Focus on improving academic quality: V-C

19/10/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,COIMBATORE

Improving the academic quality of Bharathiar University so that its ranking went up, would be the priority for its new Vice-Chancellor P. Kaliraj.

Addressing journalists here on Friday, he said: “my focus will be on improving the quality of teaching, facilitating faculty development through programmes, encouraging research, collaborating with other institutions among others so that the ranking of the university improves in the State, country and world.”

To improve the quality of teaching, the university would establish a mentor system by roping in retired faculty who were experts in their disciplines, and professionals from industry so that they mentored students and also helped faculty stay updated.

He would also want the faculty to keep tab on the latest development in their disciplines.

“The faculty can no longer rely on notes they have prepared years ago to teach students.”

As for collaboration with other institutions, the Vice-Chancellor said the faculty within a department should collaborate with one another, departments within the university should work together and universities should come together to take up research. This would not only result in knowledge sharing but also tap funds for projects and cited instances from his work in Anna University to underscore his point.

In doing so, the university would also take along private, self-financing colleges. The 180-odd strong private, affiliated colleges were more in number than the 36 university departments. The university’s door was open for them. The colleges’ faculty could use their expertise and the university would throw open its infrastructure. “Their (faculty’s) knowledge and our (University) infrastructure will be complement one another.”

Mr. Kaliraj said he wanted to take the university on this path and would help it tap more funds and pointed out that while other universities could tap up to ₹150 crore under the Government of India’s RUSA programme, Bharathiar University could get only ₹80 crore.

If the university could do this, its NAAC score would improve.

That along with collaboration with other institutions would enable it to apply for projects and funds from the Department of Science and Technology, Defence Research and Development Organisation and other Government institutions, he said and added that he had initiated the process for collaboration.

“I’ve already spoken to the Madurai Kamaraj University Vice-Chancellor and he was very positive. Soon, you’ll see Bharathiar University enter many such tie-ups.”

In response to a question on the university’s reputation taking a beating, Mr. Kaliraj said transparency would put an end to corruption and nepotism.

“I'll ensure that the university has a robust work and ethic culture that does not leave room for any illegality.”

CBI files chargesheet against Chidambaram

Karti’s firm ‘received ₹9.96 lakh without doing any service’

19/10/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

No relief: P. Chidambaram being taken from a court in Delhi on Thursday, after he was sent to the custody of the ED. PTIPTI

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed a chargesheet against 14 accused, including former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and his son Karti, in the INX Media case.

Mr. Chidambaram “misused his official position” in granting approval to an FDI proposal of INX Media and INX News Pvt. Ltd. in lieu of “illegal gratification” in India and through offshore payments, the CBI said.

The agency alleged that a payment of ₹9.96 lakh had been made to Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited (ASCPL), which was floated by Mr. Karti, “without delivery of any service”.

Among those arraigned in the chargesheet are INX Media, its subsidiary INX News and then director Peter Mukerjea, Chess Management Services Private Limited, ASCPL and Mr. Karti’s chartered accountant S. Bhaskararaman.

Indrani Mukerjea, a former INX Media director, turned approver (pardoned) in July with the court’s permission. She claimed to have paid $5 million through the offshore route in lieu of the favours, and having met Mr. Chidambaram, along with Mr. Mukerjea and Vir Sanghvi, on the FIPB issue in March/April 2007.

The then Additional Secretary Sindhushree Khullar, Joint Secretary (Foreign Trade) Anup K. Pujari, the then Officer-on-Special Duty in the Department of Economic Affairs Pradeep Kumar Bagga, the then FIPB unit Director Prabodh Saxena, Under Secretary Rabindra Prasad, and Section Officer Ajit Kumar Dungdung have also been named as accused.

Against those accused, the CBI has invoked Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery for cheating) and 471 (using forged document as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code, along with the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The case was registered on May 15, 2017.

Questioning the timing, Mr. Karti tweeted: “It’s been done only to beat the 60-day deadline of my father’s [judicial] custody. We will deal with it as per legal procedure and will be vindicated.”

The agency is probing the charge that INX Media received ₹403.07 crore in foreign investments against the FIPB approved amount of ₹4.62 crore in 2007. It also made an illegal down-streaming of ₹40.91 crore into its sister concern, INX News.

IN BRIEF

19/10/2019,MUMBAI

Bachchan discharged from Mumbai hospital

Actor Amitabh Bachchan, who was admitted to Vile Parle’s Nanavati Hospital for a check-up, was discharged on Friday night. The hospital’s chief operating officer, Dr. Rajendra Patankar, refused to divulge details but said the actor had a “routine check-up”. Hospital sources said he underwent several investigations such as an MRI and blood tests.

Karnataka college boxed in over copying

It was pulled up over its ‘experiment’

19/10/2019, GIRISH PATTANASHETTI,HUBBALLI

Blinkers on: Students of Bhagat PU College in Haveri writing exam with cartons over their heads.Special arrangement

An attempt at an out-of-the-box solution to the problem of exam malpractice has landed a college administrator in Haveri in Karnataka in hot water with the authorities.

Faced with the problem of malpractice, educational institutions routinely step up surveillance — some even installing CCTVs in exam halls — while other rope in strict invigilators to crack the whip.

On October 16, when the students of the Bhagat PU College arrived for their mid-term exam, they were handed specially modified cartons to cover their heads. The cartons had an opening on one side, which allowed the students to see only in front of them and ostensibly prevented them for looking anywhere else but at their answersheets.

The cartons were college administrator Satish’s solution to prevent examination malpractice. While the students found it cumbersome, they were not allowed to violate the “new rule”.

However, Deputy Director of Pre-University Education S.C. Peerzade visited the college as soon as he came to know about it and stopped the “experiment”.

Speaking to The Hindu on Friday, Mr. Peerzade said he happened to see a photograph of students writing examination with their heads covered by cartons, which the college administrator had posted on his WhatsApp account.

“When I went to the college, most of the students had cartons over their heads. I sought an explanation from the administrator. To my shock, Mr. Satish told me that he was just experimenting with what he had seen in a Bihar college,” Mr. Peerzade said.

“A show cause notice has been issued,” he said. The college administration was not available for comment.

Instances of child marriage still on the rise in Madurai district

‘Parents must sit and talk with their daughters to understand their needs’

19/10/2019, P.A. NARAYANI,MADURAI

Data from Madurai Childline, which operates on 1098, reveals that there is a sharp increase in the number of instances of child marriage being reported in the district over the last four years. The data also shows that instances of child account for the highest number of interventions by Childline during the period.

Data indicates that while between April 2016 and March 2017 there were 75 calls made to Childline to report child marriages, from April 2019 till date, the number has risen to 129. In all these instances, officials of Department of Social Welfare and Childline had intervened.

Though the increase in reporting of child marriage can be attributed to increased awareness among girls, women and child rights activists opine that its prevalence in the district is still a matter of concern.

According to C. Jim Jesudoss, Director of Childline, Tirumangalam, Tirupparankundram, Melur, Usilampatti, and Sellur are identified as vulnerable areas, where a large number of child marriages are being reported. He says that child marriages are arranged by families from low-income groups, for girls aged 15-17 years.

Families arrange a marriage for girl children, as they consider it as a safety measure, says U. Nirmala Rani, advocate and social activist. “With the increasing instances of violence against girl children, parents think that it is safe to get their daughters married off early,” she says.

Mr. Jesudoss says that fear of inter-caste marriages is driving many parents to marry off their girls early. “Parents must sit and talk with their daughters to understand their needs and aspirations,” he says. The cultural aspect of marrying their daughters within their families is still rampant, says Bimla Chandrasekar, Director of Ekta Foundation for Women. “The right of the girl child to choose her career and age of marriage is not taken into consideration by these families,” she says.

Ms. Nirmala Rani says that there must be a strong political will to strictly enforce the law to prevent child marriages. “Various government departments must work in convergence to ensure that The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, is duly enforced,” she says.

There is a need to bring a change in mindset among the public as many families arrange marriages for their daughters, despite warnings from law enforcement agencies, says Mr. Jesudoss. “The concept of gender equity can become a reality only through educating girl children,” he says.

District Social Welfare Officer (in-charge) S. Shamugavadivu says that the department is organising awareness camps among children and parents against child marriage.

HC appoints SP to probe charges against Minister

DVAC told to submit progress report on November 1

19/10/2019, MOHAMED IMRANULLAH S.,CHENNAI

The Madras High Court on Friday appointed Superintendent of Police R. Ponni, now serving in the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC), to probe allegations of corruption against Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani.

Mr. Velumani is accused of awarding as many as 349 civil contracts, worth several crores of rupees, between 2014 and 2018, to firms run by his benamis.

Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and N. Seshasayee ordered that a report on the progress made by the investigating officer should be filed before the court in a sealed cover by Director of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Vijay Kumar on November 1. They also gave a “final opportunity” to the Minister to file his counter-affidavit before the next hearing on the issue.

The interim order was passed on petitions filed by R.S. Bharathi, Organising Secretary of the DMK, and Arappor Iyakkam, a non-governmental organisation represented by its managing trustee Jayaram Venkatesan, who had accused the Minister of having indulged in corrupt practices in the award of contracts through municipal corporations.

