Can’t release Rajiv Gandhi killers: Centre to Madras HC

TNN | Jan 8, 2020, 04.08 AM IST

CHENNAI: The Centre on Tuesday informed the Madras high court that the Tamil Nadu government’s proposal to release seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, including Nalini Sriharan, has been rejected by it in April 2018 since it would lead to “international ramifications”.

Additional solicitor general G Rajagopalan made the submission on behalf of the home ministry on the plea moved by Nalini seeking to declare her detention as illegal since the governor had failed to act upon the recommendation of the state cabinet to release the seven convicts.

Recording the submissions, a division bench of Justice R Subbiah and Justice R Pongiyappan impleaded the Union home ministry as party respondent and directed it to file a counter by January 28.

In the rejection order produced by the solicitor general, the home ministry had stated: ‘The case involves assassination of a former prime minister of the country who was brutally killed in pursuance of diabolical plot carefully conceived and executed by a highly organised foreign terrorist organisation. Sixteen innocent lives were lost and many sustained grievous injuries in the gruesome, inhuman, uncivilised, and merciless bomb blast which was successfully enacted with active help and participation of these convicts and others who were LTTE militants or its staunch supporters.”

“The CBI has opposed the state government’s proposal to release the convicts in the interest of justice. The case has been reviewed, scrutinised by various forums of the judiciary and executive and both the highest judicial forum as well as the executive forum has elevated the case and decided the matter. Releasing the four foreign nationals who had committed the gruesome murder of former PM in connivance with three Indian nationals will set a very dangerous precedent and lead to international ramifications by other such criminals in the future,” the order said.

Senior docs to be given honorary posts

TNN | Jan 8, 2020, 04.57 AM IST

Chennai: The directorate of medical education is planning to appoint ‘honorary’ professors who will mentor doctors, perform state-of-the art surgeries and offer guidance to medical college students. These professors are mostly retired government doctors or renowned medical professionals who have served in the private sector in India or abroad and are below the age of 70.
Deans of government medical colleges across the state have asked heads of departments to give their opinion about the need for honorary professors. “The idea is to have experts on campus to help patients and guide doctors,” said director of medical education Dr R Narayana Babu. Doctors retire from service at the age of 58 compared to 65 in the central government services. “They have an abundance of experience and they can really help our patients,” he said.

For instance, a city medical college hospital has stopped doing sex reassignment surgeries after one of the senior surgeons retired. “Getting that professor back into college will benefit a lot of patients. More doctors will also get themselves trained so they can continue doing the surgery,” Dr Narayana Babu said. Deans have also been asked to look out for retired professors with administrative skills for managing activities to acquire and maintain NABH accreditation.

These doctors will not be on government rolls or enjoy benefits such as provident fund or health insurance. “They will not be paid a salary, they will be given a designation of honorary professor,” he said. Health department is yet to decide if they should pay an honorarium.

Senior doctors say the concept of honorary professors isn’t entirely new. In the early 80s, many colleges had professors who were not on government rolls. “They all came to the hospital for surgery, did their routine rounds and took classes for student. These professors did not have to adhere to working hours, many of them came even on Sundays. In those days, holding a honorary position in a government hospital was a matter of pride,” said Kilpauk Medical College dean Dr Vasanthamani P. “Many senior doctors including corporate hospital owners joined and retired as honorary professors,” she said.

So far, the state has a signed memorandum of understanding with doctors in the private sector to conduct high-end surgeries. For instance, liver transplant surgeon Dr Mohamed Rela and his team visits Stanley Medical College to conduct liver transplant surgeries, while senior cardiologist Dr AB Gopalmurugan conducts high-end cardiac procedures at the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital in Omanduarar. “If this proposal is cleared, we will have more such experts to inspire our students,” Dr Narayana Babu said.

16,000 Pongal special buses to operate from city to clear extra rush

TNN | Jan 8, 2020, 04.59 AM IST

Chennai: The state transport department will operate more than 16,000 buses from various locations in Chennai to tackle the holiday rush during Pongal week.

Around 10,000 special buses will operate in other districts from January 12 to 14, said transport minister M R Vijayabhaskar. “More than eight lakh passengers are expected to travel during this time as it has a long weekend,” he added.

