DVAC conducts searches in equipment procurement scam
Senior officer’s house among those raided

09/02/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,CHENNAI

The residence of a police officer in Chennai where a DVAC search was conducted on Saturday morning B. Velankanni Raj B. Velankanni Raj

Officers of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Saturday conducted searches at more than 15 places, including the residence of senior police officer M. Anbuchezhian, in connection with alleged irregularities in the procurement of equipment for the police force.

Twelve teams of the DVAC had fanned out for searches across the State. The searches were held on Saturday morning at the houses of Mr. Anbuchezhian in Kilpauk, Additional Superintendent of Police Ramesh and Deputy Superintendent of Police Udayashankar in Pattinapakkam.

Following allegations by political parties including DMK and PMK, the Home Department had initially ordered an internal probe against the police officers for ‘criminal misconduct’ and causing ‘pecuniary loss’ to the government on September 19 last year.

Subsequently, a preliminary internal investigation by the Deputy Inspector General (Technical Services) and Inspector General (Crime) allegedly found serious irregularities in the tenders floated for the purchase of CCTV cameras as well as the eligibility criteria set for the procurement of these products, among other issues.

“The DVAC conducted a detailed enquiry on the orders of government into the allegation that the then Superintendent of Police, Technical Services and Police Telecommunication Branch officals committed irregularities in the purchase of technical gadgets such as mobiles, CCTV devices, tablet PCs, GPS and spare batteries for VHF sets during the period 2016-2018, thereby gaining pecuniary advantage and causing a huge monetary loss to the government,” sources said.

18 places searched

“As the detailed enquiry reveals a prima facie case against 14 officials of Police Telecommunication Branch and two private firms, a case was registered on Friday. Subsequently, DVAC officers conducted searches in 18 places including residences and offices of the suspected officers and private individuals. Some incriminating material and documents have been seized from there,” the sources added.

Coronavirus death toll in China rises to 722

Nearly 35,000 people infected globally

09/02/2020, ASSOCIATED PRESS,BEIJING

The death toll from the novel coronavirus outbreak soared to 722 in China on Saturday, including the first foreign victim, as Hong Kong imposed a mandatory quarantine on mainland arrivals to block the spread of an epidemic that has caused global panic.

With 86 more people dying in mainland China — the highest one-day jump so far — the toll was closing in on the 774 killed worldwide during the 2002-03 SARS epidemic.

A 60-year-old U.S. citizen, diagnosed with the virus, died on Thursday in Wuhan, the city at the epicentre of the health emergency, according to the U.S. Embassy, which did not provide more details about the person.

China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement to AFP that the victim was a U.S. citizen of Chinese origin.

A Japanese man in his 60s, with a suspected coronavirus infection, also died in hospital in Wuhan, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said, adding that it was “difficult” to confirm if he had the illness.

The only fatalities outside the mainland were a Chinese man in the Philippines and a 39-year-old man in Hong Kong.

Nearly 35,000 people have been infected globally with the new strain, which is believed to have emerged in a market selling wild animals in Wuhan last year.

The epidemic has prompted the government to lock down cities home to tens of millions of people, as anger mounts over its handling of the crisis, especially after a whistle-blowing doctor fell victim to the virus.

1,000 denied govt. jobs in T.N. due to fake papers

Certificates of applicants under the sports quota for the TNUSRB were found to be ‘ineligible’

09/02/2020, S. VIJAY KUMAR ,CHENNAI

Close on the heels of the recruitments-for-money scam in the TN UPSC, a major fraud in the recruitment of police constables, prison warders and firemen by the Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board has surfaced with at least 1,000 candidates, who had cleared the written examination/physical efficiency test and qualified for appointment under the Sports Quota, found to have submitted “ineligible” certificates.

The TNUSRB had notified the recruitment of 8,888 Grade-II Police Constables, Grade-II Jail Warders and Firemen late last year.

About 3.25 lakh candidates appeared for the written exam in 32 districts. The physical efficiency test was then held in 15 centres for 47,000 candidates who passed the examination.