HC says holidays under NI Act not applicable to all

Workers in private sector will not be entitled to wages if they fail to turn up, says judge

19/10/2019, MOHAMED IMRANULLAH S.,CHENNAI

The declaration of a holiday by the government under the Negotiable Instruments Act of 1881 will not be applicable to private companies falling under the Factories Act of 1948 and therefore, workers will not be entitled to wages if they fail to turn up for work on those days, the Madras High Court has ruled.

Justice S.M. Subramaniam held so while allowing a writ petition filed by the management of Bimetal Bearings Limited of Hosur in Krishnagiri district. The company had challenged an order passed by a labour court in favour of 47 employees who did not work on July 30, 2015.

The judge pointed out that former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam died on July 27, 2015, and hence the State government issued a notification under the Negotiable Instruments Act the next day declaring July 30, 2015, a public holiday as a mark of respect.

The petitioner factory chose to declare it as a paid holiday only for those who were supposed to report for duty in the general shift (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and first shift (7 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Holiday was denied to those on third (4 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.) and fourth (12:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.) shifts.

Work on off day

When the workmen demanded a holiday for the other shifts too, the management agreed to grant it on condition that they should work on their weekly off day, which fell on August 2, 2015. About 47 workers did not accept the condition and hence, were denied wages leading to an industrial dispute.

Not finding any illegality in the decision taken by the factory management, Justice Subramaniam said: “This court is of the considered opinion that declaring a holiday by the government under the Negotiable Instruments Act would not be directly applicable to private companies falling under the Factories Act.”

To prevent copying, K’taka students made to wear boxes on their heads during exam

‘Implemented This Idea To Curb Malpractice And Not To Harass Students’

Basavaraj Maralihalli TNN

Haveri:19.10.2019

In a bizarre bid to curb malpractice, first-year science students of Bhagath PU College were made to sit for a midterm exam with cardboard cartons covering their heads — with a hole cut out in the front for their faces.

A video and pictures of students writing a chemistry exam on Wednesday with cartons on their heads was widely shared on social media. When officials of the education department got wind of it, they rushed to the college and ordered the management to desist from the practice.

S C Peerjade, deputy director, PU Board, said he issued a notice to the college management for implementing what he described as “an inhuman idea in the examination hall”.

However, M B Sateesh, a director of the college, said, “We had implemented this idea to curb malpractice and not to harass students. This is just an experiment. We discussed it with students and took their consent before implementing it.”

Sateesh went on to say that the college will comply with the board’s directive. “We are following all rules imposed by PU department,” he said.

Peerjade said, “When I got a message on this, I immediately went to the college and ordered the management to stop the practice. I also issued a notice to the college management and am contemplating disciplinary action against them for implementing this idea.”

Peerjade said he advised students to alert the department when such practices are imposed by the management. “This is inhuman and civilized society will never accept such an idea. I hope this is never repeated again,” Peerjade said.

“There are traditional ways of managing students and preventing malpractice in the examination hall and the college can resort to them.”

Last month, a similar incident in Mexico triggered outrage with enraged parents demanding that Colegio de Bachilleres Del Estado De Tlaxcala in the central Mexican state of Tlaxcala dismiss the teacher who forced students to wear the boxes on their heads.

NO CHEATING PLEASE: First-year science students of Bhagath P U College at Haveri in Karnataka were made to appear for their exams on Wednesday with cardboard carton covering their heads

EPS to get doctorate tomorrow
Chennai:19.10.2019

The list of Tamil Nadu politicians who have been conferred honorary doctorates is set to get an addition on Sunday. Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami will receive honorary doctorate (Doctor of Letters) from Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute, Deemed to be University.

Palaniswami is the third AIADMK chief minister to get the honour after party founder M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa. While MGR received doctorate from University of Madras, Jayalalithaa got it from five varsities. Honorary doctorate was conferred on former chief minister M Karuananidhi in 1971, and thereafter by three varsities. Founder-chancellor of Dr MGR varsity and New Justice Party leader A C Shanmugam, is a key ally of the AIADMK. Shanmugam contested the recent Vellore LS bypoll on the AIADMK’s two leaves symbol and lost. His deemed university will also confer honorary doctorates on music director Harris Jayaraj and dancer and film actor Shobana Chandrakumar on the occasion. TNN

HC commends TN govt for Ooty med college proposal

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:19.10.2019

The Tamil Nadu government on Friday informed the Madras high court that it had allotted 25 acres of land in Ooty for establishing a new government medical college hospital to cater to the medical needs ofresidents of Nilgiris district.

A submission to this effect was made by counsel for the state to a division bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice P Velumani, before which a copy of the government order dated October 11 too was furnished.

Recording it, the bench said steps taken by the government had to be appreciated, as it had acted very swiftly in passing the GO and allotting land for establishing government hospital.

This apart, advocate Chevanan Mohan, who hails from Ooty, informed the court that the chief minister had assured MLA of Ooty that air ambulance would be provided at the earliest.

Recording the same, the court requested the advocate general to get instructions as to when the air ambulance would be provided.

Since necessary license is mandatory for providing air ambulance service to Ooty, the court suo motu implead the union ministry of civil aviation as party respondent to the proceedings.

Hindustan convocation 2019

Exam papers of 41 TN medicos held invalid over mass copying
Two Colleges Barred From Holding Exam

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:19.101.2019

Tamil Nadu’s medical education sector, shaken by the NEET impersonation racket, suffered another jolt on Friday with the medical university barring two self-financing colleges from conducting MBBS examinations after CCTV camera footage showed mass copying by students with invigilators helping out in some cases.

While at least 41 students have been asked to repeat their exam in February 2020, Madha Medical College and Hospital on the outskirts of Chennai and Melmaruvathur Adiparasakthi Medical College have lost their exam-centre status for three and two years.

On Friday, MBBS examinations written in August by second, third and final year students of Madha Medical College were declared null and void by the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University after it found extensive malpractices including exchange of notes, passing of answer scripts and dictation of answers in the examination hall. Melmaruvathur Adiparasakthi Medical College has been debarred as exam centre after the disciplinary committee found that invigilators were helping candidates in writing the exam.

Vice-chancellor Dr Sudha Seshayyan said disciplinary action was being taken based on the recommendation from the exam disciplinary committee and as per university statutes. “The results and academic decisions are made public on the university webpage,” she said. Exams for the three batches of students were conducted on different dates in August as per a schedule released by the university.

IN A SPOT: Adiparasakthi Medical College loses exam centre status for two years

Tape showed students wandering around exam hall exchanging books

At Madha Medical College, 25 second year students, one third year student and 15 final year students wrote the exam. A few weeks later, the university received an anonymous petition about malpractices and ordered an inquiry. As a first step, the exam disciplinary committee watched the three hour footage of the examination. It is mandatory for all colleges to videograph university examinations and there should be no cuts in the footage, said a senior university official.

The tape clearly showed students wandering around the examination hall exchanging books, bits of paper and answer sheets. Some of the students were seen exiting the hall soon after the answer sheet was given and returning after nearly half an hour. There was clear evidence of mass copying, the official said.

In the footage submitted by Adi Parasakthi College, invigilators could be walking very close to writing desks, peering into answer scripts and talking to students. “All of this is not allowed as per the examination rules,” the official said.

The disciplinary committee spoke to the Madha college management including the former dean Dr K Gajendran. The college management refused to speak to the TOI but a senior management official claimed that they were not aware of the malpractice. Our dean has been changed. If the college was a party to the malpractice why would we send the original video tape of the examination, he asked. Officials at the Adi Parasakthi Medical College were not available for comment.

Although results of the second, third and final year batches of MBBS students across all affiliated colleges were released between August 23 and August 26, results of students from Madha College were on hold.

Anonymous letter on impersonation

Chennai:

The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University has received an anonymous letter alleging that a candidate who joined the Madras Medical Mission in 2018 may have resorted to impersonation in NEET. The letter says while the candidate scored around 900 in Class XII exam, he got more than 400 in NEET, which paved way for a seat in the premier Madras Medical College (MMC). Although the student was born and raised in Chennai, he wrote the exam from a centre in Delhi, the letter said. University officials have forwarded a copy of the letter to the MMC and the directorate of medical education. “We will be asking them for a verification report,” a senior official said. TNN

PG medical students may have to serve in district hospitals to be eligible to appear in final exam

Currently, students pursuing undergraduate medical courses are attached to primary health centres or urban health centres for three months as part of a compulsory rotating internship.

EDUCATION Updated: Oct 17, 2019 17:55 IST

Press Trust of India

New Delhi

All PG students shall undertake a rotation in designated district hospitals for a period of three months as a part of the course curriculum. (Representational image)(HT file)

All postgraduate medical students will have to serve in district hospitals for at least three months in order to be eligible to appear in the final exam, a Board of Governors (BoG), vested with the powers of the Medical Council of India (MCI), has proposed.

Currently, students pursuing undergraduate medical courses are attached to primary health centres or urban health centres for three months as part of a compulsory rotating internship.

The BoG has written to the Health Ministry to develop guidelines for implementation of the proposal for postgraduate students in partnership with it and the state governments. It has also sought that this provision comes into force from the next academic session.

“The move is aimed at providing practical experience to future specialists in real-life setting of the country’s public health system. Also, this will help address shortage of specialist doctors in district hospitals of rural and remote areas, and help strengthen services at such hospitals,” a senior government official said.

The note sent to the Union Health Ministry said all postgraduate students shall undertake a rotation in designated district hospitals/health system for a period of three months as a part of the course curriculum.