As many as 17 ticket reservation counters will be opened at Koyambedu Chennai Moffusil Bus Terminus (CMBT), Tambaram MEPZ and Poonamalle Bus Stand. Tickets can also be booked online on www.tnstc.in or on apps such as RedBus, Paytm, Make My Trip and BusIndia. All passengers will get a text with information about the boarding point and time, and travel duration.

Temporary bus stands will be set-up at different locations in the city for smooth operation of special buses.

Buses taking passengers to Thanjavur and Kumbakonam via Vikravandi, Panruti will depart from the temporary bus stand at Tambaram.

Poonamalle bus stand will be the origin for buses going to Hosur, Arcot, Vellore, Kancheepuram and Cuddalore, and Chidambaram buses (via Puducherry) will depart from KK Nagar bus stop.

Buses to Andhra Pradesh will leave from Madhavaram. Only south-bound buses will depart from CMBT.

“Temporary traffic diversions, introduced four years ago, will be followed this year too. Also, to avoid chaos at toll plazas, one lane has been earmarked only for special buses,” Vijayabhaskar added.

Madras University to hire faculty after 5 years

TNN | Jan 8, 2020, 06.37 AM IST

CHENNAI: After a gap of five years, University of Madras has called for applications to fill 30 teaching positions, including six professors and 18 assistant professors, in its departments.

Two years ago, the government had imposed the ban to get other universities in the state to absorb excess staff from Annamalai university, but they have been reluctant because of doubts about their qualifications. Last year, the ban stayed in place after the UGC directed states to freeze recruitment in view of the case in the SC on whether the reservation policy should apply to hiring for an institution as a whole or to separate departments. Recently, the state government lifted the ban on recruitment.

The university is on the verge of losing UGC's grant and special assistance because of vacancies in faculty positions. "Many departments in the university get aid from the central government, but UGC rules prescribe a minimum faculty strength. So, these posts are being filled on priority basis," a senior professor from the university said.

Death of TN woman due to cotton wad left in abdomen: SHRC issues notice

TNN | Jan 7, 2020, 08.31 PM IST

CUDDALORE: The State Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of media reports about the death of a woman due to an infection caused by a cotton wad left in her abdomen by doctors in Vriddhachalam Government Hospital in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu.

The commission issued a notice on Tuesday to Cuddalore district joint director (medical services) P N Ramesh Babu directing him to submit a detailed report within two weeks. The report should also have details of action taken against the erring officials.

The commission said it would list the case after two weeks and directed the joint director to submit the report by post without fail. The commission warned that it would initiate appropriate action as it deems fit and proper if he failed to submit a report.

R Priya, wife of V Rajkumar, 26, from a village near Vriddhachalam died due to an infection caused by a cotton wad left in her abdomen by doctors in Vriddhachalam Government Hospital.

Police said Priya developed labour pain on December 27 and was rushed to hospital. Doctors performed a Caesarean section the same night, and she gave birth to a girl.

Priya, however, complained of a severe stomach pain post-surgery. On December 31, after she took seriously ill, doctors referred her to Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (Jipmer) in Puducherry.

A team of doctors in Jipmer suspected that she might be suffering from severe sepsis, a serious condition due to the presence of foreign particles in the body and the body’s response to it. The team performed surgery in the abdomen (laparotomy) and found a mass of inflated tissues filled with pus. The team removed the pus and found a foreign body (cotton wad) in her abdomen. She died on January 1.

JOSHI-ABHYANKAR MURDER CASE
Four students who turned serial killers executed same day in 1983

Gang’s Run Had Created Fear, Panic In Pune In Mid-70s

Vishwas Kothari, Manjiri Damle & Asseem Shaikh | TNN

08.01.2020

Pune: The hanging of as many as four convicts on death row in one day has happened only once in the country after Independence — in Pune on October 25, 1983.

Rajendra Jakkal, Dilip Sutar, Shantaram Jagtap and Munawar Shah — the first three from Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya in the city and Shah a friend of theirs studying in a commerce college — were hanged at the Yerawada central jail for the murder of 10 people in the mid-1970s.

The impending execution of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya case would be the second instance of as many hangings on the same day in one case.

The Pune gang killed three members of the Joshi family at their Vijaynagar colony home and five members of the Abhyankar family at their bungalow on Bhandarkar road. They also killed two youths in separate incidents.

