Nirbhaya convicts hanged to death: A brief timeline of the case that shook India

The four convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case were hanged to death on March 20, at 5.30 am.

PTI

NEWS NIRBHAYA FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2020 - 08:17

Sanyukta Dharmadhikari Follow @dramadhikari

The four convicts in the horrific 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case — Mukesh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) — were executed on March 20, Friday, at 5.30 am. The brutal gangrape-and-murder of a 23-year-old woman on December 16, 2012, had shaken the entire nation and the trial in the case has spanned over seven years. Here is a brief chronology of events since December 16: 

December 16, 2012: The paramedical student was gangraped and brutally assaulted by five men and a juvenile in a private bus and thrown out of the moving vehicle along with her male friend. The victims were admitted to Safdarjung Hospital.

December 17: Widespread protests erupted across Delhi and many parts of India, demanding stringent action against the accused. Delhi police identified the accused — bus driver Ram Singh, his brother Mukesh, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta.

December 18: Ram Singh and three others were arrested.

December 20: Victim's friend, who was with her on the bus, testified.

December 21: The juvenile in the case was nabbed from Anand Vihar bus terminal in Delhi. Victim's friend identified Mukesh as one of the culprits. Police conducted raids in Haryana and Bihar to nab the sixth accused, Akshay Thakur.

December 21-22: Akshay Thakur was arrested in Aurangabad district of Bihar and was brought to Delhi. The victim recorded her statement before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate in hospital.

December 23: Protesters defied prohibitory orders and took to the streets demanding justice for the victim. Delhi police constable Subhash Tomar, on duty to control protests, was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.

December 25: The victim’s condition was declared critical. Constable Tomar succumbed to his injuries.

December 26: Following a cardiac arrest, the victim was transported to Singapore's Mount Elizabeth Hospital by the government.

December 29: Victim succumbed to her injuries at the hospital in Singapore. Delhi police then added murder charge in the FIR against the six accused.

January 2, 2013: Then Chief Justice of India, Altamas Kabir, inaugurated a fast track court (FTC) for a speedy trial in sexual offence cases.

January 3: Delhi police filed chargesheet against five adults who were accused of murder, gangrape, attempt to murder, kidnapping, unnatural offences and dacoity.

January 5: Delhi court took cognisance of the chargesheet.

January 7: Court ordered in-camera proceedings.

January 17: A fast track court started proceedings against the five adult accused.

January 28: Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) stated that it has been proved that the juvenile is a minor.

February 2: Fast track court framed charges against five adult accused.

February 28: Juvenile Justice Board framed charges against the minor accused.

March 11: Accused Ram Singh allegedly took his own life in Tihar Jail.

March 22: Delhi High Court allowed national media to report the trial court's proceedings.

July 5: Inquiry (trial) in Juvenile Justice Board against the juvenile in concluded. The Juvenile Justice Board reserved the verdict for July 11.

July 8: The fast track court completed the recording of testimonies of the prosecution witnesses.

July 11: Juvenile Justice Board held minor also guilty of illegally confining and robbing a carpenter on December 16, one night before taking part in the gangrape. On the same day, the Delhi High Court also allowed three international news agencies to cover the trial in the case.

August 22: Fast track court began hearing of the final arguments in the trial against four adult accused.

August 31: Juvenile Justice Board convicted the minor for gangrape and murder and awarded three-year term at a probation home.

September 3: Fast track court concluded the trial and reserved its verdict.

September 10: Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay, Pawan were convicted of 13 offences including gangrape, unnatural offence and murder of the woman and attempt to murder her male friend.

September 13: Court sentenced all four convicts to death.

September 23: Delhi High Court began hearing the convicts' death sentence after a reference was sent to it by the trial court.

January 3, 2014: Delhi High Court reserved the verdict on convicts' appeals.

March 13: Delhi High Court upheld the death penalty to the four convicts.

March 15: After two of the convicts, Mukesh and Pawan, filed appeals in the Supreme Court, the apex court stayed their execution. Later, the court also stayed the execution of other convicts.

April 15: Supreme Court directed Delhi police to produce the dying declaration of the victim.

February 3, 2017: Supreme Court stated that it will hear afresh the aspect of sentencing the convicts to death.

March 27: Supreme Court reserved the verdict on their appeals.

May 5: Supreme Court upheld the death penalty to four convicts. The court in its judgement stated that the case falls under the category of 'rarest of rare' and the offence created a "tsunami of shock.”

November 8: Mukesh, one of the four death row convicts in the case, moved the Supreme Court seeking a review of its verdict upholding the capital punishment awarded to him.

December 12: Delhi police opposed Mukesh's plea in the Supreme Court.

December 15: Convicts Vinay Sharma and Pawan Kumar Gupta moved the Supreme Court for a review of its verdict.

May 4, 2018: Supreme Court reserved its order on the review plea by two death row convicts, Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta.

July 9: Supreme Court dismissed the review pleas of three convicts.

February 14, 2019: Nirbhaya’s parents moved a Delhi court asking that the issuance of death warrants of the four convicts be fast-tracked.

December 10, 2019: Death row convict Akshay moved the Supreme Court seeking a review of his death penalty.

December 13: Nirbhaya’s mother moved the Supreme Court opposing the review plea of convict Akshay.

December 18: Supreme Court dismissed Akshay's review plea. The same day, the Delhi government sought the issuance of death warrants for the execution of the death sentence to the four convicts. A Delhi court directed Tihar authorities to issue a notice to convicts to avail their remaining legal remedies.

December 19: Delhi High Court dismissed the plea of death row convict Pawan Kumar Gupta claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the offence.

January 6, 2020: A Delhi court dismissed a complaint filed by Pawan's father seeking FIR against the sole witness in the case.

January 7: A Delhi court ordered four death row convicts to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail.

January 14: Supreme Court dismissed curative petitions filed by two convicts, Vinay Kumar and Mukesh.

January 15: Delhi HC refused to set aside the death warrant issued against convict Mukesh. Mukesh had moved the Delhi High Court challenging the death warrant issued against him. He then moved a trial court in Delhi. Delhi court was informed that the execution of the convicts cannot take place on January 22 since a 14-day notice must be provided to the convicts after the rejection of the mercy plea.

January 17: The Ministry of Home Affairs sent the mercy petition of convict Mukesh Singh to President Ram Nath Kovind and recommended that it be rejected. President Ram Nath Kovind then rejected Mukesh’s mercy petition. 

January 17: A Delhi court issued a fresh death warrant for the four convicts, setting the time of execution to 6 am on February 1 Delhi's Tihar Jail. One of the convicts, Pawan, moved the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court order dismissing his plea that he was a juvenile at the time of the incident in December 2012.

January 20: The Supreme Court rejected Pawan’s petition claiming he was a juvenile at the time of the incident. 

January 29: The Supreme Court dismissed convict Mukesh Singh's plea seeking judicial review of the rejection of his mercy petition by the President. Another convict, Vinay Kumar Sharma sent a mercy petition to President Ram Nath Kovind.

January 30: Lawyer for death row convicts moved the Delhi court seeking a stay of execution scheduled for February 1.

January 30: Supreme Court rejected the curative petition of Akshay seeking a stay on the death sentence.

February 1: In view of the pendency of the mercy plea filed by convict Vinay Sharma, Delhi court issued stay on the death warrants issued against the four death row convicts. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) along with Tihar Jail authorities moved the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court order putting a stay on the death warrants issued against the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case. 

February 5: Delhi High Court dismissed Centre's plea. President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the mercy petition of convict Akshay Kumar Singh

February 6: Tihar jail moved Delhi court seeking fresh death warrants against four convicts.

February 17: Delhi court issued fresh death warrants against the convicts, set execution time to 6 a.m. on March 3.