For postgraduate students of community medicine, the requirement can be posting at primary health centres and field experience in addition to activities at the district hospital.

“Satisfactory completion of this rotation shall be an essential condition before the candidate is allowed to appear in the final examination of the respective postgraduate course. The Ministry of Health is requested to develop guidelines for the scheme in partnership with the state government and BoG in three months,” it read.

A feud that spilled on to Alliance campus
18/10/2019, STAFF REPORTER,BENGALURU

he tussle for ownership of Alliance University between its co-founders — the brothers Madhukar and Sudhir Angur — goes back several years and spilled on to the campus, much to the dismay of students. In 2016, classes were postponed and the university was later temporary closed. At the time, students had approached the Governor of Karnataka and the Ministry of Human Resource Development, seeking their intervention.

The State government ordered an investigation and decided to place an administrator on the campus to ensure the smooth functioning of the university. However, the plan failed to take off. A one-man committee appointed by the government unearth an alleged scam to the tune of ₹96 crore. “As the two brothers fought for power, it had a deep impact of the university. Every time the head would change, our faculty members and our staff would be changed. The reputation of the university took a hit and reached a low point when the feud began affecting placements,” said a former student of the university.

Meanwhile, Madhusudhan Mishra, Registrar of Alliance University, said in a press release that the university and its members were “shocked and saddened” by the death of Ayyappa R. Dore, who was Vice-Chancellor of Alliance University between 2010 and 2013. “During his tenure, he served the university diligently and continued to be a well-wisher... The university will definitely extend support, if needed, in ensuring that the perpetrators are brought to light and firmly believes that investigations will be carried out diligently to identify both the cause and the persons behind the criminal act,” said the release.

Ola launches self-drive service

18/10/2019, STAFF REPORTER,BENGALURU

At the moment, Ola-Drive has a fleet of 500 cars.File Photo Bhagya Prakash K

The app-based cab aggregator Ola has launched a self-driving service that will allow customers to rent a car for anywhere between two hours and three months. The service, Ola-Drive, claims to offer people the chance to customise their package by choosing the number hours, kilometres and fuel.

At the moment, the service — with a fleet of 500 cars — is limited to Bengaluru, with plans for expansion to Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad. Ola aims to increase its fleet to 20,000 cards by 2020 and has plans to invest about $200 million into Ola-Drive.

At a press conference on Thursday, Arun Srinivas, chief sales and marketing officer of Ola, said, “In the first phase of its rollout, Ola-Drive will be offered as a short-term self-drive car-sharing service, as we look to introduce long-term subscription, corporate leasing and more options in the times to come.”

The standard distance option ranges from 8 km to 60 km, with a charge of ₹8 for every additional km. All cars will have an in-built navigation system. A 24x7 helpline will also be available for roadside assistance in the event of car breakdown. For customer safety, Ola has an in-app emergency button and live tracking option.

At present, there are five stations from where the cars can be picked up — at parking levels of Garuda Mall, Ashok Nagar; Forum Mall, Koramangala; Vega City Mall, Bannerghatta; Ola Drive Zone; and Golf View Campus (IBC), Murugeshpalya.

How it works

The user is given the option of choosing among four models of cars. He can also select the distance and time he wishes to use the car for. Any change in actual time or distance travelled will be adjusted at the time of bill calculation. The user can pick up and drop the car at any of the five designated stations.

Killers planned for months, but were nabbed in hours

Suraj Singh stalked the former V-C of Alliance University for weeks before murdering him; the game was given away by phone and CCTV records

18/10/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,BENGALURU

Friends and relatives waiting for the body of Ayyappa R. Dore at his house in R.T. Nagar.V. Sreenivasa Murthy V Sreenivasa Murthy

Suraj Singh spent a month and a half stalking Ayyappa R. Dore, the former Vice-Chancellor of Alliance University, whom he allegedly murdered on Tuesday night. Madhukar Angur, co-founder of the university, was next on his list. Suraj had checked into a hotel early on Wednesday to plan the murder when he was arrested.

According to the police, the 27-year-old business management graduate, who was arrested in less than 24 hours after the deed came to light, confessed that he committed the crime at the behest of Sudhir Angur, Madhukar’s brother and co-founder of Alliance University. Sudhir had hired him as an officer in Alliance’s administrative section a few months ago. “Sudhir offered ₹1 crore to Suraj. He also offered ₹20 lakh to each of Suraj’s four associates who helped him murder Ayyappa,” said City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao at a press meet on Thursday.

The accused had stalked both Ayyappa and Madhukar for the past month and a half to monitor their movements. They zeroed in on Ayyappa after realising that he went for a walk almost every night after dinner. On Tuesday night, Suraj and his four associates waited in two bikes near Ayyappa’s house in R.T. Nagar till 10.30 p.m. When the former Vice-Chancellor failed to turn up, they almost called it a day and decided to return home. However, just as they were getting ready to leave, they saw Ayyappa coming out of his house. That day, he had gone to pick up his wife from a relative’s house and returned home only late in the evening.

The accused followed him for a few yards and confronted him near HMT Ground, which was isolated. They then allegedly attacked him with weapons and sped away.

After committing the murder, Suraj parted ways with his friends and rode to Sudhir’s house in BTM Layout. According to the police, the two men celebrated all night and Suraj left his employer’s house only by 4 a.m.

Sudhir allegedly gave him ₹25,000 and instructed him to execute his brother, Madhukar. Suraj left the house and checked into a hotel to plan the murder. “By then, the police tracked him to the hotel and arrested him,” said an inspector who was part of the team. Mobile phones and frequent calls were what had given the game away. The police, who suspected Sudhir, gathered clues from call record details and CCTV footage. “ Ayyappa’s wife told us about the recent fight between Sudhir and her husband over a ₹12-crore fund belonging to the college. We verified the details with the college staff,” said a senior police officer.

When they analysed Sudhir’s call record details, they found that he had received a call from R.T. Nagar around the time Ayyappa was murdered. After the police tracked Suraj down and got him to confess, they arrested Sudhir from his house. Suraj is said to have told the police that Sudhir had paid him ₹1.5 lakh over the past four months and had even promised to get him out of prison if he were to be arrested.

The city police have taken Sudhir and Suraj into custody for further investigation. The police are now on the hunt for the four associates of Suraj, who are on the run. The accused are all residents of Hebbal and J.C. Nagar and worked as mechanics and drivers, said the police.

Lauding the quick action of the police team, Mr. Rao announced a cash reward of ₹1 lakh for the team.

Alliance University co-founder arrested for murder of ex-VC
Sudhir Angur had also plotted to murder his brother: Police

18/10/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,BENGALURU

Main accused Sudhir Angur and Suraj Singh being escorted by the police to the Commissioner’s office in Bengaluru on Thursday. V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Hours after Ayyappa R. Dore, former vice-chancellor of Alliance University, was found hacked to death near his house in R.T. Nagar, the police on Wednesday night arrested chancellor and co-founder of the university, Sudhir Angur, 57, and a university employee he had hired to carry out the murder.

Sudhir had allegedly also put out a contract on his younger brother, Madhukar Angur, whom he is at loggerheads with over the ownership of university.

Four months of planning

The former VC was murdered on Tuesday night while he was taking a walk at the HMT Ground in R.T. Nagar. The police believe that Sudhir set the ball rolling for the murder at least four months ago. “He turned to his employee Suraj Singh, 27, whom he had recently hired as an executive officer in the administration division of the university and offered him ₹1 crore to eliminate Ayyappa and Mr. Madhukar,” said Bhaskar Rao, Police Commissioner. Four other accused, who were with Suraj when he attacked Ayyappa, are on the run.

The siblings have allegedly been feuding for years over the ownership of the university, and have as many as 25 civil dispute cases pending before various courts. Ayyappa sided with Mr. Madhukar who had approached the Registrar of Companies (RoC) seeking ownership of the university. According to senior officials, Sudhir believed the RoC’s decision would favour his brother.

“Worried that he would not be able to claim ownership, Sudhir planned to eliminate both Ayyappa and Mr. Madhukar,” said a senior police official.

The official said that Ayyappa was close to Mr. Madhukar, and Sudhir was worried that he would use his local political connections to further his brother’s cause. Mr. Madhukar had also reportedly filed a complaint with the Higher Education Department seeking cancellation of the convocation ceremony of the Alliance University, which Sudhir had planned to hold on November 3. “This precipitated Sudhir’s plans to get rid of his brother,” said a senior police official.

The police have provided security to Mr. Madhukar. “I had a hunch that someone was following me. I discussed this with Ayyappa when I met him last Tuesday. His murder is unpardonable and Sudhir should be dealt with legally,” said Mr. Madhukar.

No OBC reservation for surrendered seats in MDS

Notification says 27% quota only in Central institutions

18/10/2019, STAFF REPORTER,CHENNAI

The notification issued last week for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) courses has once again triggered concerns among activists over the lack of reservation for Other Backward Classes in a section of seats available under the all-India quota.

Removing ambiguity over reservation for OBCs from last year’s notification, Section 12 of the notification issued now for MDS admissions for 2020 clearly states that the 27 % reservation for OBC as per Central government’s policy will be applicable only in Central government institutions and Central Universities for those from the non-creamy layer. This explicit mention, which was absent in last year’s notification, means that the reservation for OBCs will not be applicable to seats surrendered by State governments from institutions under its aegis for the all-India quota.

