Security staff hired by agencies have neither valid licence nor training

Rise in ATMs has led to the challenge of finding armed security guards for cash vans

16/03/2020, R. SIVARAMAN,CHENNAI

Security with shot gun escorting the cash box at a private bank in Chennai.. S. R. Raghunathan

A security officer of a nationalised bank had a shocking account to recall recently upon verifying the licences of armed men from private security agencies to whom the job of cash management work is assigned.

“Most of them either did not have any valid licence or were not registered with the local police. I was shocked to learn that one of them was in possession of a weapon procured from his native village in Bihar, where they used it for opening fire in the air during celebrations. Most of these armed men working with cash management agencies or security agencies are from other States, chiefly Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Their experience in handling weapons is questionable.” With the growing number of ATMs , cash management service companies are facing a challenge in meeting the demand for armed security guards who have to be present in cash vans.

R. Suresh, a former deputy general manager with a security agency said, “There is dearth of security personnel to match the growing numbers of ATM filling vans and cash management companies. “Nowadays, several untrained persons too have been engaged as armed men to accompany cash management vans. It is doubtful whether they can efficiently handle fire arms in the case of an emergency,” he said.

Most banks outsource ATM filling work to cash management agencies. The armed personnel attached to these agencies are most often ex-servicemen or untrained north Indians.

“Even untrained persons from other States easily receive licenses to hold guns from their States and are roaming without registering them,” said sources in the police and among security officers.

Violation of rules

Arms Rules 2016 stipulates that every applicant should be required to complete an arms and ammunition safety training course, which shall include basic arms and ammunition safety practices, including safe handling and carrying procedures.

A senior police officer said, “If any licensee changes his location for a period of more than six months, he should intimate the Police Commissionerate in his city or the district authorities in the area in which he lives. We will check and initiate action against those who violate the rules and law.”

Tasmac clarifies on demonetised notes

16/03/2020, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) has said it had issued clear instructions to all district managers on November 9, 2016 to desist from accepting demonetised notes. It was responding to the article ‘I-T Dept shocked by Tasmac’s acceptance of banned notes’ published in these columns on Sunday.

In a release, Tasmac claimed that the managers, in turn, had communicated the instructions to liquor shop personnel and that written communications were also sent to bankers asking them not to accept demonetised notes, if any, deposited by shop staff.

Tasmac has also claimed it furnished to the Income Tax department branch wise details of deposits made in demonetised notes and that it had filed a statutory appeal with the Commissioner of I-T (Appeals) challenging an order passed by a Deputy Commissioner.

University suspends classes till March 31

16/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,TIRUCHI

As a precautionary measure to safeguard students from COVID-19, the Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN) in Tiruvarur has suspended all classes and other academic activities till March 31.

Vice-Chancellor A.P. Dash, who held an emergency meeting with the deans and heads of departments on Sunday to discuss the steps to be taken to safeguard students and faculty members, told The Hindu that no one from the university had symptoms of COVID-19. However, since the safety and well-being of the students were paramount, it was decided to suspend all classes until March 31. All students had been asked to vacate the hostels immediately.

A task force would be constituted on Monday to monitor the situation. An isolation room with basic medical facilities would be set up to offer emergency medical assistance to affected students, if any. It is expected that the situation would return to normal by month-end. However, a decision on reopening the university would be taken in the last week of March.

National Institute of Technology-Tiruchi has declared holiday till March 31, acting on the district administration’s advice.

Nirbhaya case: Tihar asks hangman to report 3 days ahead of execution

PTI | Mar 15, 2020, 05.49 PM IST

NEW DELHI: With just five days left for the execution of death sentence in the sensational 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, the Tihar Jail authorities on Sunday said they have asked the hangman to report three days ahead of the scheduled hanging.

The four convicts in the case are to be hanged together at 5.30am on March 20, according to an order by a Delhi court earlier this month.

The death row convicts are Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31).

The execution of their death warrants has been deferred thrice so far due to delays by them in exhausting legal remedies.

After the fresh death warrant was issued, the Tihar Jail authorities wrote to their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh requesting for the service of hangman Pawan Jallad, a senior jail official said.

