Bizman duped of ₹1L by man posing as customer care executive of courier firm

Bizman duped of ₹1L by man posing as customer care executive of courier firm

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bhopal:  10.12.2021

A 35-year-old storekeeper was allegedly duped by unidentified accused posing as the customer care operator of a courier company. The storekeeper was looking for the customer care number of the courier company to track a package dispatched from Surat. He got a fake number online, and the fraudster sent him a link to transfer Rs 3. When the victim clicked on t he link and entered his bank details, the accused hacked his smartphone using a remote access application and siphoned of Rs 1.02 lakh from his two bank accounts in five minutes.

The victim approached the cyber-crime branch and filed a complaint. The cybercrime branch registered a Zero FIR and transferred the case diary to Kolar police station where a case was registered against unidentified accused on Wednesday.

Complainant Mukesh Sen, 35, a resident of Damkheda A-Sector in Kolar, works as a storekeeper in a lift company for the past 12 years. He told police that on November 30, he was waiting for a parcel sent from Surat through a courier service. The delivery was delayed so he searched for the courier agency customer care number to track the parcel.

Sanskrit univ of Devprayag to be named after Gen

Sanskrit univ of Devprayag to be named after Gen

Dehradun:  10.12.2021

On the first day of the winter session of the Uttarakhand assembly, Devprayag MLA Vinod Kandari moved a proposal to name the underconstruction Sanskrit University at Devprayag after CDS General Bipin Rawat, which was approved by the House, reports Kautilya Singh.

Haridwar MLA and state BJP chief Madan Kaushik also tabled a proposal to name the Sainya Dham, being built in Dehradun in memory of those who died in the line of duty, after Rawat.

Culling of birds starts in Alappuzha

Culling of birds starts in Alappuzha

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kottayam:  10.12.2021

After bird flu was confirmed in the Kuttanad region of Kerala’s Alappuzha district, thousands of poultry were culled on Thursday evening. In Purakkad, where the mass death of ducks were confirmed due to bird flu, the remaining ducks and poultry in a one-kilometre radius were culled.

The district administration has banned sale of eggs, meat and faeces (manure) of the poultry. The order issued by the district collector will be enforced in Champakkulam, Nedumudy, Muttar, Veeyapuram, Karuvatta, Thrikkunnappuzha, Thakazhi, Purakkad, Ambalapuzha Thekku, Ambalapuzha Vadakku and Edathua panchayats and Haripad municipal region.

Boy back in class after letter to PMO

BANISHED OVER FEE

Boy back in class after letter to PMO

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madikeri:  10.12.2021

A school in Kodagu has reportedly allowed a class 5 boy back into the classroom after allegedly banishing him to the library because his family had not cleared the full fees.

The boy Muthanna’s father has claimed that his son was allowed back into the classroom only after he wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office’s grievance redress system. Muthanna, 10, is in Coorg Public School in Gonikoppal town, Kodagu district. The boy has been studying here from class I.

The school and Muthanna’s father Navada Belliappa have different versions about the fees. When TOI asked the school for its reaction, it got an email. The school wrote Belliappa had “not paid school fee since 2020”. The school also said he had not replied to “our request to pay the fees”. “Bad propaganda is being spread through social media against the institution,” the school said.

Belliappa, a businessman, has a different story to tell. He wrote to the PMO grievance redress department that his son was barred from entering his class from November 30, 2021, for not paying his full fees. He claimed he had paid Rs 40,000 in 2020-21 and Rs 60,000 in 2021-22.

He wrote that a member of the school staff had “abused” his son and told him he was being made to sit in the library because he hadn’t paid his full fees. On the other hand, Belliappa, said the school had not communicated anything to him, despite his repeated queries. “My son is crying most of the time,” he wrote, seeking action from the PMO on December 1.

Belliappa told TOI he had paid Rs 60,000 for 2021-22, following the previous year’s fee structure but the school management had asked for Rs 1,10,000 as this was the new higher fee. “They increased the fee too much in the middle of this Covid crisis. I sent my objections by email on the high amount which is not possible to pay. They didn’t respond to my appeal. Instead, they sent my son outside the class and restricted him to the library room. They demanded the full payment of fees to allow him to attend classes,” Belliappa said. The father said he then wrote to the PMO.

SC: Cannot file consumer plaint against govt docs

SC: Cannot file consumer plaint against govt docs

New Delhi: 

The Supreme Court has said that a person cannot file a consumer complaint against a doctor after getting free of cost treatment from a government hospital.