EWS quota

G.R. Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality (DASE), said what was more objectionable was that this year’s notification says that 10% reservation for the economically weaker sections will be provided in government dental colleges where the additionals seats have been sanctioned.

“For many years now, OBCs have been denied their share in the seats surrendered by State governments to all-India quota. While refusing to do that, the government is keen to implement reservation for EWS,” said Dr. Ravindranath, who filed a case earlier this year regarding regarding this issue in both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Arguing that reservation for OBCs was won after intense political struggle, P.B. Prince Gajendra Babu, State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu, said not even a few generations benefited yet since its implementation. “There is no rationale behind denying reservation. If these seats were not surrendered to all-India pool, OBCs would have benefited from State government’s reservation policy,” Dr. Ravindranath said.

Madras varsity ready to admit student on submission of documents

18/10/2019, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, CHENNAI

The University of Madras on Thursday told the High Court that it would admit T. Kirubamohan, 27, an active member of the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle, in a master’s course on Buddhism if he submits an ‘eligibility certificate’ from the Registrar of the varsity and a recommendation letter from the head of the Department of Journalism and Communication, where he had obtained his first master’s degree.

Advocate-General Vijay Narayan informed Justice G. Jayachandran that the provisional admission of the student in M.A. (Buddhism) course was cancelled on August 28 only because he failed to submit the eligibility certificate and recommendation letter. Appearing on behalf of the university, the A-G said the two documents were essential for grant of admission as per the university prospectus.

He pointed out that the writ petitioner Mr. Kirubamohan had obtained a bachelor’s degree from Anna University and then obtained his Master’s in Journalism and Communication from the University of Madras. Thereafter, he was granted provisional admission in M.A. Buddhism in July which was later cancelled.

The university rules prescribe that admission in M.A. (Buddhism) would be granted only if the candidate had pursued his undergraduation either in Madras University or in any other accepted by the Syndicate as equivalent. Since the petitioner pursued his undergraduation in engineering, he must produce an eligibility certificate.

After recording his submission and the arguments advanced by Senior Counsel N.R. Elango, representing the petitioner, the judge directed the petitioner to approach the authorities concerned for documents.

The student must be admitted in the course, the judge ordered and added that the entire exercise should be completed within three weeks.

Bharathidasan University accused of violating State’s quota policy

AUT accuses institute of following Central Act
18/10/2019, STAFF REPORTER,CHENNAI

The Association of University Teachers (AUT) has condemned Bharathidasan University (BDU) for adopting the reservation policy as per a Central act, which is in contravention of Tamil Nadu’s policy, in the ongoing recruitment of 54 faculty members.

It has blamed BDU for adopting the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Act of 2019, which says that the entire university must be treated as one unit while applying reservation policy, instead of the State government’s norms that demand that each department in the university be treated as a separate unit.

The notification of BDU inviting applications for the posts of 14 Professors, 14 Associate Professors and 26 Assistant Professors in in 28 departments was issued on July 8, 2019.

On August 29, Mangat Ram Sharma, Principal Secretary of Higher Education Department (HED), issued a clarification to all universities stating that the Central act did not apply to 13 universities under the aegis of HED.

Condemning BDU for going ahead with the recruitment as per Central act, M.S. Bala Murugan, General Secretary, AUT, said the ‘unilateral’ and ‘provocative’ move of BDU would complicate the situation in other universities and lead to arbitrary implementation and ‘sabotage’ of reservation policy.

‘Ethnic purity’

AUT, in a letter to the Principal Secretary seeking intervention, said the policy of treating university as one unit may be leveraged by vested interests to maintain ‘ethnic purity’ in departments of their choice by allocating vacancies in them to particular reservation categories. K. Pandian, former president, AUT, said the association, barring some concerns, was in principle favour of treating university as one unit as it increased the possibility of better representation to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Communities.

“However, the problem here is about a State-run university going against the reservation policy of the State government. The Tamil Nadu government must clarify which policy is in force and whether individual universities can decide on their own,” he said.

P. Manisankar, Vice-Chancellor, BDU, said the notification treated university as one unit since it was issued before the clarification of Principal Secretary.

“The recruitment is not over. We have only received the applications. We have taken up this matter with the State government and are awaiting their concurrence or clarification. We will act accordingly,” he said.

Kuvempu University convocation Notification

HC grants bail to medico, rejects father’s plea in NEET case

‘Student’s father was the brain behind the whole episode’

18/10/2019, B. TILAK CHANDAR,MADURAI

Considering the age of the first medical student arrested in the NEET impersonation case, Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday granted bail to the student. However, the bail petition of his father was dismissed. Justice G.R. Swaminathan said the student’s father was at the centre of the scheme of things and his son had played along. It appears that the father was the manipulator and had drawn inspiration from the Tamil film, Vasool Raja MBBS, the court said. The court, apart from taking into account the age of the student, said that it appeared that the boy was seriously affected by the whole episode.

His continued incarceration was not required, the court said and directed the student to appear before the Deputy Superintendent of Police of the CB-CID, Madurai, daily as per conditions. Denying bail to the father, the court asked why the petition should be considered when he had failed to cooperate with the investigation.

Information from NTA

The court took cognisance of the information provided by the National Testing Agency that revealed the fact that an impersonator had written the exam in Mumbai in the student’s name, while the student wrote it in Chennai.

Dearness allowance for State govt. employees up 5%
Arrears to be with retrospective effect from July 1
18/10/2019, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday hiked the Dearness allowance (DA) for its employees by 5% with effect from July 1.

“The additional instalment of DA payable under these orders shall be paid in cash with effect from July 1,” a Government Order issued in this regard said.

The payment of DA arrears from July to September this year would be drawn and disbursed immediately by existing cashless mode of Electronic Clearance System (ECS).

The revised DA would apply to the teaching and non-teaching staff working in aided educational institutions, employees under local bodies, employees governed by the University Grants Commission/All India Council for Technical Education scales of pay, the Teachers/Physical Education Directors/Librarians in government and aided polytechnics and special diploma institutions. Village assistants in the Revenue Department, noon meal organisers, child welfare organisers, anganwadi workers, cooks, helpers, panchayat secretaries or clerks in village panchayat under the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department are also eligible for the revised DA.

Follows Centre’s move

It may be recalled that the Centre had recently enhanced DA to its employees with effect from July 1.

Purohit against freeing seven Rajiv case convicts

He disagreed with T.N. Cabinet’s stand

18/10/2019, T. RAMAKRISHNAN,CHENNAI

Banwarilal Purohit has not conveyed anything in writing to the government.

Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit is said to have informally indicated to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami that he is not inclined to agree with the Cabinet’s recommendation to release seven life convicts in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

As of now, Mr. Purohit has not conveyed anything in writing to the government about his decision. But the hint from him is that he would not like to go along with the Cabinet’s recommendation made in September last year for premature release of the convicts, according to multiple sources.

No surprise

The Governor’s position should not be a matter of surprise, an official explained, in the light of a Presidential Order issued through the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in April 2018.

In response to the State government’s proposal in February 2014 and March 2016 to release the convicts, the order said the move would “set a very dangerous precedent and lead to international ramifications”.

Before making its recommendation in September last year, the government received opinion from Advocate-General Vijay Narayan too. He held that the Governor had “unfettered power” under Article 161 (to grant pardons and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases) to decide on their release.

In the last year or so, the State government sent a few reminders to the Raj Bhavan, but the response was that the matter was under “consideration”, said the sources.

Jaffna puts civil war behind, flight services resume after 40 years
An Alliance Air Flight From Chennai Touches Down To Mark The Inauguration
Ayyappan.V@timesgroup.com

Jaffna:

After redeveloping Jaffna international airport, Sri Lanka is looking at further collaboration with India, especially the south, to develop its northern province.

Sri Lanka President M Sirisena inaugurated the airport, which was redeveloped at₹1,950 million (Sri Lankan rupee) of which India funded ₹300 million (Sri Lankan rupee). An Alliance Air flight from Chennai touched down to mark the commencing of commercial operations at the airport after a gap of 40years following the LTTEled civil war in the island nation.

At the inauguration, Sri Lanka PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said that India-Sri Lanka collaboration has potential for economic development of the Jaffna region. “India has shown willingness to develop Jaffna and funds were given. India has invested Sri Lankan ₹300 million to develop Jaffna airport. Fastest growing region in Indian Ocean will be South Asia. We should settle all issues by internal discussions and should not go to war that will lead to disappearance of South Asian miracle.” Northern province governor Suren Raghavan said the development of Jaffna airport was a step to improve an area that was in tatters once.

Hinting about the significance of Alliance Air flight landing at the airport on its day of inauguration, he said, “This is not a mere opening of an airport but to rebuild relations with international destinations. Now, it is easy to go to Chennai than to go to Colombo and then fly to Chennai.”

However, he pointed out the need to hand over land to around 2,000 families staying near Jaffna airport. “They are still like refugees and are yet to get their land back.”

High commissioner of India to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu said that bilateral relations between India and Sri Lanka have now truly touched the sky. “The inaugural flight was yet another example of India’s commitment to continue with people-oriented development projects in Sri Lanka. It was also a reflection of the shared commitment to further strengthen people-to-people ties between India and Sri Lanka which lies at the heart of the bilateral relationship.”

It may be recalled that Indian government had earlier extended grant assistance for the rehabilitation of runway and basic infrastructure at the Palaly airfield under the MoU concluded in November 2005 with the Sri Lankan government.