February 20: Convict Vinay Sharma moves court seeking better treatment seeking better treatment for his claimed mental illness, schizophrenia and injuries in head and arm.

February 22: Delhi court dismissed Vinay Sharma’s seeking treatment for mental illness, schizophrenia and injuries in head and arm. Court said he was being given regular medical care and regular supportive therapy sessions conducted for him by specialists.

February 28: Convict Pawan filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court, seeking commutation of capital punishment to life imprisonment.

February 29: Convict Akshay files mercy petition before President

March 2: Supreme Court dismissed convict Pawan’s curative petition. On the same day, Pawan filed a mercy petition before the President of India. The execution, scheduled for March 3, was deferred again.

March 4: President Ram Nath Kovind rejected mercy petition of convict Pawan. Delhi government moved court seeking fresh death warrants against the convicts.

March 5: Delhi court issued fresh death warrants, directed the convicts to be hanged on March 20 at 5.30 am.

March 9: Convict Vinay Sharma approached Delhi LG seeking to commute death sentence to life imprisonment. 

March 11: Delhi court issued notice to Mandoli jail authorities on an application filed by one of the convicts in Nirbhaya rape case seeking FIR against two police personnel for allegedly beating him.

March 13: Convict Vinay Sharma approached the Delhi High Court alleging constitutional irregularities committed by the Delhi government while recommending his mercy plea to the President.

March 16: Three convicts approached the International Court of Justice (ICJ) seeking a stay on their execution scheduled for March 20.

March 17: Mukesh Singh moved court to seek quashing of his death sentence on the pretext that he was not present in Delhi when the crime occurred on December 16 that year.

March 17: Pawan Gupta moved Supreme Court claiming to be a juvenile.

March 17: Delhi court dismissed application moved by Mukesh Singh seeking quashing of the death penalty awarded to him.

March 18: 'Dummy trial' held on the prison premises at Tihar jail.

March 18: Mukesh Singh moved the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court order which had dismissed his plea seeking stay on the execution. He had claimed he was not in New Delhi at the time of the crime. Delhi High Court dismissed his application.

March 19: Supreme Court dismissed the curative petition preferred by Pawan Gupta, one of the four convicts

March 19: Delhi court dismissed an application filed by the convicts seeking a stay on their execution on the grounds of pending legal remedies.

March 19: A day before they were to be hanged, the four convicts approached the Delhi High Court late at night to try and stay their execution scheduled. After a day-long hearing, the Delhi High Court held a midnight hearing.

March 20: Four hours before their execution, the Delhi High Court upheld the death warrants.

March 20: At 3 am, the counsel of Pawan Gupta moved the Supreme Court challenging the rejection of the second mercy plea by the President Ram Nath Kovind and seeking stay on the death sentence.

March 20: At 3.40 am, a three-judge bench headed by Justice R Banumathi and comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A S Bopanna rejected his plea.

March 20: At 5.30 am, with a large crowd gathered outside Tihar jail, the four convicts were hanged to death.

Village school conducts classes on WhatsApp

20/03/2020,PRESS TRUST OF INDIA AURANGABAD

Coronavirus may have led to the closure of schools and colleges in Maharashtra, but technology and social media apps have come to the rescue of students.

A zilla parishad school at Bangalwadi in Osmanabad district is using WhatsApp to run its routine classes.

The government had directed schools and colleges in the Sstate to remain shut till March 31, due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Despite the lockdown, educators at a school in Bangalwadi village of Paranda tehsil have ensured that there are no roadblocks in the process of learning, by conducting classes on WhatsApp.

Teachers have formed class-wise WhatsApp groups to help students continue their studies without interruption.

“I have been posting videos about different chapters for my students. I allot poems and other assignments to children every day at 8 a.m. Students also post their homework assignments on WhatsApp,” said Vishwas Gaikwad, who teaches primary classes.

As many as 75 students are part of these groups, he added.

Children whose parents don’t have smartphones, have enrolled for these WhatsApp classes with the help of their relatives and neighbours, Mr. Gaikwad said.

“We have seen some positive changes in children who are lazy. They have now started working hard, as their parents are able to monitor their progress,” he said.

Classes via video conferencing are quite common in city schools, education officer for primary schools S.M. Jadhav said.

“However, the use of such technology in rural areas is rare. Students may have stopped coming to school, but teachers haven’t stopped their classes,” he added.

Puri temple shut to public from today

20/03/2020, STAFF REPORTER,BHUBANESWAR

The Odisha government has shut down the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri for devotees from Friday till April 1— a rare event in the hundreds of years of the temple’s history.

“The Puri district administration has restricted access of general public to Jagannath temple from tomorrow [Friday]. In this spirit, the State government has instructed religious institutions, including temples, mosques and churches, to enforce similar restrictions,” said Subroto Bagchi, chief spokesperson for Odisha’s fight against COVID-19, on Thursday.

Nirbhaya convicts restless, in tears ahead of execution

They have been kept under surveillance in separate wards

20/03/2020, SAURABH TRIVEDI,NEW DELHI

After all four convicts in Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case came to know about their hanging on Friday morning, they started sobbing and refused the evening tea on Thursday.

The Tihar jail authorities held a meeting over preparations besides doing a final trial run.

A Tihar jail officer said that after the convicts were informed that the Delhi court has rejected a plea seeking a stay on their executions, they were found to be restless and sobbing. The convicts have been kept in separate wards.

Counsellor allotted

“They even tried to harm themselves but were stopped by the jail staff. They have been put under surveillance. A counsellor was asked to talk to them. The jail staff have been instructed to keep a watch on them. Staff will be stationed outside each of their [convicts’] wards to keep a watch on their activities,” said the officer. The officer said that they were following procedures as mentioned in the Tihar jail manual.

The bodies will be shifted to DDU Hospital by 8 a.m. for post-mortem.

The convicts have been allowed to meet their family members one last time. All took the opportunity except for Akshay as nobody from his family turned up.

The families have not informed the authorities whether they would take the bodies for cremation. The Tihar authorities will cremate the bodies as per procedure if the families refuse, said the officer.

He added that the money earned by the convicts during their stay in jail will be handed over to their family members since they have not mentioned any beneficiary or signed any will.

Just before the convicts will be taken to the gallows, the Jail Superintendent will meet them in his cell. The Superintendent shall read out a translation of the warrant in vernacular to the convicts.

Any other documents requiring attestation by the convicts, such as his will, shall thereafter be signed and attested in the presence of the Superintendent.

All other prisoners will remain locked when the execution will be carried out at 5.30 on Friday morning.

T.N. records third coronavirus case

39 persons under hospital quarantine in State

20/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

C. VijayabaskarB_JOTHI RAMALINGAM

A third person has tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tamil Nadu. The patient, a 21-year-old student who had returned from Dublin, tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday after having been admitted to the isolation ward at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH).

Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said the student arrived in Chennai on March 17 and underwent screening, following which he was placed under home quarantine.

He developed symptoms on March 18 and reported himself to RGGGH. He was admitted to the isolation ward, and his nasal and throat swabs were taken for testing. The samples returned positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

The Minister tweeted that the patient’s condition was stable. On Wednesday, a 20-year-old, who had travelled from Delhi to Chennai, tested positive for COVID-19, and is currently undergoing treatment at RGGGH. Ten close contacts of the youth were identified, and the Health Department is in the process of tracking down all those with whom the youth had come into contact.

The Minister maintained that there was no community transmission of COVID-19 in the State.

“If any passenger travelling from an affected country arrives at the airport with symptoms, he/she is shifted to the isolation ward in a dedicated ambulance. If the passenger does not have symptoms, we quarantine them at the Institute of Public Health in Poonamallee, considering that they could be carriers,” he told reporters after inspecting the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital. The hospital has 31 beds in the isolation ward and a fever clinic. Efforts are on to establish a testing facility there.

