

The man and his gang asked the couple to make them an offering, and Munusamy gave them a one-sovereign jewel and a sum of Rs 5,000. After a while, the couple regained full consciousness and realized what had happened.

Munusamy ran out and searched for the gang, but could not find them.

He felt ashamed on being conned and did not tell villagers about the incident.

Nevertheless, he identified the gang using CCTV camera footage recorded at home and was on the lookout for them. On Monday evening, he spotted the gang roaming in the same car near Melmalayanur temple.

When he blocked the car, two persons got down and tried to flee. While they were nabbed by the public, three others in the vehicle managed to escape.

Police took them to Valathy station, and following inquiry, identified them as S Jayavel (50) of Krishnagiri and K Prakash (35) of Tiruvannamalai.

Intoxicating holy water

A gang, which had come to Eyagunam, offered intoxicating water to a man on the pretext of fortune-telling and robbed him of jewel and cash.

Can Kuppammal de-demonetise?

Savings found while clearing out the house amounted to Rs 33,000 in 1s, 100s, 500s & 1000s

Published: 26th December 2019 06:02 AM |

R Kuppammal with the demonetised currencies | Express

By Deepak Sathish

Express News Service

COIMBATORE: Days after a lifetime of savings in demonetised currencies failed to keep 75-year-old Rangammal alive, a 92-year-old is now having to come to terms with the fact that she might not be able to convert her stash of Rs 33,000 into valid currency notes. A year and a half spent trying to appeal to government officials and bankers could do little to help her cause.

R Kuppammal of Kondayampalayam had spent her life tucking away spare change and loose money into nooks and corners of her house. When demonetisation hit, the nearly-illiterate woman knew nothing about how much the rule would affect her life. However, her son Gopal stepped in and managed to convert the available money into valid currency. Well, not everything it seems.

It was in mid-2018 when the family had to clear out their house while shifting to another that they found a part of Kuppammal’s savings that they had overlooked. In 1s, 100s, 500s and 1,000s, her savings amounted to Rs 33,000. Kuppammal herself had forgotten about storing away all that money. Gopal says that they stumbled upon the money while clearing his mother’s wardrobe. Since then, they have knocked on several doors, been to many offices to get the money exchanged but in vain. Bank officials have made it clear that they can do little to help. If they were to convert the money for one, they explain, it might set a precedent that would allow others to exploit the system.

All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) General Secretary C H Venkatachalam says that writing to the finance minister or the governor of Reserve Bank of India could be the only option left. Collector K Rajamani, on his part, said that he would do what he can to help Kuppammal.

Notebandi not friendly

The Tirupur sisters -- Rangammal (75) and Thangammal (78) were faced with a similar situation when they found that their life savings of Rs 44,000 were declared invalid. In November, Rangammal needed treatment for her blood pressure issues. However, the family could not afford it. It was then that the two women came out and declared that they had been saving for years now and the money could help. However, the entire amount turned out to be in demonetised currencies. By the time the news broke, they could do little about it. On December 15, Rangammal succumbed to her illness.

Tamil Nadu Health Department nabs fake doctor near Chinna Thadagam

The issue of a woman running a clinic with no educational background became known recently when a pregnant woman suffered excessive bleeding after she consumed medicines prescribed by Kuppammal.

Published: 25th December 2019 01:37 PM

For representational purpose.

By Express News Service

COIMBATORE: The Health Department on Tuesday secured a 54-year-old fake medical practitioner near Chinna Thadagam.

The officials said the woman S Kuppammal (name changed), a native of Tiruverumbur in Tiruchy district has reportedly been running a clinic in No: 24 Veerapandi Pudur in Chinna Thadagam area for almost 20 years now.

It is also found Kuppammal had no educational background to run a clinic and the reports revealed she had been prescribing medicines to the locals, migrants, and pregnant women.

The issue of a woman running a clinic with no educational background became known recently when a pregnant woman suffered excessive bleeding after she consumed medicines prescribed by Kuppammal.

After admitting the pregnant woman to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH), the health department was informed about the incident.

Based on the information, the officials led by the Joint Director of Health Services P Krishna inspected the clinic run by Kuppammal on Tuesday. The officials then questioned Kuppammal about her educational qualifications and the medicines she prescribes. Krishna confirmed that an inquiry was held in Chinna Thadagam on Tuesday. Further investigation is on.

Educated but jobless, graduates end up in corporation shelters

On Christmas afternoon, 45-year-old Subramania Kumar was having an animated conversation with his friend Ezhumalai and that too in impeccable English.

Published: 26th December 2019 06:31 AM 

By KV Navya

Express News Service

CHENNAI: On Christmas afternoon, 45-year-old Subramania Kumar was having an animated conversation with his friend Ezhumalai and that too in impeccable English.This could very easily be a scene from an eatery, cafe or maybe a park. But this chat was taking place at the Corporation shelter for the homeless in Koyambedu.

Out of 45 inmates in the home, 12 are graduates and postgraduates, but nobody has a job. Subramania Kumar has completed MCom and Ezhumalai, MA. Both were rescued from Koyambedu bus terminus, where they were living after failing to land a job. The story does not end here. According to Chennai Corporation data, of the 38 government shelter homes in the city that houses 1,000 odd adults, 87 hold bachelor degrees, 16 are postgraduates, two even finished MPhil and 16 completed diploma. Apart from this, 210 inmates have basic educational qualification (completed 10th or 12th). Around 95% of them are unemployed or involved in unskilled labour.