He said the people-oriented projects that were on in Sri Lanka include restoration of railway line, emergency ambulances, help to fishing community in Hambantota, IT centre at Jaffna, university auditorium, upgrading KKS harbour which will become port, and others covering housing, education, sports, water, livelihood.

Minister of civil aviation Arjuna Ranatunga, responding to a question on Chinese investment, said, “Our government does not have money. China has funds. Our projects are open to competition. We are planning to buy 2,000 buses. It is open to all. India, Malaysia, China or anybody can participate. So far there is no Chinese investment in developing airport infrastructure in Sri Lanka. But we do get a lot of flights bringing in Chinese tourists.”

(This correspondent was in Jaffna at the invitation of Alliance Air)

GRAND WELCOME: The Alliance Air flight gets a water salute at Jaffna International Airport on Thursday

HC notice to Centre on NEET cut-off for Indian med courses

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:18.10.2019

The minimum NEET cut-off mark for admission to Indian medicine courses such as Siddha and Ayurveda should be reduced by the central government, says a petition filed in the Madras high court by an Erode-based student.

G Naveenbharathy claimed that due to high NEET cut-off mark, 230 seats under government quota and 278 seats under management quota remains vacant for the academic year 2019-20. Admitting the plea, Justice G Jayachandran on Thursday directed the Union government to file its reply by October 30.

According to the petitioner, NEET was made mandatory for admission to Indian medicine undergraduate courses and alternative medicine courses such as homeopathy from the academic year 2019-20. But due to the high NEET cut-off mark prescribed by the authorities, many eligible students, who had secured good marks in Class XII board exams, failed to achieve the cut-off resulting in huge vacancies in both government and management quota seats, he said.

Pointing out that when similar situation happened in admission to dental courses, the cut-off marks were reduced by the government, the petitioner wanted the court to direct the government to follow the same procedure for admission to Indian medicine courses also.

As the last date for admission to such courses was October 15, the petitioner asked the court to direct the ministry to extend the admission date till November 15 as done during the previous year.

Pointing out that cut-off marks for admission to dental courses were reduced, the plea wanted HC to direct the government to follow the same procedure for admission to Indian medicine courses

NEET

NEET TWICE a year: Government hasn’t junked the proposal, says NTA chief

New Delhi:

Government is still considering the proposal to conduct National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the gateway to MBBS courses in India, twice a year, a recent media report has stated.

The report, published in the daily Indian Express has stated that confirmation to this effect has been made by the  Director National Testing Agency (NTA) Vineet Joshi who informed that the government is still considering the proposal

“We have received lots of communications from the students and teachers across the country and are, therefore, thinking of conducting it twice a year, like the JEE Main,” he told the daily.

Medical dialogues had eralier reported about the proposal that  had originated in the year 2018 when HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar announced the ambitious plan of conducting the medical and dental entrance exam, along with the Joint Entrance Examination – Main for admission to engineering colleges, twice a year by the newly-formed National Testing Agency (NTA).

National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), whose conduction earlier was the responsibility of the Central Board of Secondary Education(CBSE) had consequently changed hands with the charge of conduction of this all India test falling on the shoulders of the newly formed National Testing Agency(NTA).

The proposal was being considered to help medical aspirants improve their scores the same year, unlike in the previous case, where a year-long wait was in store if any aspirant failed to do well in the NEET annual exam .

However, the Health Ministry later wrote to the HRD Ministry, raising concerns on conducting the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) twice a year as the examination calendar may put additional pressure on the students.

Following this, the plan which was initially slated to begin in 2019 was junked.

Now raising the topic again, NTA Director confirmed that the proposal has not been completely disregarded and is still under consideration.  The planning is at the initial stage and the exam authority will proceed only after receiving approval from the Ministry of Health, he informed. The daily also reports that the Health Ministry is considering the proposal.
If passed then the proposal will come into effect in 2021 and no changes will be there in 2020 timeline.

பாரதியார் பல்கலைக்கழகத்துக்கு புதிய துணைவேந்தர் நியமனம்: ஆளுநர் பன்வாரிலால் புரோஹித் உத்தரவு 




கோவை பாரதியார் பல்கலைக்கழக துணைவேந்தராக நியமிக்கப்பட்ட பேராசிரியர் பி.காளிராஜுக்கு பணி நியமன ஆணையை ஆளுநர் பன்வாரிலால் புரோஹித் வழங்கினார்.

சென்னை

கோவை பாரதியார் பல்கலைக்கழக துணைவேந்தராக, சென்னை அண்ணா பல்கலைக்கழக உயிரி தொழில்நுட்பத் துறை பேராசிரியர் பி.காளிராஜை நியமித்து ஆளுநர் பன்வாரிலால் புரோஹித் உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளார்.

இதுகுறித்து ஆளுநர் மாளிகை வெளியிட்ட செய்திக்குறிப்பில் கூறியிருப்பதாவது:

பாரதியார் பல்கலைக்கழக துணைவேந்தராக பேராசிரியர் பி.காளிராஜை ஆளுநர் பன்வாரி லால் புரோஹித் நியமித்துள்ளார். இவர் 3 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு இப் பல்கலைக்கழக துணைவேந்தராக பணியாற்றுவார்.

31 ஆண்டுகள் ஆசிரியர் பணி

பேராசிரியர் காளிராஜ் 31 ஆண்டுகள் ஆசிரியப்பணியில் அனுபவம் பெற்றவர். தற்போது அண்ணா பல்கலைக்கழகத்தின் உயிரிதொழில்நுட்ப மையத்தின் ஐசிஎம்ஆர் மருத்துவ விஞ் ஞானியாக உள்ளார். அவர் பல்க லைக்கழக நிர்வாகத்தில் அனுபவம் வாய்ந்தவர்.

ஏற்கெனவே, அண்ணா பல் கலைக்கழக பொறுப்பு துணை வேந்தராகவும், டீன், உயிரி தொழில் நுட்பத்துறை தலைவ ராகவும், அண்ணா பல்கலைக்கழக சிண்டிகேட் உறுப்பினராக 20 ஆண்டுகளாகவும் அவர் பணியாற்றியுள்ளார்.

கடந்த 1999 முதல் 2004-ம் ஆண்டு வரை அமெரிக்காவின் தேசிய சுகாதார மையம், இல்லினாய்ஸ் பல்கலைக்கழகம் மற்றும் ஸ்காட்லாந்தில் உள்ள கிளாஸ்கோ பல்கலைக்கழகத்தின் ஆய்வுப்பணிகளில் இணைந்து பணியாற்றியுள்ளார்.

இவர் 69 ஆய்வு கட்டுரைகளை வெளியிட்டுள்ளதுடன், 42 முனைவர் பட்ட ஆய்வு மாணவர்களுக்கு நெறியாளராகவும் இருந்துள்ளார். கடந்த 2013-ம் ஆண்டு, இந்திய உயிரிதொழில்நுட்ப ஆராய்ச்சி சொசைட்டியின் வாழ்நாள் சாதனையாளர் விருதையும் பெற்றுள்ளார். இவ்வாறு ஆளுநர் மாளிகை வெளியிட்ட செய்திக்குறிப்பில் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.

நெருங்கும் தீபாவளி: 5% அக விலைப்படியை உடனே வழங்கிடுக- ஆசிரியர் சங்கம் வேண்டுகோள்

சென்னை

தீபாவளி நெருங்குவதால், மத்திய அரசைப் போல் தமிழக அரசும் 5% அகவிலைப்படியை உடனே வழங்க வேண்டும் என்று தமிழ்நாடு ஆசிரியர் சங்கம் வேண்டுகோள் விடுத்துள்ளது.

இதுதொடர்பாக அச்சங்கத்தின் மாநிலத்தலைவர் பி.கே.இளமாறன் இன்று வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிக்கையில், ''இந்தியாவில் அரசு வேலைகளில் இருக்கும் அனைவருக்கும் பொருளாதார விலைவாசி ஏற்ற, இறக்க அடிப்படையில், புள்ளியியல் கணக்கீட்டின்படி ஆண்டுக்கு இரு முறை அகவிலைப்படி வழங்கி வருவது நடைமுறையில் உள்ளது.

அதன் அடிப்படையில் மத்திய அரசு, ஊழியர்களுக்கு அகவிலைப்படி அறிவித்தவுடன் மாநில அரசும் தனது ஊழியர்களுக்கு அகவிலைப்படியை உடனடியாக வழங்குவது வழக்கம். கடந்த வாரம் மத்திய அரசில் பணிபுரிபவர்களுக்கு 5% அகவிலைப்படியை உயர்த்தி, அறிவிப்பு வெளியானது.

தற்போது தீபாவளிப் பண்டிகை நெருங்குவதால் தமிழ்நாடு அரசின் கீழ் பணிபுரியும் ஆசிரியர்- அரசு ஊழியர்களுக்கும் ஐந்து சதவீத அகவிலைப்படியினை உயர்த்தி வழங்கும்படி தமிழ்நாடு ஆசிரியர் சங்கம் சார்பில் வலியுறுத்துகிறோம்.

மேலும், அகவிலைப்படி நிலுவைத்தொகையை 01.07.2019 முதல் உயர்த்தி, ரொக்கமாக வழங்குவதன் மூலம் ஆசிரியர்- அரசு அலுவலர்கள், ஊழியர்கள், ஓய்வூதியதாரர்கள், குடும்ப ஓய்வூதியதாரர்கள் உள்ளிட்ட 18 லட்சம் பேரின் சுமார் ஒன்றரைக் கோடி குடும்பங்கள் மகிழ்ச்சியோடு தீபாவளி பண்டிகையைக் கொண்டாடுவர்.