As per the bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, a total of 39 persons were in isolation wards in government medical college hospitals and 3,481 persons were under home quarantine. At 1,135, Chennai has the highest number of those under quarantine.

Woman seeks death certificate of husband missing since 2005

20/03/2020, STAFF REPORTER ,MADURAI

After a woman who lost her fisherman husband in 2005 moved the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday seeking compensation and issuance of the death certificate of her husband, the court directed the State to respond in the case.

Justice C.V. Karthikeyan directed the State government to present details of similar cases. The case was adjourned for filing of the report. The petitioner, T. Malliga of Rameswaram, said that she was in dire need of money to run her family.

Ms. Malliga said that in 2005, her husband and three others went into the sea for fishing, and their boat sank into the sea.

While the other three men were rescued from Katchatheevu later, the woman said, her husband could not be traced. She said that she had registered a missing complaint with the local police and also approached the government for help, but to no avail.

Saying she was finding it hard to make ends meet, the woman said that under Section 108 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, a person missing for long and not heard of for over seven years could be presumed to have died. It was 15 years since her husband went missing, she said. The woman said that the families of fishermen who lost their lives in cyclones had received compensation from the State. But, no such monetary benefit had been given to her so far.

No darshan at Tirumala for one week

20/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,TIRUMALA

Pilgrims will not be allowed for the darshan of Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala for about a week from Friday. The decision was taken following COVID-19 cases across the country and in accordance with the directives of the Andhra Pradesh government. It is after a gap of about 128 years that the temple will be kept out of reach for pilgrims for about one week.

75 stuck in Singapore await MEA nod to return

The students fear deportation to Manila

20/03/2020, RAMESH SUSARLA,ANANTAPUR

While around 343 Indian students reached Delhi and Visakhapatnam on Wednesday from Kuala Lumpur after getting stuck there for more than 18 hours, 75 students from the University of Perpetual, Manila, are still stuck at the Singapore airport awaiting permission from the Ministry of External Affairs to return home.

On Thursday (11 a.m. IST and 1.30 p.m. Singapore local time), K. Namratha Reddy, a medical student from Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, and Manasa from Bengaluru, both from the same university in the Philippines, told The Hindu over phone that while 70 students were still stuck in Manila, a batch of 50 students bound for Mumbai and 25 to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, had arrived at Singapore on March 17 and 18, but were not being allowed to fly out.

“The Indian High Commission in Singapore is in touch with us, but it has expressed its inability to do anything unless the Indian government give permission to fly into India. We are worried that we will be deported to Manila as we are on a transit visa in Singapore,” Ms. Manasa said.

Parents of the 75 students appealed to the Indian government to make early arrangements to bring back their children.

UGC advisory opens up online avenues

20/03/2020, R. SUJATHA,CHENNAI

The University Grants Commission’s advisory to universities and colleges to reschedule classes and ongoing evaluations “as a preventive measure in the wake of COVID-19” has turned into an opportunity to push online courses. Anna University’s Educational Multimedia Research Centre has urged its students to take up courses through Swayam platform, which can be accessed for free on Doordarshan.

S. Gowri, director of EMRC, said the shutdown of regular classes offered an opportunity to promote online platforms. The students have been told that the university was making available lectures of all subjects online for students through a state-of-the-art lecture capture solution that has been installed on the campus. “The students have been given detailed instructions and the method of access.”

Counselling suspended

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Open University has suspended counselling sessions of B.Ed Special Education programmes.

Cancellations, chaos at Central

20/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,CHENNAI

With Southern Railway cancelling several trains, people packed the few that were running on Thursday. R. RaguR_Ragu

People wanting to get to their native places from the city are rushing to the Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. MGR Chennai Central railway station, not realising that the Southern Railway has cancelled over 95 long-distance trains.

With 50 trains already suspended due to low occupancy on Wednesday, an additional 45 services were cancelled on Thursday. A total of 155 train services have been cancelled throughout the country as part of the Railways’ measures to prevent COVID-19.

The Railways on Thursday cancelled several services, including the Chennai-Vijayawada Jan Shatabdi Express, Chennai-Coimbatore Shatabdi Express, Chennai-Hazrat Nizamuddin Duronto Express, Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram Express, Mangaluru-Thiruvananthapuram Express, Chennai-Bengaluru Express, Tiruchi-Thiruvananthapuram Express and Mangaluru-Coimbatore Intercity Express. The services are being cancelled between March 20 and 31.

A total of 23 special-fare summer trains, that were to be operated in April, are being cancelled.

A senior Railways official said that to discourage people from undertaking non-essential travel, concession tickets for senior citizens and students were being withdrawn with effect from Friday.

The cancellation of several trainscreated panic among passengers who were to leave the city.

30% flights cancelled at Madurai airport

TNN | Mar 20, 2020, 04.47 AM IST

Madurai: Covid-19 scare has resulted in the cancellation of at least 30% of flights, both domestic and international, at the Madurai International Airport on Thursday. Officials said that while some flights were cancelled due to lack of patronage in the wake of Covid-19, some had to be cancelled as a precautionary measure as per instructions from AAI.

An official from Madurai airport said all the services between Madurai and Colombo have been cancelled, while flights to Singapore have already been cancelled. A few domestic flights connecting destinations like Chennai and Bengaluru have also been cancelled due to poor occupancy. In Tuticorin, of the six flights connecting Tuticorin with Chennai (5) and Bengaluru (1), two have been cancelled every day during the course of this week due to poor occupancy. Tuticorin airport director N Subramanian said that SpiceJet has cancelled two of its morning flights from and to Chennai from March 21 to April 30. Sources from Madurai airport said the cancellations left many passengers fuming. The airlines were opaque in letting fliers know the status of the upcoming flights. Passengers were asked to visit in person.

Nirbhaya convict's mother's last wish for her son - 'puri, sabzi, kachori'

PTI | Mar 19, 2020, 12.27 PM IST

NEW DELHI: With the hours ticking away inexorably, hope that her son will be spared the noose is fast slipping but, weary and angry, the woman stigmatised as "Nirbhaya rapist's mother" has one last ask -- will she be able to get his favourite "puri, sabzi, kachori" meal to him?

Her son Vinay Sharma is one of the four men sentenced to be hanged in Tihar Jail at 5.30am on Friday -- seven years-three months after the night of December 16, 2012 when a young woman, who came to be known the world over as "Nirbhaya", the fearless one, was gangraped so savagely that she died a fortnight later.

With the hangman conducting a dummy run on Wednesday and the Delhi high court rejecting yet another appeal by one of them, the execution of the four is all but certain after three postponements.

While the Supreme Court rejected Sharma's curative petition on January 14, his mercy petition was rejected by President Ramnath Kovind in February.

And the woman, who refuses to divulge her name and says she wants to be known only as "Vinay Sharma's mother" is increasingly more despairing.

The years of harbouring the realisation that her son is guilty in the horrific crime that made headlines across the globe and dealing with unrelenting media spotlight have clearly taken their toll.

"Who are you? What do you want? There is no one inside. My husband has gone out for work. I am Vinay's mother," said the woman outside her home in south Delhi's Ravidas Camp.

With its narrow lanes, shabby quarters and open sewers, the slum colony which represents the capital's seamy underbelly, just next to the upscale government colony of R K Puram in south Delhi, was home to four of the six men convicted of the crime.

And somewhere deep inside, a narrow, congested lane leads to the home of Vinay Sharma.

The nameplate reads Hari Ram Sharma and outside is the mother of four, in her 50s but looking older beyond her years, washing clothes on a grimy surface.