The killings, which came to be known as the Joshi-Abhyankar serial murders, remain one of the most intriguing sagas in the annals of crime  in Pune, then a sleepy pensioner’s paradise.

Old-timer Punekars recall the murders as much for the heinous manner in which they were committed as also for the deep panic, fear and helplessness that had gripped them in those days.

“People would simply desert the streets after 6 pm,” recalls former assistant commissioner of police Balkrishna Agashe. “Except for policemen blowing their whistles and the sound of patrolling boots, a cloak of silence would hang over the city.”

“Like most Punekars, we used to be tense every new moon night as all the murders were committed on those days,” recalls Subhash Pawar, who used to teach advertising and graphic design at the Abhinav Kala Mahavidyalaya.

“The four were well-behaved and polite. We never suspected that they had criminal tendencies. We were shocked to read in the newspapers about their involvement,” recalls Pawar.

“There were times when people would keep night-long vigils. On days like new moon nights, scared citizens would keep calling the police control room seeking reassurance,” said another old-timer.

The killing of noted Sanskrit scholar Kashinath Shastri Abhyankar, then 88, and four others at his bungalow had come as a shock to Pandit Vasant Gadgil. The 90-year-old Gadgil told TOI, “The entire state was angry over the murders. Shastri was my guru. I felt helpless and realised no one was truly safe.”

The killings had left Pune police baffled for over a year and had put their investigative skills to the test. Then police chief VV Chaubal had constituted a special team under assistant commissioner of police Madhusudhan Hulyalkar and inspector Manikrao Damame, both now deceased.

As the police probe later revealed, the gang employed a peculiar modus operandi of stripping some of their victims naked and using a nylon rope with a particular knot to strangle them to death.

Noted Sanskrit scholar Kashinath Shastri Abhyankar, his wife, two grandchildren and their maid were killed by the gang at their bungalow, ‘Smruti’, on Bhandarkar Road on December 1, 1976

Nirbhaya rapist-murderers to hang at 7am on Jan 22: Court

‘Enough Time Given To Exhaust Legal Remedies’

Aamir.Khan2@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:08.01.2020

The 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder case finally moved towards closure when a city court on Tuesday ordered the hanging of the four death row convicts at 7am on January 22, saying they had been given “sufficient time and opportunity” to exhaust their legal remedies.

The order to execute the death sentence of the convicts—Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Thakur—comes six years after another trial court had sentenced them to death.

Nirbhaya’s mother had filed a plea in Delhi’s Patiala House courts, through her advocates, seeking death warrants against the four convicts on December 13, 2018.

In his order, additional sessions judge Satish Kumar Arora observed that the convicts had either exhausted their remedies or hadn’t exercised some of them despite being given sufficient time and opportunity. “In these facts and circumstances, when reasonable time and opportunity has been afforded to them, there is nothing to delay passing of orders on the applications seeking issuance of death warrants,” held the court.

During the hearing, the lawyers appearing for the convicts sought time to file curative petitions before opting for a mercy plea. The lawyersamicus curiae Vrinda Grover appearing for Mukesh and Vinay, and A P Singh for Pawan and Akshay—submitted they were in the process of filing curative petitions. They, therefore, sought time to exhaust this remedy before a mercy plea. Grover submitted that documents required to be relied upon for filing of a curative plea were yet to be supplied to her by the jail authorities.

The submissions were opposed by the lawyers appearing for the victim’s mother and special prosecutors Rajiv Mohan and Irfan Ahmed.

Copy of death warrants to be sent to Tihar

They said that there was nothing pending before any court and the execution of death warrants could be ordered. The prosecutors submitted that all the four convicts could keep exercising their legal rights even after an order to that effect had been passed.

It also came on record that after the last hearing on December 18, 2019, the Tihar jail authorities had informed the convicts about the remedy of filing a mercy petition. This notice, however, was objected to by the convicts on the ground that they still had the remedy of filing a curative petition before the SC.

A status of their legal remedies till now showed that the review petitions of all convicts had been dismissed.

Judge Arora noted that it was “apparent” that the convicts had already been extended sufficient time and opportunity to exhaust legal remedies. And as a result, the court disposed of the plea of Nirbhaya’s mother and that of the state seeking issuance of the death warrants. “Copy of this order with the death warrants to be sent to the Tihar jail superintendent,” it said.