பண்டிகை நெருங்குவதால் ஐந்து சதவீதம் அகவிலைப்படியினை உடனே வழங்க ஆவனசெய்யும்படி தமிழ்நாடு ஆசிரியர் சங்கம் சார்பில் முதல்வரை வேண்டுகிறேன்'' என்று தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

நீட் ஆள்மாறாட்ட வழக்கு: மாணவர் உதித் சூர்யாவுக்கு உயர் நீதிமன்றம் நிபந்தனை ஜாமீன்- தந்தை மனு தள்ளுபடி 

மதுரை

நீட் ஆள்மாறாட்ட வழக்கில் சிக்கிய சென்னை மாணவர் உதித் சூர்யாவுக்கு நிபந்தனை ஜாமீன் வழங்கி உயர் நீதிமன்ற மதுரைக் கிளை உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது.

நீட் தேர்வில் ஆள்மாறாட்டம் செய்த வழக்கில் சென்னையைச் சேர்ந்த மாணவன் உதித் சூர்யா, அவரது தந்தை டாக்டர் வெங்கடேசன் ஆகியோரை சிபிசிஐடி போலீஸார் கைது செய்தனர். இந்த வழக்கில் உதித் சூர்யா கைதாவதற்கு முன்பு உயர் நீதிமன்ற மதுரைக் கிளையில் முன்ஜாமீன் மனு தாக்கல் செய்தார். அவர் கைதான நிலையில் முன்ஜாமீன் மனு ஜாமீன் மனுவாக மாற்றப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இந்நிலையில் உதித் சூர்யாவின் ஜாமீன் மனு நீதிபதி ஜி.ஆர்.சுவாமிநாதன் முன்பு இன்று (அக்17) விசாரணைக்கு வந்தது. அப்போது அரசுத் தரப்பில், "வெங்கடேசன் இந்த முறைகேட்டிற்குத் துணையாக இருந்தவர்கள் குறித்த முழுத் தகவலையும் தெரிவிக்கவில்லை. விசாரணைக்குப் போதிய ஒத்துழைப்பும் வழங்கவில்லை" எனத் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டது.

அதற்கு நீதிபதி, "அதனை ஏற்க இயலாது. இந்த வழக்கில் தொடர்புடையவர்கள் அனைவரையும் கண்டறிவது அவசியம்" எனத் தெரிவித்தார். தொடர்ந்து, "வழக்கு விசாரணைக்கு ஒத்துழைப்பு வழங்காத நிலையில் எதற்காக ஜாமீன் வழங்க வேண்டும்?" எனக் கேள்வி எழுப்பினார்.

அதற்கு மனுதாரர் தரப்பில், காவலில் எடுக்கப்பட்டு விசாரிக்கப்பட்டபோது, தகவல்களை வழங்கிவிட்டதாகத் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டது.

இதனையடுத்து நீதிபதி, "இந்த வழக்கைப் பார்க்கும்போது 'வசூல்ராஜா எம்பிபிஎஸ்' படத்திலிருந்து திட்டம் கிடைத்துள்ளது போல் உள்ளது. மாணவர் உதித் சூர்யாவின் வயது மற்றும் மன அழுத்தப் பிரச்சனைகளைக் கருத்தில் கொண்டு, அவருக்கு மதுரை சிபிசிஐடி துணை கண்காணிப்பாளர் முன்பாக தினமும் காலை 10.30 மணிக்கு ஆஜராக வேண்டுமென்ற நிபந்தனையுடன் ஜாமீன் வழங்கப்படுகிறது.

ஆனால், வழக்கில் தொடர்புடையவர்களை அடையாளம் காண்பது அவசியம் என்பதால், தந்தை வெங்கடேசனின் ஜாமீன் மனு தள்ளுபடி செய்கிறது" என்று கூறி உத்தரவிட்டார்.

வாழ்க்கையைக் கெடுத்த தந்தை..

தொடர்ந்து நீதிபதி ஜி.ஆர்.சுவாமிநாதன், "மாணவர் உதித் சூர்யாவின் வாழ்க்கையை தந்தை வெங்கடேசன் கெடுத்துவிட்டார். அவரின் செயல்பாட்டைப் பார்க்கும்போது 'வசூல்ராஜா எம்பிபிஎஸ்' திரைப்படம்தான் நினைவுக்கு வருகிறது. அரசு மருத்துவராக இருந்த ஒருவரே இத்தகைய குற்றத்தைச் செய்யலாமா" எனக் கேட்டார்.

முன்னதாக, கடந்த விசாரணையின்போதும் நீதிபதி உதித் சூர்யா வழக்கில் அவரின் தந்தைதான் வில்லன் எனக் கூறியிருந்தார் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

Madras HC grants bail to student arrested in NEET scam; father stays in prison

Justice GR Swaminathan passed the order while allowing a bail petition filed by the student. The judge however dismissed the bail petition of his father Venkatesan.

Published: 17th October 2019 12:11 PM

By Express News Service

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court granted bail to one of the medical students who was arrested for impersonating in NEET examination.

Justice GR Swaminathan passed the order while allowing a bail petition filed by the student. The judge however dismissed the bail petition of his father Venkatesan.

Justice Swaminathan recalled the CB-CID's statement that Venkatesan has not been cooperating with the investigation. "The accused appears to have drawn inspiration from the Tamil movie Vasool Raja MBBS," the Judge further remarked.

Since the investigation is at a crucial stage and the modus operandi of the accused is yet to be ascertained, not to mention that the identification of the impersonator is also not revealed by Venkatesan, the Court is not inclined to grant bail to Venkatesan, the Judge stated and dismissed his petition.

However, observing that the student appears to be a 'victim of his father's deeds' who seems to have manipulated and manoeuvred the whole offence while the son just played along, the judge allowed the bail petition of the student, on condition that he has to appear before the Deputy Superintendent of Police of CB-CID, Madurai, every day.

Pvt hospital told to pay Rs 2 lakh relief for wrong treatment

She alleged that owing to the faulty transfusions and to the wrong diagnosis by the doctor, she developed kidney problems.
 
Published: 17th October 2019 06:29 AM | Last Updated: 17th October 2019 06:29 AM | A+A A-

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Five years after a woman faced prolonged illness due to a faulty treatment, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chengalpattu, directed the hospital to pay her a compensation of `2 lakh for negligence during blood transfusion that resulted in kidney problems.

According to petition submitted by R Joyce of Melkottaiyur, on August 28, 2014, she underwent blood transfusion at Sri Meenakshi Nursing Home at Kandigai near Korattur, as suggested by doctors to alleviate pain in her breasts. She paid Rs 11,500 for the treatment. As there was something wrong with the transfusion, it was done for the second time at the nursing home’s own clinic at Perungalathur the next day.

She alleged that owing to the faulty transfusions and to the wrong diagnosis by the doctor, she developed kidney problems. Unable to bear the pain she was admitted to a private hospital in Tambaram, where surgery was performed on September 2, 2014 and she was discharged on September 18. After sending a legal notice to Sri Meenakshi Nursing Home, she filed a petition in the consumer disputes redressal forum, seeking a compensation of Rs 4.5 lakh. Denying the allegations, the hospital counsel said that proper treatment was given to the patient who was present in there only for a few hours.

The forum, presided over by J Justin David and comprising members K Prameela and D Babu Varadharajan, observed that if the complainant had already had kidney problems, the hospital might have recorded the fact in the medical records while discharging her.

Check genuineness of all MBBS students admitted this year: HC
Court orders testing agency to provide fingerprints of all students to the police
 
17/10/2019 , Mohamed Imranullah S., CHENNAI

The Madras High Court has embarked on a major exercise of cleansing medical college admissions of issues like impersonation in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), students from private coaching centres getting an upper hand over poor students in admissions, and first-time NEET candidates being elbowed out of competition by those who make repeated attempts.

Justices N. Kirubakaran and P. Velmurugan on Wednesday directed the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET, to share with the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) the thumb impressions of all 4,250 candidates who got admission in government and private medical institutions in the State this year so that it could be verified whether all of them were genuine candidates. Since the CB-CID had so far collected concrete material to prove that six students had got admitted to the MBBS course this year through impersonation in NEET, and was suspecting the involvement of 13 more, the judges felt it will be prudent to check the genuineness of all 4,250 students who had got admitted in government and private medical colleges, apart from deemed universities, this year.

CBI as respondent

After Additional Advocate General P.H. Arvindh Pandian said that almost all the impersonators for the six students had appeared for the test in other States, and some private coaching centres may have played a crucial role in the illegality, the judges suo motu included the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) too as a respondent to a case before them, for a central agency will be in a better position to probe a pan-India crime. “It is seen from media reports that during Income Tax raids, huge unaccounted money has been seized from coaching centres. In Karnataka also, there seems to be a fraud committed for getting admission in medical colleges... When around 14 lakh students compete for 38,000 medical seats available in the country, there is bound to be heavy competition and in that process, this kind of fraud takes place, denying medical seats to deserving candidates,” the judges lamented.