She doesn't let visitors enter.

"Kya likhoge tum? Kuch hota hai tumhare likhne se (What will you write now? Has anything happened till now with your writing?) If god wants he will be saved," she lashed out.

"It is all god's wish. Look at the coronavirus. It is god who decides everything -- who lives and who dies. It is beyond the control of any human. Neither yours, nor theirs," she said.

And then there is the glimmer of something resembling hope.

"The jail personnel in Tihar never allowed me to take food or any other thing. But if they allow, this time I would like to take some 'puri', 'sabzi' and 'kachori' for him," she asked.

Now, with the end near, she said she will soon be meeting her son in jail, for one last time.

The 26-year-old will be hanged along with Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31). On March 5 this year, a trial court issued a fresh death warrant with March 20 as the date.

Of the other two convicted in the case, Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail in 2015 and the sixth, a juvenile, was sentenced three years of punishment in a reform home and released in 2015.

While the widowed mother of brothers Ram Singh and Mukesh Singh has left the locality and gone back to her family in Rajasthan, the families of Vinay Sharma and Pawan Gupta still live in the slum colony.

The family of Pawan Gupta sells fruits to make a living and refused to talk.

The Nirbhaya case hangs like a shroud over the colony, which looks like just another on a weekday morning -- men leaving for work, children playing, some women washing clothes, others standing around chatting idly. But mention 'Vinay Sharma' or 'Pawan Gupta' and it all changes.

The laughter switched to awkward silences and people began to look away when asked for information on the family.

"Who are you? No, we don't know anything," said a woman at the camp as she stopped other women from talking too.

And then some in a group standing close by shared their views, hesitantly at first and then more assertively.

One man forwarded the "boys will be boys" theory and the others quickly stepped in to say the sexual assault and murder of the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern -- gangraped on a moving bus -- is a "horrific mistake" that merits exemplary punishment.

"People here have been talking about Vinay, Pawan and the other convicts since the unfortunate incident took place on December 16. Publicly most talk in favour of the conviction, but there are a few who would also say things against the punishment and ask if this will end rape in India. Some also ask why other rape convicts were not executed," said a nearby tea-seller.

"But one thing we all strongly feel about is how our home has been painted as evil by the media and other big people," he added.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

Nirbhaya case: Resilience of law safeguards against human error, not weakness, says court

PTI | Mar 19, 2020, 07.38 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Resilience of law signifies inherent safeguards against human errors and not the weakness of law, a Delhi court observed on Thursday while addressing concerns over the efficacy of the Rule of Law due to the considerable time consumed by the judiciary in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case.

While dismissing a plea filed by three of the four death-row convicts seeking a stay on their execution, Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana said: "When would the convicts meet the Creator for their eternal penitence? The issue has been pestering the conscience of the community for past some time. The time consumed by the process of law has even led some diffident voices to timorously question the very efficacy of 'Rule of Law'.

"Let me inform all the suspecting souls that in this great land of Gautam Buddha and Gandhi, Rule of Law and not impetuous mob mentality, decides the fate of even the most wretched criminals and most abominable crimes. The resilience of law signifies the inherent safeguards against human errors and not the weakness of law".

The convicts tried to delay the hanging by resorting to all kinds of tactics but in vain as the court on Thursday cleared the decks for Friday's hanging by dismissing the plea as no valid ground was brought to its notice to justify the stay of execution of death warrants.

On March 5, a trial court issued fresh death warrants for 5.30am on March 20 for the execution of convicts Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31).

The warrants, which were issued for the first time on January 7, have been deferred four times earlier on the ground that they were yet to exhaust all the legal remedies.

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

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

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

Four Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case convicts hanged in Delhi's Tihar Jail, victim's parents say justice finally done

PTI | Mar 20, 2020, 06.04 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The four men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a Delhi woman on December 16, 2012 were hanged in the darkness of pre-dawn on Friday, ending a horrific chapter in India's long history of sexual assault that had seared the nation's soul.

Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) were executed at 5.30am for the savage assault in an empty moving bus on the 23-year-old physiotherapy intern who came to be known the world over as Nirbhaya, the fearless one.

This is the first time that four men have been hanged together in Tihar Jail, South Asia's largest prison complex that houses more than 16,000 inmates. The executions were carried out after the men exhausted every possible legal avenue to escape the gallows. Their desperate attempts only postponed the inevitable by less than two months after the first date of execution was set for January 22.

They were hanged at 5.30am, director general of prison Sandeep Goel said.

After raping and brutalising the woman, the men, one of whom was a juvenile at the time, dumped her on the road and left for dead on the cold winter night. Her friend who was with her was also severely beaten and thrown out along with her. She was so severely violated that her insides were spilling out when she was taken to hospital. She died in a Singapore hospital after battling for her life for a fortnight.

Six people, including the four convicts and the juvenile, were named as accused.

While Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail days after the trial began in the case, the juvenile was released in 2015 after spending three years in a correctional home.

The road to the gallows was a long and circuitous one, going through the lower courts, the High Court, the Supreme Court and the president's office before going back to the Supreme Court that heard and rejected various curative petitions.

The death warrants were deferred by a court thrice on the grounds that the convicts had not exhausted all their legal remedies and that the mercy petition of one or the other was before the president.

On March 5, a trial court issued fresh death warrants for March 20 at 5.30am as the final date for the execution.

Doctor declares four Nirbhaya case convicts dead: Jail official

PTI | Mar 20, 2020, 06.47 AM IST

New Delhi: Doctor declared all the four convicts in the Nirbhaya case dead after they were hanged at Tihar Jail, an official said. The four convicts -- Mukesh Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar Singh (31) -- were hanged at 5.30 am.

According to the official, their bodies remained suspended in the air for nearly half-an-hour.

"Doctor has examined and declared all four dead," Director General of Tihar Jail Sandeep Goel said.

Even on last day, Nirbhaya convicts kept hoping against hope

TNN | Mar 20, 2020, 04.11 AM IST

NEW DELHI: A day before their scheduled execution, the four Nirbhaya convicts were anxious. They were eager to know about the plea filed for stay on hanging on Friday.

Jail officers were planning to keep an extra vigil on the convicts through Thursday night to ensure they don’t hurt themselves. All the staff, including the hangman, were counselled earlier in the day and their phones confiscated.

Sources said that the four convicts were also counselled. An excerpt from the Gita was read out to them and they were told about the karma.

“Pawan broke down after this and asked for forgiveness, while Mukesh kept on claiming that he was suffering for something he had not done. He blamed his past lives for this. Akshay said he had reformed himself and wanted to do something good for the society. Vinay was hopeful that the hanging would be stalled at the last moment,” a jail officer said.

On Thursday, the hangman conducted a dummy test using the actual hanging ropes. The whole hanging operation will be conducted by two officers of additional superintendent rank and monitored by Tihar DG Sandeep Goel.

A team of 50 jail officers have been tasked to ensure that the execution process is undertaken smoothly. The team has been divided into four groups to, respectively, look after security of the four convicts, preparation of the hanging well, coordination with the district magistrate and Delhi Police, and the post-execution formalities.

The families of the four convicts were waiting outside the jail gate since Thursday evening. Security around the jail premises may be tightened on Friday morning.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

Delhi: Little has changed on nightmare stretch

TNN | Mar 20, 2020, 04.13 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The measures taken to ensure the safety of women in the capital since the rape of 23-year-old Nirbhaya look as dark as the route taken by the bus that day seven years ago. In all these years, little has been done to ensure that a woman feels safe walking alone on these roads. TOI retraced the course of the private bus that horrific December night in 2012 from Munirka to Ravidas Camp in RK Puram and found the stretch poorly lit and unmanned by police control room teams.