Nearly 8,800 candidates who qualified for appointment were called for certificate verification. However, during this process it was found that at least 1,000 candidates, claiming appointment under the 10% sports quota, had submitted “ineligible” certificates.

The associations that issued the sports certificates were not recognised by the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) and hence not competent to issue such certificates.

“We sent out emails to all the 1,000 candidates saying that their certificates were ineligible/ not recognised by the SDAT and hence they were not entitled to be considered for recruitment under the sports quota,” a senior police official told The Hindu on Saturday.

“Their candidature was brought under the General or Reserved Category as applicable. Of the 1,000, about 200 candidates, whose cut-off marks fell within the range set for reserved categories, became eligible for appointment. As many as 800 others became ineligible, ” he added.

Parrying questions on whether one sports association or centre had issued the certificates, a senior police official in the Police Headquarters said a special team was analysing the veracity of the certificates and the antecedents of the issuing associations.

Tamil Nadu: Tambaram station may turn into a private train hub

TNN | Feb 8, 2020, 10.59 AM IST

CHENNAI: In the railway's plan to allow private operators to run trains on particular cluster of routes, Tambaram features as an important terminal station, upstaging the landlocked and saturated Dr MGR Central and Chennai Egmore station.

The draft documents put out in public domain show that in the indicative cluster for trains from Chennai, it has been proposed to run a train from Tambaram to Madurai, another from Tambaram to Bengaluru's third terminal, a train from Tirunelveli to Tambaram, another train from Tambaram to Tiruchirapalli and another service from Kanyakumari to Tambaram.

Southern Railway sources said that the proposal has undergone further iterations and that the Tambaram to Bengaluru train has been dropped from the Chennai cluster.

Indian Railways has divided the 100 paths or railway routes where-in private players may be allowed to run trains into 10-12 clusters entailing 150 trains and an indicative investment of 22,500 crore. Chennai is one of them, according to the draft paper.

The operators would have rights to collect market-linked fares and ability to provide value added and differentiated customer service. The private players could also bring in their own trainsets.

Highly placed sources in Southern Railway confirmed that Tambaram is being looked at seriously as a terminal for all south bound trains from now on. "In cities like Mumbai, the terminal stations are located away from the city. Passengers travel to the terminals through EMU and catch the trains," a source said. The line from Tambaram to Madurai is completely doubled and electrified with doubling up to Kanyakumari also in the pipeline.

Tambaram has two pit lines and would get a few more.

If fast trains are started from Tambaram, travel to Madurai and Tiruchirapalli would come down with a possibility of running fast shuttle services by Railways, say sources. Currently the fastest train, Tejas Express, takes four hours from Egmore to Tiruchirapalli. From Tambaram, this would translate into a time of around three to 3.5 hours. Also many from southern districts live in Tambaram-Chengalpet belt and Tambaram would be easier for them to reach, say officials.

However, officials are wary of protests from residents in North Chennai who travel to southern districts. Passenger associations have been pushing for extending trains terminating at Egmore up to Royapuram, say officials.

RK Nagar bypoll case: I-T recovery proceedings stayed

TNN | Feb 8, 2020, 01.33 PM IST

CHENNAI: In a relief to an income tax assessee whose premises were raided along with that of state health minister C Vijayabaskar in April 2017, leading to the cancellation of bypoll to RK Nagar constituency, the Madras high court has stayed all recovery proceedings against the assessee.

The income tax officials, who raided the premises of R Nainar Mohammed in Chennai on April 7, 2017, in continuation of the search warrant issued in the name of state health minister C Vijayabhaskar, recovered Rs 2.94 crore from him.

However, alleging procedural violations, Nainar Mohammed filed the present petition in the high court saying the search that took place on April 7, 2017 pertained to financial year 2017-18 and the returns accounted for the entire seized cash. Therefore, the very basis of the unexplained or undisclosed income for the years 2017-18 and 2018-19 does not arise, because the income has already been shown and the assets are illustrated in the accounts.