Stressing the need for implementing a foolproof system, like a combination of a fingerprint checking mechanism and facial recognition technology, to prevent impersonation in NEET, the judges said all stakeholders, including the Centre, State governments and the Medical Council of India, should constitute a committee to evolve a new method which won’t allow any kind of illegality. The judges ordered that the media should refrain from disclosing the identity of young students. It was the bounden duty of the government to provide counselling to the students who had been arrested and released on bail so that they do not end up taking any extreme step, they observed.

Authoring the interim order, the senior judge in the Bench directed the Central and State governments to submit by October 24 the details of students who had cleared NEET in the first attempt and those who had cleared it after multiple attempts. The judges wanted to know how many had cleared NEET by attending private coaching centres and how many had done so without assistance from such centres. The order was passed while the court was hearing a writ appeal that had complained of large-scale irregularities in filling NRI quota seats in private medical colleges.

TNOU convocation
 
17/10/2019 , Special Correspondent

A student of the Tamil Nadu Open University’s Bachelor of Computer Application department will be presented the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA) award this year. The recipient, E. Priya, stood first in the degree programme.

She will receive the award at the university’s 12th convocation to be held on Friday.

At the event, 140 candidates who secured ranks will receive gold medals and 219 students who had secured second and third ranks at the university level will receive certificates. A total of 8,935 candidates are graduating this year, said registrar in-charge P. Thyagarajan.

Seven M.Phil degrees, 2,505 postgraduate degrees, 4,702 undergraduate degrees, 101 PG diplomas, 1,547 vocational diplomas and 73 diplomas will be distributed.

Answer scripts can be obtained by students under RTI, says HC
Petition filed by law university dismissed; told to dispose of applications

17/10/2019 , Legal Correspondent, CHENNAI 

Observing that evaluated answer scripts would fall squarely under the definition of the term “information” under the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005, the Madras High Court held that universities were bound to provide copies of such answer scripts to the examinees concerned.

Justice S.M. Subramaniam dismissed a writ petition filed by Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University, challenging an order passed by the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission on December 17, and directed it to dispose of all RTI applications made for the provision of copies of answer scripts.

The judge held that students should be given the option of seeking copies of their answer scripts either under the university rules, which might require them to pay a higher fee, or under the RTI Act, which enables applicants to obtain information from public institutions on payment of a nominal fee.

“The very object of the Right to Information Act, 2005, stipulates that democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information, which are vital to its functioning, and also to contain corruption and to hold governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed. Accountability in public administration is of paramount importance,” the judge observed.

‘A record’

He recalled that even the Supreme Court in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) versus Aditya Bandhopadhyay (2011) had observed that an unevaluated answer script should be considered as a document or record and that an evaluated answer script must be construed as information.

“Examining bodies (universities, examination boards, CBSE, etc.) are neither intelligence nor security organisations and therefore the exemption under Section 24 of the Act will not apply to them. The disclosure of information with reference to answer books does not also involve infringement of any copyright and therefore Section 9 will not apply,” the judgment read.

“Resultantly, unless the examining bodies are able to demonstrate that the evaluated answer books fall under any of the categories of exempted information enumerated in clauses (a) to (j) of Section 8(1), they will be bound to provide access to information, and any applicant can either inspect the document/record, take notes or obtain extracts of certified copies,” the judgement read. © 2017 All Rights Re

NTA to hold common test for 15 central univs

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:17.10.2019

The national testing agency (NTA) will conduct a common admission test for 15 of the central universities of the country from the 2020-21 academic session. These will include universities of Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jammu, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka among others.

The human resource development ministry is likely to give a nod to the proposal on Thursday. NTA is in talks with other central universities as well to join the common test. This is the first time NTA has been entrusted with the task of conducting the Central University common entrance test (CUCET) which till last year was conducted by the University of Rajasthan. “There is addition to the list of the universities for the academic session 2020-21 making it 15. And more are likely to join as NTA is in touch with other new universities like the Central University of Manipur,” said a source in MHRD.

The common entrance test for the 15 central universities for 2020-21 academic session will be conducted in May, 2020. The test would be conducted for around 50 undergraduate courses, over 170 post-graduate and over 100 MPhil and PhD programmes.

NTA conducted a computer-based entrance test for Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University this year for a limited number of courses.

“NTA has the capacity and capability as the final aim is to make it a premium testing agency. It has already delivered glitch-free, transparent and secure testing for JEE (Main), NEET, UGC-NET, DU and JNU entrance tests,” said a senior HRD official.

These will include universities of Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jammu, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka among others

Ex-VC of pvt univ murdered in B’luru

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:17.10.2019

A 53-year-old former vice-chancellor of a private university was hacked to death late on Tuesday night in a playground about 100ft from his R T Nagar residence and 50 metres from the jurisdictional police station.

D Ayyappa Dore, 53, former V-C of Alliance University and RTI activist, was found in a pool of blood around 5.30am on Wednesday when his wife Pavana Dibbur, also a former VC of the university, started searching for him. She alerted a passing police patrol vehicle that her husband was missing and his mobile phone was ringing.

In no time, police personnel found Dore’s body at the HMT Ground. The body bore half-a-dozen hack marks, and police suspected the killers may have been armed with machetes. Dore is survived by wife, two daughters and an eight-year-old son.

Nurturing political ambitions, Dore had floated Jana Samanyara Party in 2017 and unsuccessfully entered Muddebihal fray in Vijayapura district in the 2018 elections.

Bengaluru City police commissioner Bhaskar Rao announced three special teams to nab the assailants.

Full report on www.toi.in 

Shop sells biryani for 5paise, turns crowd fav

Padmini.Sivarajah@timesgroup.com

Madurai:17.10.2019

A biryani shop in Dindigul distributed packs of biryani for five paise on Wednesday to mark World Food Day (October 16), in a move to create awareness on the importance of preserving and maintaining old coins.

Sheik Mujibur Rahman, owner of the shop, said his visit to the Keeladi archaeological excavation site in Sivaganga district and the recent findings and reports about the site had enthralled him. “I realized how important it was to keep things that we used carefully for future generations to know about us. I decided to find out how many people had the five paise coins which are no longer in use,” he said.

He put up a signboard that the biryani, sold for ₹90 usually, will be sold for five paise. Hundreds of people thronged the shop with five paise coins in their hands on Wednesday.

Thirupathi, a customer said it was good that the shop had put out the sign two days ago as it gave them time to search for the five paise coin.

“My son rarely gets an opportunity to have biryani from the shop, so I found the five paise coin in a small tin box that my grandmother kept and came to the shop by 9.30am,” said Lakshmi, who got a pack. 



FIGHTING FOR SPACE

Exam answer sheet is information under RTI: HC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:17.10.2019

An evaluated answer sheet is information as defined under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and so a university cannot deny access to students, more so because the information does not fall under the exempted category for national security or copyright infringement, the Madras high court held on Wednesday.

Dismissing a plea moved by the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University challenging the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission’s order allowing students to get copies of answer scripts through RTI, Justice S M Subramaniam directed the university to supply them to students who wanted them.

The judge also rejected the university’s contention that it is governed by its own rules and said that the RTI Act overrides university statute.

The issue pertains to an order passed by the information commission dated December 17, 2018, directing the university to supply copies of answer scripts sought under the RTI Act by a student, Pavan Kumar Gandhi. Challenging the order, the university submitted that it is ready and willing to furnish copies of answer scripts on payment of charges prescribed under university rules.

Rejecting the contention of the university, the judge citied a series of Supreme Court orders and said, when an answer-book is evaluated by an examiner appointed by the examining body, the evaluated answer-book becomes a record containing the ‘opinion’ of the examiner. Therefore, the evaluated answerbook is also `information’ under the RTI Act.

Thus, there is no option for the university but to supply the evaluated answer scripts to Gandhi under the RTI Act, the court said.

Noting that the university cannot demand that students obtain copies of the script only by paying a prescribed fee, Justice Subramaniam relied on a apex court order which said that “the existence of two avenues is not mutually exclusive and it is up to the candidate to choose either of the routes. Thus, if a candidate seeks information under the provisions of the RTI, then payment has to be sought under the RTI Rules only”.

However, if the information is sought under the guidelines of the university, then the institution is at liberty to charge the candidates as per its guidelines, it added.

Under the law university rules, a student has to pay ₹500 to the controller of examinations to obtain copy of an answer sheet. However, as per the RTI rules, the applicant has to pay only ₹10 to get a copy.

The judge rejected the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University contention that it is governed by its own rules and said that the RTI Act overrides university statute

ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH TO ACE NEET IN STATE

Repeaters Grab 3 Out Of 4 Seats In MBBS Courses, Pointing To The Influence Of Coaching In Acing Medical Entrance

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com 17.10.2019

In a span of three years, the number of old students joining MBBS in Tamil Nadu has increased from 12% to 70%, after introduction of NEET. If the trend continues, the percentage of old students may touch 90% in the future.

The trend emerged from admission data provided by Directorate of Medical Education. The numbers, obtained through RTI, reveal that around 70% of students joining medical colleges in Tamil Nadu in 2019 were not straight out of school (seniors or repeaters) and had spent a few years preparing for the exam.

Of the 4,202 students who joined MBBS this year in the state, 2,916 were old students. While two students from the 2010 (Class XII) batch joined medical colleges, 2,371 from the 2018 batch have got admitted. Among 2,762 state board students who joined medical colleges, 2,402 students (87%) were repeaters. Of 1,368 CBSE students, 482 (35%) were old students.