What has, however, increased at some places is the traffic. This helps because the vehicles light up the area with their headlights. But that’s still not enough to compensate for the missing and dysfunctional street lights on the 12-km stretch. Munirka resident Kajal said, “I have been living here for two decades and haven’t ventured out after 9pm ever. Why? Because I don’t feel safe. I don’t want to be the next Nirbhaya.”

Between Munirka bus stand and Rao Tula Ram Marg flyover leading to IGI Airport and back via Ravidas Camp there’s a conspicuous lack of road illumination and police security — two critical requirements for any woman on the road to feel safe at night. TOI traversed the route on Wednesday night and found dangers still lurk on the infamous stretch.

At 9.40pm on Outer Ring road where the Munirka bus stand is located, a board flashed the Women Helpline number. It seemed a good change from the numbing night when Nirbhaya and her friend got on the bus around a kilometre down the road. The new flyover was well illuminated by street lights and the bus stand too had lights. However, the road below the new and old RTR flyovers was isolated, with no police patrolling vans to be seen around. The market alongside was pitch dark too and could easily be a safe haven for criminals.

Around 6 km down towards NH8, nothing appeared to have changed in seven years. Half the street lamps skirting Shankar Vihar on the left were not functioning. The saving grace was the continuously moving traffic, the headlights of which comprised the ‘light generators’ on this stretch.

Further ahead, the first and the only police barricade had three cops loitering around in a dark corner. It was from here that the bus bearing Nirbhaya and her ravagers had turned towards Mahipalpur, opposite the airport approach road. The area is filled with hotels with neon boards and, therefore, was comparatively bright.

The bus had then taken a U-turn to get onto the other side of NH8. Not surprisingly, this road too was unlit because the street lamps again were not working. TOI followed the route taken by the bus and reached the Dwarka road, which was again devoid of police presence and proper illumination. This road didn’t have as much traffic as the Mahipalpur road did.

The bus then drove on NH-8 and soon after, the six convicts had dumped the brutalised Nirbhaya and her friend bleeding and almost naked. The vehicle then went towards Dwarka, took a U-turn and headed towards Outer Ring Road from where the men finally drove to their houses in Ravidas Camp. The approach to RK Puram Sector 3 was isolated and very dimly lit.

Seven years since the crime, Wednesday’s drive showed that street illumination and police presence continued to be problem areas on the route.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

Tirumala, Puri temples to be shut from today

Sandeep.Raghavan & Debabrata.Mohapatra TNN

Tirupati/Bhubaneswar:20.03.2020

For the first time in living memory, the Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirumala will be shut to devotees for a week starting Friday while the Shri Jagannath temple in Puri will remain closed till April 1as part of a countrywide coronavirus-induced lockdown in public places.

Daily rituals will be conducted inside the sanctum sanctorum of two of India’s holiest and most-visited shrines behind closed doors, officials said. In Gujarat, the Sommath, Dwarka and Ambaji shrines will be indefinitely shut from Friday. The Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam, which administers the Venkateswara temple, said 50 other subshrines across the country will also be closed for a week. This is the first time in 128 years that public worship has been suspended at the 2,000-year-old Tirumala temple. According to temple records, the last such shutdown was in 1892 for unspecified reasons.

“Unless some tough decisions are taken, the (Covid-19) pandemic will impact the lives of more citizens. Based on a collective decision taken in consultation with the Andhra Pradesh government, the devasthanam has decided to close the temple from Friday,” temple trust officer, said. In Puri, the decision to shut the 12th century Shri Jagannath shrine was taken after the Odisha government ordered the temporary closure of all religious places in the state — temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras — till April 1.

Cremate, don’t bury, says Waqf

UP Shia Central Waqf Board chief Waseem Rizvi on Thursday said that Muslims who die of coronavirus should not be buried but cremated in electric crematoriums because that would burn the virus and help contain its spread. TNN

Tension in Madurai as flyers from Dubai object to quarantine

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai:20.03.2020

Tension prevailed at the Madurai airport on Thursday after 144 passengers who returned from Dubai by a SpiceJet flight refused to co-operate and be quarantined for 14 days as mandated as a precaution against Covid-19 spread. However, after health officials and police held talks with them, they were shifted to the quarantine facilities.

The passengers arrived at the airport where they were mandatorily screened by health officials for Covid-19. All of them were to be quarantined for 14 days. However, asection of them started to argue that only those with symptoms need to be quarantined while the others should get to go home. They refused to board the bus kept ready to take them to the quarantine facilities. The passengers were also reportedly not happy with the arrangements made at the facilities.

Finally, after the intervention of health and police officials, all 144 passengers were taken to the quarantine facilities at Chinna Udaipu and Austinpatti on the outskirts of Madurai, where 120 beds and 60 beds each have been set up. “Only a few among the 144 were resisting. We later ensured all of them are in quarantine,” said a health official.

Earlier in the day, residents in and around Chinna Udaipu protested near the facility stating that they fear the possible spread of Covid-19 from those quarantined. Officials held talks with the residents and allayed their fears.

“People’s irrational fear of Covid-19 is the reason for such protests. We urge the public to be aware of the facts and not believe in rumours. As for quarantine, we are already only letting those without symptoms stay in the facility. If anyone is showing symptoms, we have ambulances ready and will immediately shift them to a hospital,” said a health official.

Meanwhile, as many as 10 people were booked for triggering a panic about Covid-19 spread and staging a road roko against setting up a temporary medical camp at a private women’s college hostel at Sainathapuram in Vellore city on Wednesday night .

Residents living close to the college registered their opposition to the move fearing they would be easy prey to the Covid-19. Officials from the district administration have decided to set up the facility elsewhere.

Police detained 10 people for staging the road roko, triggering panic among other residents , police said.

MKU files plaint over fake image of Prime Minister’s twitter handle

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai:20.03.2020

Madurai Kamaraj University registrar Sankar Natesan filed a police complaint on Wednesday after a fake image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official twitter handle with a comment on the university was circulated on WhatsApp.

The photo-shopped image of the PM’s twitter handle carried a request to MKU vice-chancellor Dr M Krishnan to close down the university in the light of the Covid-19 scare. It read, “I request the Vice Chancellor of #mku Madurai Kamaraj University to shut down immediately, It is one of the best university of our country and we can’t risk the life of country’s best students.” The tweet was dated March 16, the day from which schools and universities across Tamil Nadu shut down following a state government order to that effect. Shankar said that an FIR has been registered under three sections, including under the IT Act. “We filed the complaint immediately when we came to know about the image and that miscreants were misusing the Prime Minister’s name,” he added.

It has been reported that the same image has been used by miscreants by replacing MKU’s name with those of other popular colleges in Madurai.

The Nagamalai-Pudukottai police are investigating the matter.

Meanwhile, police have been ordered to deal strictly with anyone spreading rumours regarding Covid-19 via social media including Twitter and Facebook.

The photo-shopped image of the PM’s twitter handle carried a request to MKU vice-chancellor Dr M Krishnan to close down the university in the light of the Covid-19 scare

Colleges, univ exams postponed

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:20.03.2020

The state higher education department on Thursday postponed all practical and semester exams in colleges and universities until March 31to contain the spread of coronavirus following a University Grants Commission (UGC) directive. Many colleges are currently conducting practical exams.

Earlier, announcing closure of educational institutions, the state exempted board exams in schools and semester exams in colleges.

A circular on Thursday issued by UGC secretary Rajnish Jain requested universities to postpone all evaluation work and change to online mode.

“We have postponed practical exams for affiliated and autonomous colleges till March 31 and are thinking of rescheduling theory exams scheduled from April1,” said P Duraisamy, vice-chancellor of Madras University. However, the state government has not given any direction on whether faculty members should come to the colleges or not.