"Pawan Jallad, a hangman from Meerut, has been asked to report at Tihar Jail on March 17, three days ahead of the scheduled date of hanging," said Sandeep Goel, DG (Prisons).

According to the jail authorities, dummy executions will be conducted again after the arrival of Jallad.

Health checks-up of the convicts is being done once in a day. They are also being counselled on regular basis, they said.

Out of the four convicts, Mukesh, Pawan and Vinay have had their last face-to-face meetings with their respective families. The authorities have written to the family of Akshay about the date for final meeting before the scheduled date of execution.

The jail authorities have also not stopped the convicts' weekly meetings with their families yet.

A 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was gang raped and savagely assaulted in a moving bus in South Delhi on December 16, 2012. She died after a fortnight.

Six people, including the four convicts and a juvenile, were named as accused. Ram Singh, the sixth accused, allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail days after the trial began in the case.

The juvenile was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home.

No match, matrimonial site asked to pay

TNN | Mar 16, 2020, 04.05 AM IST

Chennai: The consumer grievances redressal forum has ordered Bharat Matrimony to pay Rs 1.2 lakh as compensation to a man from Kochi who had sued the site for not finding a right match within one year as promised.

The complainant, E V John, subscribed for ‘Elite Premium Package’ by paying Rs 1 lakh on May 5, 2015. The matrimonial firm in its email assured that if customers were not satisfied with their services and were unable to provide a suitable match within one year from the date of subscription, the amount would be refunded.

Between May and July 2015, John claimed that he was bombarded with a lot of “unsuitable profiles” which were not verified and some had incomplete details. John complained that the relationship manager had failed to look into details of profiles before forwarding them to him.

Though John received 23 profiles in the said time period, only one was suitable and there was no response from that profile too when contacted for further enquiry.

Irked with the quality of service, John asked Kerala Matrimony, unit functioning under Chennai-based Bharat Matrimony, to refund the subscription amount. But there was no reply from the firm. He approached the North Chennai consumer forum seeking compensation.

Bharat Matrimony in response said the complainant initially paid Rs 10,000 to get personalised assistance by using advances tools in finding matching members from thousands of profiles. Later he upgraded to ‘elite’ category which aimed at catering to needs to rich, affluent families from business or industrial background, professionals and similar customers who want to finish search for prospective life partners soon, said the matrimony’s counsel in response.

The counsel added that elite service neither guarantees positive responses from prospective brides all the time nor marriage within the service period. Their only obligation was to search, shortlist profiles based on members’ preferences and share it later and the same was done without any deficiency.

On hearing it, the forum on February 18 ordered Bharat Matrimony to pay Rs 1,00,000 towards subscription paid with 6% interest from complaint date (February 2017) to till date and another Rs 22,000 as compensation and litigation expenses.

Madras high court refuses to grant relief to sacked cooperative society employee

TNN | Mar 15, 2020, 04.21 PM IST

MADURAI: The Madras high court has refused to grant relief to a woman employee of a cooperative society who was dismissed from service on charges of stealing jewellery pledged by customers. The court observed that the authorities had rightly passed the order as the woman had breached the trust shown by the society.

The petitioner, K Mariyayee, was appointed as a sales woman in Thirukkampuliyur Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Society in Karur district in 1999.

She was dismissed from service in 2012 on charges of stealing gold jewellery pledged by the customers by replacing them with fake ones. Inquiries revealed that she had pledging the original jewellery at a private finance company for monetary gain.

The petitioner moved high court in seeking to quash the dismissal order and sought to reinstate her back in service.

Justice V Bhavani Subbaroyan observed that since the petitioner had admitted her guilt before the inquiry officer, the court was of the view that the disciplinary authority had rightly dismissed the petitioner from service for her misdeeds.

Tourist spots shut down

Madurai:16.03.2020

As part of preventive measures for COVID-19 being implemented across Tamil Nadu, all popular tourist locations, theatres and malls were shut down in Theni district starting Sunday and will remain closed till March 31. The district’s health department officials said that tourist spots like Vaigai Dam Park, Kumabakkarai Falls, Megamalai, Chinnasuruli and Suruli Falls have all been shut down. TNN