In 2016, when admissions were last conducted based on Class XII marks, only 450 repeaters (12%) had joined the MBBS course. The huge number of repeaters joining MBBS courses points to the effect of an ever-growing NEET coaching industry.

According to sources, over 10,000 training centres, both formal and informal, have mushroomed all over the state in last three years, turning ‘NEET coaching’ into a Rs500 crore industry.

“NEET gives an advantage to old students as current students have to prepare both for board exams and common medical entrance,” said Dr GR Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality.

He said the National Testing Agency should fix an upper age limit and cap number of attempts. “The syllabus for NEET also needs to be updated every three years to avoid giving undue advantage to old students,” he said.

At present, there is no limit on the number of attempts a student can make for NEET.

“It is becoming a trend that students need to spend one year extra for coaching to get MBBS seats. It takes time for students to change from board exam mode to competitive exam mode,” said Dr Prasad Manne, secretary, Kilpauk Medical College Alumni Association.

With more number of high scorers, the cutoff for the exam this year has shot up by 80 to 100 marks.

“With repeated practice and learning, a student with 300 marks last year is able to get 500 marks in his second attempt,” said P Swaminathan, secretary, SRV Schools.

The percentage of old students will increase in the coming years, he said. “The percentage of current batch students may go below 10% in a year or two.”

Fewer govt school students get through

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 17.10.2019

Government school students are not cracking NEET and bagging medical seats as much as they did three years ago.

From 34 students in 2016, the number of government school students joining medical colleges has plummeted to 2 this year. On the flipside, the number of CBSE students has risen from 35 in 2016 to 1,368 in 2019.

NEET was made mandatory for MBBS admissions in Tamil Nadu from 2017. Prior to that, admissions to medical colleges in Tamil Nadu were based on marks obtained in Class XII.

“Even the two students who cracked NEET were repeaters and not current batch students,” a source said.

After introduction of NEET for medical admissions in Tamil Nadu, only seven students from government schools joined MBBS in 2017, while five joined in 2018, according to the Directorate of Medical Education. So far, only 14 students from government schools have aced NEET in last three years.

“Unless there is a separate quota for government school students, they cannot enter into the medical colleges,” said Dr GR Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality.

Some teachers believed that the NCERT syllabus-based NEET lends an unfair advantage to CBSE students. “Many state board students have not even seen NCERT books from which questions are asked in NEET,” a teacher said.

“There is a big gap in coaching facilities for government school students and those from other boards,” said P B Prince Gajendrababu of State Platform for Common School System, on prospects of government students cracking NEET.

Last year, 19,355 students were coached at state-run coaching centres.

HC bats for CBI probe into NEET cases

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:17.10.2019

The Madras high court on Wednesday asserted that it would be appropriate for a central agency to investigate the alleged impersonation in NEET as the fraud was a pan-India phenomenon and suggested facial recognition technology to confirm the identity of students.

A division bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice P Velmurugan also directed the media to refrain from exposing the identity of the students, who are alleged to have impersonated. “The parents are responsible as they are the ones thrusting their wish upon children to become doctors. Therefore, the media shall refrain themselves from publishing the photographs or reveal their identity in the best interest of the students,” the bench said.

The court noted that it is the bounden duty of the government to provide counselling to students who have been arrested, even after they are released.

Directing the National Testing Agency (NTA) to provide fingerprint copies of all the 4,250 students admitted to MBBS courses in the state to the CB-CID to verify their credentials, the bench said, “The process of conducting examination, counselling and getting admission into the medical colleges should be designed in a way to make it a combined process by making use of thumb impression and facial recognition technology to confirm the identity of the students at every stage.”

The court then suo motu impleaded the CBI, the director general of health services, New Delhi, and 13 deemed-to-be private universities running medical colleges in the state as party respondents to the plea.

Noting that the role of NEET coaching centres in the fraud cannot be ruled out, the bench said that the centre government should bring in a procedure to register the coaching centres with an authority so that cases of fraud by coaching centres can be detected immediately.

Also, asserting that allowing students to give multiple attempts in NEET and permitting them to compete with freshers would amount to inequality, the court directed the authorities to provide the details of number of freshers admitted this year by October 24. 



CALL FOR ACTION

NEET impersonation case: Madras HC impleads CBI as respondent 

Chennai, Oct 16 (PTI) The Madras High Court on Wednesday impleaded the CBI as respondent in a case related to NEET impersonation, saying the role of coaching centres cannot be ruled out as students got admission by defrauding in the medical entrance examination held outside the state.

A division bench, comprising justices N Kirubakaran and P Velmurugan, impleaded the agency on its own while hearing a petition by S Dheera related to medical admissions.

The bench noted that since the students impersonated and got admission by writing the examination outside the state, the fraud should be an all-India phenomenon and many students in various states should have got admission by impersonation.

"Since the jurisdiction of CB-CID is only confined to the state government, it would be appropriate for a central agency to investigate into the matter as the medical colleges are located in various parts of our country and the fraud is pan India," the bench said and impleaded CBI as respondent.

Additional Advocate General P H Arvind Pandiyan submitted that the CB-CID which is probing the case, has till date arrested six persons, including four students.

He added that Tamil Nadu has 4,250 medical seats out of the 38,000 seats available all over India.

However, getting admission by impersonation has surfaced only in Tamil Nadu, he said.

The bench, while raising doubts about candidates who appeared for the exam, noted that the AAG had submitted that the CB-CID has received about 19 suspected candidates'' thumb impressions from the National Testing Agency.

It has to be verified whether the students who got admission were the same persons who wrote NEET, it said.

The court then directed NTA to send all details,including thumb impressions, which were taken manually, to CB-CID and file a compliance report by the next hearing, to find out if any other candidates have got admission by impersonation.

The bench restrained the media from publishing photographs or revealing identities of students who are said to have impersonated and got admission.

"It is only an allegation against the students and if their identities are revealed to society, they will be shamed, affecting their future," it said.

As they are young children, their rights have to be protected and mostly the students'' role is very restricted, except to act as per the directions of their parents.

The bench was of the opinion that there should be a foolproof method by which the admission process can be done and only meritorious students could get admission into medical colleges.

The entire process, right from conduct of exams,counselling and getting admission into medical colleges should be a ''combined process,'' making use of thumb impression and facial recognition technology to confirm their identities, it said.

For the purpose, the bench by itself impleaded the Director General of Health Services, New Delhi, as party respondent to this proceedings and then posted the matter to October 24.

Dheeranhad filed a petition against the order of a single judge, dismissing his plea for a direction to the Tamil Nadu government to undertake proper counselling and ''mop up'' procedure to fill up 207 management quota seats. PTI COR APR ZMN Disclaimer :- This story has not been edited by Outlook staff and is auto-generated from news agency feeds. Source: PTI

'மாஜி' அமைச்சரின் கல்லுாரி ரூ.110 கோடி கடனுக்காக ஏலம்

Added : அக் 16, 2019 03:57


திருச்சி:முன்னாள் அமைச்சர்நேரு குடும்பத்திற்கு சொந்தமான இன்ஜி., கல்லுாரி, பள்ளி உட்பட, 80 ஏக்கர் நிலம், 110 கோடி ரூபாய் கடனுக்காக, 14ல் ஏலத்துக்கு வர உள்ளது.

தி.மு.க.,வைச் சேர்ந்த, முன்னாள் அமைச்சர் நேருவின் தந்தை, நாராயணன் பெயரில், கல்வி அறக்கட்டளை உள்ளது. நேருவின் குடும்பத்தினர், அறக்கட்டளை உறுப்பினர்களாக உள்ளனர். இந்த கல்வி அறக்கட்டளை சார்பில், திருச்சி, சோழன்நகரில், 80 ஏக்கர் பரப்பில், 'கேர்' இன்ஜினியரிங் கல்லுாரி மற்றும் பள்ளி செயல்பட்டு வருகிறது.

மேற்கண்ட நிலம் மற்றும் கட்டடங்களை அடமானமாக வைத்து, நாராயணன் அறக்கட்டளை சார்பில், கண்டோன்மெண்ட் இந்தியன் வங்கியில், சில ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன் கடன் வாங்கப் பட்டுள்ளது.ஆனால் நேரு குடும்பத்தினர், கடனை செலுத்தவில்லை என்பதால், கடந்த ஆண்டு, வங்கி நிர்வாகம், அடமானம் வைத்த இடத்தையும், கட்டடங்களையும், தன் கட்டுப்பாட்டில் கொண்டு வந்துள்ளது.

அசலுடன், வட்டியுடன் சேர்த்து, தற்போது, 110 கோடி ரூபாயை, வங்கிக்கு செலுத்த வேண்டும். கடனை செலுத்தாததால், மேற்கண்ட சொத்தை ஏலம் விட, இந்தியன் வங்கி முடிவு செய்து உள்ளது. அதன்படி, நவம்பர், 14ல், கேர் கல்லுாரி, பள்ளி செயல்பட்டு வரும் கட்டடங்கள் மற்றும் இடம் ஏலம் விடப்படும் என, இந்தியன் வங்கி அறிவித்துள்ளது.நேரு குடும்பத்திற்கு சொந்தமான கல்லுாரி மற்றும் பள்ளி ஏலத்துக்கு வருவது, தி.மு.க.,வினர் மத்தியில் அதிர்ச்சியை ஏற்படுத்தியுள்ளது.