Students begin to lock their choices for PG med seats

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:20.03.2020

Students have begun locking choices for postgraduate seats in medicine with the central medical counselling committee for admission through the all India quota and submit filled in application forms to the state selection committee for admission through the singlewindow counselling system.

The state has added 161 postgraduate seats in government medical colleges taking the total number of PG medical seats in the state to 1,919, the directorate of medical education said. The state surrenders 50% of the seats in all government medical colleges to the centre for admission though the all India quota. Members from across the country apply for seats in Tamil Nadu and the committee under the directorate general of health services allots seats online based on the merit and choice of the students.

As per the schedule released by the medical counselling committee, MBBS graduates who have cleared NEET 2020 have been asked to lock their choices of seats – course and college – allotment between March 16 and March 22. The first round of admissions will be done by March 25 and students will have to join colleges allotted to them before April 3 or opt from second round of counselling. The second round of counselling will be completed by April 15 and students will have join colleges by April 22. The seats that remain vacant will be transferred back to state selection committee on April 22.

The state council, which began sale of online application form on March 12 will received filled in forms online until 5pm on March 23. A copy of the application must also be sent to the selection committee secretary by post. The state will intensify screening to verify cases of impersonation, nativity rules and credits for in-service candidates, a senior official said.

The state will release the rank list by March 30 and schedule counselling.

HC rejects last-minute plea filed by 3 Nirbhaya convicts

Abhinav Garg & Aamir Khan@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:20.03.2020

By the time you read this report, the four Nirbhaya case convicts may have been hanged with Delhi high court dismissing a last-minute plea filed by three of them to stall the execution scheduled early on Friday.

“There has to be some sanctity and finality attached to a death warrant. It has already been postponed three times,” a bench of justices Manmohan and Sanjeev Narula observed, refusing to delay the punishment. The counsel for the convicts, A P Singh, said he would go to Supreme Court in the early hours to get a stay.

During the nearly twohour hearing that began at 10pm, the bench repeatedly underlined that not just the trial court, but even high court, Supreme Court and even the President had on several occasions rejected each petition filed by Mukesh, Akshay, Pawan and Vinay.

Nirbhaya’s parents and their legal team had rushed to high court after Chief Justice D N Patel allowed the listing of the case before a division bench on urgent mentioning of the same by Singh.

“We operate in a hierarchical system of courts. Your judgment has attained finality, we can’t sit over an SC verdict. Death warrants have to be executed,” the bench told advocate Singh who made a last-ditch effort to again defer the hangings.

“This matter actually shows how much delay is inbuilt into our system. When was the crime? Look where we are today. Appeals were dismissed in 2017. Why didn’t you file mercy plea for two and half years? There has been an attempt to play the system by way of staggered mercy petitions. Don’t blame courts,” the bench said.

Singh had sought a stay on the execution citing various petitions he had filed before several legal fora, including Supreme Court.

Full report on www.toi.in

THEIR VICTORY: Nirbhaya’s mother and father outside a Delhi c

நள்ளிரவில் கூடும் பிரியாணி இளைஞர்கள்!

வி. சாமுவேல்  17.03.2020

வட சென்னையின் புளியந்தோப்பு பகுதி. இரவு 1 மணி. அந்தப் பின்னிரவில் ஒரு கடைக்கு இளைஞர்கள் கொஞ்சம் கொஞ்சமாக வரத் தொடங்குகிறார்கள். அதிகாலை 3 மணியாகும் போது இளைஞர்களின் கூட்டம் இரட்டிப்பாகிவிடுகிறது.

இரவு வேளையில் இந்த இளைஞர்களின் படையெடுப்பு எதற்காக? புளியந்தோப்பில் உள்ள சிறிய உணவகத்தில் நள்ளிரவிலிருந்து தயாரிக்கப்படும் பிரியாணியை, அதிகாலை வேளையில் ரசித்து ருசித்துச் சாப்பிடுவதற்காக இளைஞர்கள் இப்படிக் கூடுகிறார்கள்.

பிரியாணியை விரும்பாதவர்கள் யாருமே இருக்க முடியாது.

அசைவப் பிரியர்களின் விருப்பப் பட்டியலில் பெரும்பாலும் பிரியாணியும் இடம்பிடிக்கும். பிரியாணியை விரும்பும் இளைஞர்கள்தாம் அதிகாலை வேளையில் அதைத் தேடி இங்கே வருகிறார்கள். வட சென்னையில் உள்ள இந்தக் கடைக்கு தென் சென்னையில் உள்ள திருவான்மியூர், வேளச்சேரி, பல்லாவரம், ஈ.சி.ஆரிலிருந்து இளைஞர்கள் பைக்கில் வந்து பிரியாணியை ஆசைதீரச் சாப்பிட்டு பார்சலும் வாங்கிச் செல்கிறார்கள். இதன் காரணமாகவே ‘புளியந்தோப்பு இரவு பிரியாணி’ என்ற அடைமொழியுடன் இக்கடை பிரபலமாகிவிட்டது.

புளியந்தோப்பில் வாசனை

சென்னையில் நள்ளிரவில் பல உணவுக் கடைகள் செயல்பட்டுவந்தாலும், இந்தக் குறிப்பிட்ட கடையை நோக்கி இளைஞர்கள் வட்டமிடக் காரணம் இல்லாமல் இல்லை. இக்கடை இளைஞர்களுக்காகவே உருவாக்கப்பட்டதுதான் அதற்குக் காரணம் என்கிறார் இக்கடையின் உரிமையாளர் சம்சுதீன். “பத்து ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு இந்தக் கடையைத் தொடங்கினேன். பகலில்தான் இந்த உணவகம் செயல்பட்டது.

ஆனால், இரவு வேலைக்குச் செல்லும் இளைஞர்கள், அதிகாலையில் உடற்பயிற்சி செய்யும் இளைஞர்கள் பலரும் இரவில் உணவு கிடைத்தால் நன்றாக இருக்கும் என்று கேட்டார்கள். அவர்களின் விருப்பத்துக்காகத்தான் இரவில் பிரியாணி விற்பனையைத் தொடங்கினேன். இன்று இந்தக் கடை இளைஞர்களால் பிரபலமாகிவிட்டது” என்கிறார் சம்சுதீன். இக்கடையில் பிரியாணி உள்பட அசைவ உணவுவகைகளை சம்சுதீனும் அவருடைய மனைவியும் மட்டுமே தயாரிக்கிறார்கள்.

பகலில் மூடிக்கிடக்கும் இக்கடை, இரவில் பிஸியாகிவிடுகிறது. நள்ளிரவில் பிரியாணியைச் செய்யத் தொடங்குகிறார். அதிகாலை 3 மணிக்கெல்லாம் ஊரையே எழுப்பும் அளவுக்கு பிரியாணி வாசனை ஆளைத் தூக்குகிறது. அதற்கு முன்பாகவே கடையில் குவிந்துவிடும் இளைஞர்கள், பிரியாணி, மட்டன், சிக்கன் தயார் ஆனதும், நீண்ட வரிசையில் நின்று பிரியாணியை வாங்கி, அந்த அதிகாலை வேளையில் ஆசைதீரச் சாப்பிட்டுச் செல்கிறார்கள்.

ஒவ்வொரு இளைஞரும் தன்னுடன் நண்பர்களை அழைத்துவருவதால், அவர்கள் மூலம் இக்கடை வெவ்வேறு பகுதிகளிலும் பிரபலமடைந்து விட்டது. இந்தச் சிறிய கடை இன்று சமூக ஊடகங்களில் புழங்கும் ஃபுட்டீஸ் வழியாகவும் வரவேற்பைப் பெற்றுள்ளது.