Officials in-charge of shelter homes say most end up in the homes after having failed to find a job. They were picked up during rescue drives from beaches and bus termini.A large number of people in their 20s and early 30s finish graduation and come to Chennai with dreams of making it big, but when they fail to find a job they usually end on the road. Each home has people who are either with a job or involved in construction work, said senior Corporation official from Wing for Homeless Shelters Department. When Express visited several homes, the educated inmates either doing construction work or employed as unskilled labour.

“I came to Chennai in 2010 despite opposition from home. I completed MA in Tamil and could not find any job for years and could not ask for money from home anymore. So, I started sleeping at Marina, from where officials picked me up. Though I have a shelter now, I still do not have a job. So, I am working as a construction labourer,” said an inmate at Egmore, not wanting to be named.

He said 10 of his friends who came in search of jobs too are in different shelter homes and are working as drivers and construction workers. “The inmates mostly claim two reason for being homeless – lack of jobs and no family to fall back on. More number of qualified people at shelter homes are turning towards unskilled jobs and an initiative must be taken to stop this. If the emphasis is on education, equal emphasis must be on jobs too,” said R Gopalakrishnan, in-charge of Koyambedu shelter home.Officials in the Wing for Homeless Department said they are drafting measures to help these people find jobs.

Extreme cold spell continues in city, minimum temperature settles at 6°C

Maximum temperature was 9 degrees below normal at 12.7°C

26/12/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,NEW DELHI

E-rickshaw drivers sit around a bonfire in New Delhi on Wednesday.R.V. MoorthyR_V_Moorthy

Cold day conditions continued in the Capital making for a cold Christmas day with the maximum temperature settling at 12.7 degrees Celsius that was nine degrees colder than the normal for this time of the year.

The minimum temperature settled at 6 degrees Celsius which was two degrees below normal for this time of the season. The forecast shows that it is set to get colder with the minimum temperature expected to fall to 4 degrees Celsius by January 26-27. The maximum temperature is also likely to stay below 15 degrees Celsius.

Delhi has been going through its longest extreme cold spell since 1997. It has recorded nine cold days in December, while in 1997, 17 cold days were recorded.

A “cold day” is when the maximum temperature is at least 4.5 notches below the normal and a “severe cold day” is when the maximum temperature is at least 6.5 degrees below the normal.

The forecast for Thursday shows that there will be mainly clear sky with moderate fog in the morning. There will be cold day conditions at many places and severe cold day conditions at isolated places. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 16 and 6 degrees Celsius respectively.

On Tuesday, the minimum temperature recorded in Delhi was 5.7 degrees Celsius, which was two degrees below normal and was the second coldest night of the season. On December 19, the minimum was recorded at 5.2 degrees Celsius which was the coldest. Last year, the lowest temperature recorded in December was 2.6 degrees Celsius on December 28.

Former HC judge denies taking up BJP membership

26/12/2019

Further, explaining the circumstances that led to the misunderstanding, the former judge said that he had gone to the BJP meeting at Valluvar Kottam on July 6 to meet Mr. Prasad whom he knew in his personal capacity. The intention of the visit was to meet the Minister in private and discuss certain issues relating to enactment of new laws and issues revolving around welfare of advocates.

The Minister reached the venue over an hour late and BJP lawyers requested him to wait on stage until Mr. Prasad arrived.

The moment the Minister got up on stage, the public meeting began and there was no time to talk. “After he had made his speech, my name was called and I was invited to accept membership of the party, which was a total surprise for me as that was not the intention of my being at the venue of the meeting,” the communique read.

It went on to read: “I would like to make it clear that I am not a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and I have never intended to be one. However, if my name has been given the tag of a member, I would request the office-bearers of the party concerned to remove the same forthwith.”

Univ dean joins students’ protest, video goes viral

Dwaipayan.Ghosh@timesgroup.com

26.12.2019

Kolkata: When 63-year-old Pradip Basu was invited to join an anti-CAA rally led by Presidency University students, teachers and non-teaching staff on Tuesday evening, he did not think twice before saying yes to what he felt was a “much needed exercise”.

Less than 24 hours later, when a video of him at the rally went viral, he feels the “repercussion”, if any, is a “little sacrifice” that is “affordable”. That is because, Basu wasn’t just one of the teachers who joined the students in their protest on Tuesday; he happens to be the dean of Humanities and Social sciences at Presidency University.

“I was asked [by the students] to speak twice. I spoke once in the beginning, and once again at Shyambazar. There were no political flags in this protest, not even the Presidency student unions carried their flags. At least 30 other professors joined in along with nonteaching staff,” Basu told TOI on Wednesday.

He said there were several driving factors behind his decision. “How many more days would we be playing safe? Here is a party that is increasingly tending to use religious fascism on its own people. The demonetisation happened. The country’s economy is being slowly controlled by the big capitalists and the rogue ones are fleeing. The students have their semester exams from January 2. Yet when they saw what happened at Jamia Millia and in UP, when they saw the counter protests at Hyderabad and Jadavpur University students approached us to be part of their protest, we had to say yes,” he said.

“I have a family too but if indeed there is any repercussion at all, these are issues for which a little sacrifice is affordable. My students and colleagues who joined the rally share the same thoughts,” Basu said. Basu had earlier taught at the Scottish Church College for 27 years before joining Presidency in 2012 in the Political Science department.

SURPRISE SUPPORT: A clip from the viral video showing Pradip Basu at the protest