In terms of Section 2(1)(d)  (ii) of the Act, a consumer is the one who hires or avails of any services for a ‘consideration’ which has been paid or promised or partly paid or partly promised. Under this definition a person cannot be termed as consumer and file complaint against governemnt hospital. Now the SC has clarified that a complaint cannot be filed against goverement doctors also.

“...a medical officer who is employed in a hospital renders service on behalf of the hospital administration and if the service as rendered by the Hospital does not fall within the ambit of 2(1)(0) of the Act being free of charge, the same service cannot be treated as service under Section 2(1)(0) for the reasons that it has been rendered by medical officer in the hospital who receives salary for the employment in the hospital. It was thus concluded that the services rendered by employeemedical officer to such a person would therefore continue to be service rendered free of charge,” the SC said. TNN

Int’l fliers question RT-PCR charges, new 2% testing rule

Int’l fliers question RT-PCR charges, new 2% testing rule

Mehul.Jani@timesgroup.com

Surat:10,12,2021

Despite well-defined SOP issued by the government, the passengers, arriving from countries not in the ‘at risk’ list, who are randomly selected to undergo Covid-19 test are giving a tough time to airport officials.

Apart from “Why only me?” and “Why should I pay for the test?”, the airport officials have got used to international passengers complaining about the long wait they have to endure to get the RT-PCR test results.

Similar scenes were played at the Surat international airport after landing of the Sharjah-Surat in the wee hours of Thursday. Teams of airport staff, airline staff, Surat Municipal Corporation’s health team and laboratory staff were ready to screen the 164 passengers of the flight that landed at around 12.15am. Things were going on smoothly till the airline staff announced the names to 2% passengers, six in case of this flight, who were selected to undergo RT-PCR tests. It was not long before the six passengers — two German passport holders, one woman holding an Australian passport and three Indian citizens — started complaining.

The passengers questioned the logic behind testing just a few passengers. “If the government genuinely wants to check the spread of the new variant, they must check all the passengers, not just 2%,” a passenger said. Another passenger complained about being made to pay for the tests. “The government or the airline should pay for the test,” he reasoned.

The woman with an Australian passport said that she is not from an ‘at risk’ country still she is put through testing. “My kids are suffering as along with me they too have to wait at the airport till the RT-PCR test results arrive,” she said.

As per SOP, travellers are required to pay Rs 2,700 for rapid RT-PCR test, the result of which takes roughly one hour. Passengers can also opt for a regular RT-PCR test that costs Rs 400 but the result of which takes around six hours.

When TOI contacted airport officials for their comments, they said, “We have already discounted our 13% royalty. Many passengers protested about the 2% rule and the RT-PCR charges, but they must understand that we are just implementing the SOPs issued by the government.”

Students prepare to fly as Oz opens borders

Students prepare to fly as Oz opens borders

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad:10,12,2021

Akash Mistry decided to pursue a master’s degree programme from Australia after completing his degree engineering in civil and infrastructure from Adani Institute of Infrastructure Engineering. He got admission to the University of Adelaide in July 2020 but could not be on campus as the country closed its borders due to Covid pandemic. After waiting for over 17 months during which he began online studies by opting for two subjects per semester, Mistry is now ready to fly and start on-campus education.

“Earlier, the Australian government said that the borders will reopen from December 1, but due to omicron variant, the plan has been revisited. As per the latest government guidelines, the border will now reopen from December 15,” said Mistry.

Thousands of students in the city, hoping to study in Australia, are working on their travel plans.

From December 15, fully vaccinated international students can travel to participating states and territories in Australia, quarantinefree without needing to apply for a travel exemption, according to the official website of Department of Home Affairs, Australian government.

Bhavin Thakker, a visa consultant, said that there are about 22,000 students from India who are expected to travel to Australia this year. Ritesh Desai, also a visa consultant from the city, said students from India have started looking to other overseas options like the US, Canada and the UK after Australia closed its borders for such a long time.

The ticket prices from Ahmedabad to Australia have soared from about Rs 50,00 per ticket to Rs 1.25 lakh following the announcement to reopen borders from December 15, he further said.

Harsh Prajapati, who took admission at Southern Cross University, in June 2020 has attended three semesters online. He is now ready to fly on December 19, and fulfill his dreams to study on campus in Australia.