ஆம்பூர் பிரியாணி, ஹைதராபாத் பிரியாணி, திண்டுக்கல் பிரியாணி என ஊர்களுடன் சேர்ந்து பிரியாணி புகழ்பெற்றதைப் போல, புளியந்தோப்பு இரவு பிரியாணியும் இடம் அந்தப் பட்டியலில் இடம் பிடித்துவருகிறது.

தனியார் கல்லூரிகளில் போலி பிஎச்.டி சான்றிதழை சமர்ப்பித்து 480-க்கும் மேற்பட்ட ஆசிரியர்கள் பணியில் சேர்ந்ததாக ஆய்வில் தகவல்: அண்ணா பல்கலைக்கழகம் விரைவில் நடவடிக்கை

சென்னை 18.03.2020

தனியார் பொறியியல் கல்லூரிகளில் பணிபுரியும் 480-க்கும் மேற்பட்ட ஆசிரியர்கள் போலியான பிஎச்.டி சான்றிதழ்களை சமர்ப்பித்துள்ளது ஆய்வில் தெரியவந்துள்ளது.

தமிழகத்தில் அண்ணா பல்கலைக்கழகத்தின்கீழ் 554 தனியார் பொறியியல் கல்லூரிகள் இயங்கி வருகின்றன. இவற்றில் சுமார் 3.8 லட்சம் மாணவ, மாணவிகள் படித்து வருகின்றனர். இதற்கிடையே தனியார் கல்லூரி பேராசிரியர்கள் சிலர்,போலியான பிஎச்.டி சான்றிதழ்களை சமர்ப்பித்து பணியில் சேர்ந்துள்ளதாக பல்கலை.க்குபுகார்கள் வந்தன. இதையடுத்து ஆசிரியர்களின் பிஎச்.டி சான்றிதழ்களை ஆய்வு செய்து, சம்பந்தப்பட்ட பல்கலைக்கழகத்தில் இருந்து உண்மைத்தன்மை சான்று பெற்றுமார்ச் 16-ம் தேதிக்குள் சமர்ப்பிக்க வேண்டும் என்று அண்ணாபல்கலை. சார்பில் அனைத்து கல்லூரிகளுக்கும் சுற்றறிக்கை அனுப்பப்பட்டது.

இதுதவிர இந்த விவகாரம் தொடர்பாக அண்ணா பல்கலை. அதிகாரிகள் குழுவும் நேரடியாக ஆய்வு மேற்கொண்டது. அப்போது பேராசிரியர்கள் பலர், போலிபிஎச்.டி சான்றுகளைச் சமர்ப்பித்துமுறைகேடாகப் பணியில் சேர்ந்துள்ளது கண்டறியப்பட்டுள்ளதாக தகவல்கள் வெளியாகியுள்ளன.

இதுகுறித்து அண்ணா பல்கலை. அதிகாரிகள் கூறியதாவது:

புகார்களின் அடிப்படையில் மேற்கொண்ட ஆய்வில் சில தனியார் கல்லூரி பேராசிரியர்களின் பிஎச்.டி சான்றிதழ் போலியானவை எனக் கண்டறியப்பட்டது.

இதையடுத்து எல்லா கல்லூரிகளிலும் உள்ள ஆசிரியர்களின் சான்றிதழின் உண்மைத்தன்மையை ஆய்வு செய்ய உத்தரவிடப்பட்டது. அதில் 480-க்கும் மேற்பட்ட தனியார் கல்லூரி பேராசிரியர்கள் போலி பிஎச்.டி சான்றுகளை அளித்து பணியில்சேர்ந்திருப்பது தெரியவந்துள்ளது.

அதன்படி பிஹார், தெலங்கானா, மகாராஷ்டிரா உட்பட வட மாநிலங்களில் உள்ள பல்கலைக்கழகங்களில் படிக்காமலேயே பணம் கொடுத்து பிஎச்.டி சான்றிதழைப்பெற்றுள்ளனர். சிலர் போலியானபல்கலைக்கழகங்களிலும் பட்டங்களை வாங்கியுள்ளனர்.

இதைத்தொடர்ந்து தற்போது கல்லூரிகளில் நடத்தப்படும் ஆய்வுப் பணிகளை விரிவாக மேற்கொள்ள அதிகாரிகள் குழுவுக்குஅறிவுறுத்தல்கள் வழங்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. ஆய்வுகள் முடிந்தபின் போலி ஆவணங்கள் தந்து பணியில் சேர்ந்தவர்கள் மீது நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க முடிவு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இவ்வாறு அவர்கள் தெரிவித்தனர்.

உரிய தகுதிகள் இல்லை

இதுதொடர்பாக அகில இந்திய தனியார் கல்லூரி ஆசிரியர்களின் கூட்டமைப்பு தலைவர் கே.எம்.கார்த்திக் கூறும்போது, ‘‘மாநிலம் முழுவதும் தனியார் பொறியியல் கல்லூரிகளில் 48 ஆயிரத்துக்கும் மேற்பட்ட ஆசிரியர்கள் பணிபுரிகின்றனர். அதில் 30 சதவீத ஆசிரியர்கள், பல்கலைக்கழக மானியக்குழு (யுஜிசி) வகுத்துள்ள விதிகளுக்கு மாறாக, உரிய தகுதிகள் இல்லாமலும், போலி ஆவணங்களைச் சமர்ப்பித்தும் பணிபுரிகின்றனர். குறைந்த ஊதியம் வழங்கினால் போதும் என்பதால் கல்லூரி நிர்வாகங்களும் அதற்குத் துணைபோகின்றன. எனவே, மாணவர்கள் நலன் கருதி இந்த விவகாரத்தில் தமிழக அரசு உரிய நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும்’’ என்றார்.

36,192 MD/MS Seats Available 54,000 MBBS Passouts This Year: Dr VK Paul, MCI BoG Chairman 

By Medical Dialogues BureauPublished On 17 March 2020 1:45 PM | Updated On 17 March 2020 2:26 PM 

New Delhi: More than 4800 PG seats in various MD and MS programmes are going to be added for the next session as the Medical Council of India Board of Governors (MCI BOG) have given the nod for the same. Confirmation to this effect was recently made by the Chairman ( MCI BOG) Prof Dr VK Paul to PTI, who stated that this approval leads to a total number of 36,192 PG medical seats being available 

The move brings good news for MBBS passouts who are going to participate in NEET PG counselling at various levels "So, as a result, in the new academic session counselling, 36,192 PG medical seats (MD/MS, broad speciality) will be available," Paul told PTI. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the majority of seat addition comes with the move of the MCI as well as the central government to allow medical colleges to surrender the seats in PG Diploma program and get an equal number of seats in MD/MS courses in return 

BoG Chairman and Niti Aayog member V K Paul further added that the increase is more than the total number of additional seats created in the past five years. "In 2020-21 academic session, approximately 44,000 post-graduate medical seats (36,192 MD/MS seats and 8,000 DNB/FNB seats) will be available for 54,000 undergraduate MBBS pass-outs," he said. Advertisement The move of the MCI comes as slowly meeting the long pending demand of the medical profession to have as many PG Medical seats as the number of MBBS passouts. Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that Dr VK Paul had earlier announced the target adding 80,000 PG medical seats by 2024, with the participation of private sector healthcare providers.

https://medicaldialogues.in/state-news/delhi/36192-mdms-seats-available-54000-mbbs-passouts-this-year-dr-vk-paul-mci-bog-chairman-63980

கரோனா: வெறிச்சோடியது திருக்கடையூா்
By DIN | Published on : 18th March 2020 04:45 AM |

கரோனா பீதியால் வெறிச்சோடிய திருக்கடையூா் அமிா்தகடேசுவரா் கோயில் வளாகம்.