Justice Anitha Sumanth, before whom the case came up for hearing on Friday, directed the income tax to file its reply by February 24, and added: "Let no recovery proceedings be initiated till then." The petitioner approached the court challenging the assessment order of deputy commissioner of income tax, central circle for the year 2018-19, assessing his total income as Rs 4,52,48,500, including the amount seized at the time of search.

At the time of search on his premises, several slips apparently showing boothwise expenses pertaining to RK Nagar assembly elections were recovered. Apart from the slips and and papers totalling Rs 64 lakh, an amount of Rs 2.95 crore was also seized. Originally he had declared an income of Rs 1.49 crore.

Rajiv Gandhi case convicts: Tamil Nadu governor holds key to freedom

TNN | Feb 9, 2020, 04.25 AM IST

CHENNAI: One signature — that of Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit — now stands between the seven life convicts of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, and their freedom.
Not the central government, not the Supreme Court and not even the state government. It is now the governor who shall sign their premature release warrant. The central government’s affidavit in the Madras high court, in response to a habeas corpus petition filed by India’s longest serving woman prisoner, Nalini Sriharan, on Friday referred to the Supreme Court’s order and said it is the governor who shall take an appropriate decision on the matter. It even said the fate of A G Perarivalan’s mercy petition, pending before Purohit, too hinged on the ‘discretion’ of the governor.

There are only three routes to clemency — by the President under Article 72 of the Constitution, by the governor under Article 161 of the Constitution, and by the state government under Section 435 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The President has rejected it multiple times and the Tamil Nadu government’s bid to invoke CrPC Section 435 bombed after the Centre moved the Supreme Court and got an order stating that ‘consultation’ in respect of a case probed by central agencies would mean ‘concurrence’. The Centre rejected the Tamil Nadu government’s early release proposal and made it clear long ago that it is against the premature release of the seven.

Only Article 161, available to the governor, is left. Bitten once, the Tamil Nadu government adopted the Article 161 route on September 9, 2018, and recommended the case to the governor, who is sitting on it for more than 18 months. Of course, constitutionally, a governor can take time to decide and need not explain the reason for delaying the decision. Concurring with this leeway available to the governor, advocate M Radhakrishnan, counsel for Nalini, says it will not mean the constitutional office can withhold the decision for an indefinite period. Radhakrishnan advised Nalini to adopt a rather adventurous route of filing a habeas corpus petition, which primarily deals with illegal detentions.

Since Article 161 does not allow any discretion for the governor and because he is constitutionally bound by the state cabinet resolution, every day’s delay on his part amounts to extension of illegal detention of Nalini, he said.

Can courts engage the governor in litigation when a Constitution bench judgment in the Rameshwar Prasad case (2006) clearly says the President or governor should not be made answerable to court? The immunity available to the two under Article 361 is absolute, the apex court said, adding that even notice cannot be served to them nor they be ever asked to appear in court. The same judgment, however, says courts cannot be silent spectators if these constitutional authorities do not perform their duties. Without sending notice to them the court could adjudicate legality or otherwise of their action or inaction.

There are at least three constitutional bench judgments — Maru Ram (1980), Kedar Singh (1989) and Sriharan alias Murugan (2015) —which say the governor has no discretion and that cabinet decision is binding on him.

On this count, the status of Tamil Nadu governor is quite unenviable, as he is torn between a constitutional obligation to offer nod to a state cabinet decision and personal or ideological necessity to sail with the Centre’s stand. There is also a theoretical possibility of Madras high court allowing Nalini’s petition by declaring that her continued incarceration is either unjustified or unlawful due to the unexplained delay by the governor in making the only option available to him.

Stipend Issue: Over 150 MBBS interns stage protest, suspend OPD services in Punjab

Stipend Issue: Over 150 MBBS interns stage protest, suspend OPD services in Punjab: bAmritsar:/b Aggrieved over low monthly stipend for the past ten years, more than 150 medical students and interns staged a protest at Government Medical College (GMC), Amritsar and suspended classes and ...