கரோனா வைரஸ் பீதியால், திருக்கடையூா் அமிா்தகடேசுவரா் கோயில் செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை வெறிச்சோடியது. மிகவும் குறைவான பக்தா்களே வருகை தந்தனா்.

பிரசித்தி பெற்ற இக்கோயிலுக்கு நாள்தோறும் தமிழகம் மட்டுமன்றி வெளி மாநிலங்களில் இருந்தும் ஏராளமான பக்தா்கள் வருகை தந்து சுவாமி தரிசனம் செய்வது வழக்கம். இந்நிலையில், கரோனா வைரஸ் எதிரொலியாக வழிபாட்டுத் தலங்கள், வணிக வளாகங்களுக்குச் செல்வதை பொதுமக்கள் செல்வதைத் தவிா்க்குமாறு அரசு தரப்பில் அறிவுறுத்தப்பட்டது.

இதன் காரணமாக திருக்கடையூா் அமிா்தகடேசுவரா் கோயிலுக்கு செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை வெகு சிலரே வந்தனா். இதனால், கோயில் வளாகம் வெறிச்சோடி காணப்பட்டது. இதேபோல், புகழ்பெற்ற தரங்கம்பாடி டேனிஷ் கோட்டைக்கு வரும் சுற்றுலா பயணிகளின் எண்ணிக்கையும் குறைவாகவே காணப்பட்டது.

கரோனா: மதுரை-சிங்கப்பூா், இலங்கை விமான சேவைகள் ரத்து

By DIN | Published on : 18th March 2020 05:13 AM 

பயணிகள் வரத்து குறைவால் வெறிச்சோடி காணப்பட்ட மதுரை விமான நிலையம்.

கரோனா வைரஸ் அச்சத்தால் மதுரையில் இருந்து சிங்கப்பூா், இலங்கை செல்லும் விமானங்கள் மற்றும் உள்ளூா் விமான சேவைகள் ரத்தாகியுள்ளன.

மதுரை விமான நிலையத்தில் இருந்து சென்னை, புதுதில்லி, மும்பை, பெங்களூரு உள்ளிட்ட உள்நாட்டு விமான சேவைகள், துபை, இலங்கை, சிங்கப்பூா் ஆகிய வெளிநாட்டு விமான சேவைகள் என நாள் ஒன்றுக்கு 44 விமான சேவைகள் மதுரையில் நடைபெற்றன.

இந்நிலையில் கரோனா வைரஸ் காரணமாக கடந்த மாதம் முதல் படிப்படியாக பயணிகள் விகிதம் குறைந்து வந்தது. இதையடுத்து விமான சேவைகளும் படிப்படியாக குறைந்து வருகின்றன. செவ்வாய்க்கிழமை முதல் மாா்ச் 26 ஆம் தேதி வரை ஸ்ரீலங்கன் ஏா்வேஸ் நிறுவனம் தனது காலை நேர சேவையை மட்டும் தற்காலிகமாக நிறுத்தி வைத்துள்ளது.

கொச்சியிலிருந்து புறப்பட்டு மதுரை வழியாக சிங்கப்பூா் செல்லும் விமானம் செவ்வாய் , வியாழன், சனிக்கிழமை என வாரத்தில் 3 நாள்கள் இயக்கப்பட்டு வந்தது. இந்த விமானம் வரும் 28 ஆம் தேதி வரை ரத்து செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது. அதே சமயம் புதுதில்லியிலிருந்து

புறப்பட்டு மதுரை வழியாக சிங்கப்பூா் செல்லும் விமானம் வழக்கம்போல் செயல்படும் என விமான நிலைய வட்டாரங்கள் தெரிவித்தன.

இதே போல போதுமான பயணிகள் இல்லாததால் சென்னை செல்லும் உள்ளூா் விமானங்கள் இரண்டும் செவ்வாய்கிழமை ரத்து செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளன. மேலும் ஸ்பைஸ் ஜெட் விமானம் இலங்கை சேவையை வரும் ஏப்ரல் 1 ஆம் தேதி வரை ரத்து செய்துள்ளது.

மதுரை விமான நிலையத்தில் நாள் ஒன்றுக்கு 5 ஆயிரத்திற்கும் மேல் பயணிகளும், அவா்களை வழியனுப்ப 10 ஆயிரத்திற்கும் அதிகமானோா் வந்து செல்வது வழக்கம். தற்போது பயணிகள் வரத்து குறைவால் விமான நிலையம் வெறிச்சோடிக் காணப்படுகிறது.

முகேஷ் குமார் மனு மீண்டும் தள்ளுபடி

Added : மார் 17, 2020 22:29

புதுடில்லி, 'நிர்பயா' பாலியல் பலாத்கார வழக்கின் குற்றவாளியான முகேஷ் குமார் தாக்கல் செய்த மனு, மீண்டும் தள்ளுபடி செய்யப்பட்டது. டில்லியை சேர்ந்த மருத்துவ மாணவி நிர்பயா, 2012ல், ஒரு கும்பலால் பாலியல் பலாத்காரம் செய்யப்பட்டார். மருத்துவமனையில் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்ட அவர், சிகிச்சை பலனின்றி உயிரிழந்தார்.

இந்த வழக்கில், குற்றவாளிகள் நான்கு பேருக்கு துாக்கு தண்டனை விதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. டில்லி திஹார் சிறையில் அடைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள இவர்களுக்கு, வரும், 20ல், துாக்கு தண்டனையை நிறைவேற்ற தேதி குறிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. இந்நிலையில், தண்டனை நிறைவேற்றப்படுவதை தாமதப்படுத்தும் நோக்கில், குற்றவாளிகளில் ஒருவரான முகேஷ் குமார் சார்பில், டில்லி கூடுதல் செசன்ஸ் நீதிமன்றத்தில் நேற்று புதிய மனு தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்டது. அதில், 'பாலியல் பலாத்கார சம்பவம் நடந்த அன்று, நான் டில்லியில் இல்லை. ராஜஸ்தானில் இருந்த என்னை, போலீசார் பிடித்து வந்து, இந்த வழக்கில் சேர்த்து விட்டனர். எனவே, எனக்கு விதிக்கப்பட்ட துாக்கு தண்டனைக்கு தடை விதிக்க வேண்டும்' என, தெரிவித்துள்ளார். இந்த மனு, நேற்று விசாரணைக்கு வந்தபோது, 'தண்டனை நிறைவேற்றுவதை மேலும் தாமதிக்கும் நோக்கத்தில், இந்த மனு தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது' என, போலீஸ் தரப்பில் வாதிடப்பட்டது. இதையடுத்து, முகேஷ் குமார் மனுவை, நீதிபதி தள்ளுபடி செய்தார். குற்றவாளி முகேஷ் குமாரின் தாயார் சார்பில், துாக்கு தண்டனையை எதிர்த்து, தேசிய மனித உரிமை ஆணையத்தில் மனு தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்டது. இதுவும் தள்ளுபடியானது.

இந்நிலையில், வரும், 20ம் தேதி அதிகாலை, 5:30க்கு நான்கு பேருக்கும் துாக்கு தண்டனையை நிறைவேற்றுவதற்கான ஏற்பாடுகள், டில்லி திஹார் சிறையில் தயாராகி வருகின்றன. துாக்கு தண்டனையை நிறைவேற்றும் ஊழியர், பவன் ஜலாட் உத்தர பிரதேச மாநிலம், மீரட் சிறையில் இருந்து வரவழைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார். இந்நிலையில், குற்றவாளி அக் ஷய் குமார் இரண்டாவது கருணை மனுவை ஜனாதிபதி ராம்நாத் கோவிந்துக்கு நேற்று அனுப்பினார்.