NEWS TODAY 3.10.2024

 

IAS reshuffle: Pradeep Yadav is secy to Udhaya

IAS reshuffle: Pradeep Yadav is secy to Udhaya 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 03.10.2024 

Chennai : State govt on Tuesday carried out a reshuffle of senior officers, posting additional chief secretary Pradeep Yadav as secretary to deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. An order to this effect was issued by chief secretary N Muruganandam. 

K Gopal has been appointed secretary of higher education department. Rajesh Lakhoni is now commissioner of revenue administration and disaster management, replacing P Amudha, who held the additional charge.

 Satyabrata Sahoo, the chief electoral officer, will now hold the full additional charge of post of secretary of animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries, and fishermen welfare until further orders. 

BC, MBC, and minorities welfare secretary C Vijayaraj Kumar would hold full additional charge as secretary of human resources management, replacing Nanthakumar. Nanthakumar has been appointed chairman and managing director of TNEB and Tangedco.

 V Amuthavalli would steer handlooms, handicrafts, textiles, and khadi department as secretary. Dharmendra Pratap Yadav has been named chair man and managing director of TN Small Industries Corporation Limited. S Swarna has been posted as state project director of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan.

 E Sundaravalli and R Lilly would serve as commissioners of collegiate education and social welfare. Vishnu Chandran has been designated as director of employment and training and R Lalitha director of textiles.

19 govt school students get MBBS seats in the state

19 govt school students get MBBS seats in the state 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK  03.10.2024 

Chennai : At least 19 govt school students, in addition to 680 candidates under the 7.5% quota meant for them, secured MBBS seats in Tamil Nadu in 2023, state directorate of medical education said. Officials said there were 8,316 medical seats available under the state quota in 2023, of which 683 MBBS and BDS seats were allotted to govt school students under the 7.5% quota. Besides these, 78 students from govt schools secured admission in various medical colleges, including govt quota seats in selffinancing colleges, a senior official said. “Of the 78 students, four of them got it under the disability quota, nine students secured admissions in govt medical colleges, and six of them secured MBBS seats in self-financing medical colle ges. The remaining 59 got admission to BDS seats. One among them was allotted a seat in a govt college,” the official said.

 Experts noted that the performance of govt school students has improved over the last four years. When NEET came into force, the number of govt school students entering medical college dropped to less than 10. The cut-off for medical admissions has been increasing under all categories, making admissions challenging each year. The number of repeaters securing seats under these quotas is also very high. In 2024, almost all the top 10 candidates in the 7.5% quota were repeaters, and the average number of repeaters ingovt school quota is nearly 80%. Data also showed that students from state board syllabus fared almost at par with CBSE students. For in stance, 4,140 students who secured seats were from CBSE, 4,030 students were from the state board, and 39 others were from other boards. However, the directorate warns that not all information it has is verified.

 “We had sought information from students on whether they attended NEET coaching in private tutorials. We wanted this information for policy matters. Many students told us they haven’t attended, and we are unable to verify this,” the official said.  In 2023, 3,248 candidates who secured admissions said they did not attend NEET coaching, while 3,248 students said they attended coaching. “While we can verify the school, board, or if they are repeaters, there is no registry to check if they took private coaching. It is selfdeclared information,” he added.

NEWS TODAY 02.10.2024

 

King cobra sighted in Chanakyapuri, a first for capital

King cobra sighted in Chanakyapuri, a first for capital

Priyangi.Agarwal@timesofindia.com 02.10.2024 

New Delhi : The forest and wildlife department rescued a king cobra that was spotted in a tree in Chanakyapuri on Tuesday. Forest officials said this was the first sighting of a king cobra in Delhi. Since the venomous snake was found outside the under-construction Uttarakhand Bhawan, officials suspect the cobra may have travelled in a vehicle from Uttarakhand carrying construction material. 

The snake is listed as a vulnerable species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species. Rajesh Tandon, deputy range officer of the west wildlife division, said, “After we received information that a snake had been spotted, we immediately reached the spot. The king cobra, around 10 feet long, had climbed a tree.” The forest department contacted Delhi Fire Services for two fire tenders. 

The wildlife team used the hydraulic ladder from the fire tenders to reach the branch where the cobra had taken shelter. Using a snake hook, the team successfully rescued the snake. “It was a challenging rescue operation,” said Tandon. A video of the rescue operation, which is circulating on social media, shows a crowd clapping in appreciation after the snake was safely removed. Several residents in the area watched the rescue from their balconies. 

The king cobra is currently being kept at a forest department rescue facility. “This was the first sighting of a king cobra in Delhi. It is believed the reptile crawled into a vehicle from Uttarakhand and ended up in Delhi,” said Tandon. He added that the snake would be released into Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand, as Delhi is not its natural habitat. 

Gaurav Barhadiya, assistant professor in the environmental studies department at Ramanujan College, University of Delhi, noted that Uttarakhand has a growing population of king cobras. “Over the years, the population of king cobras in Uttarakhand has increased, with sightings in Dehradun, Mussoorie, and other areas. It seems that this king cobra took shelter in a vehicle to regulate its temperature and travelled to Delhi,” said Barhadiya, who has been studying snakes in Delhi for 10 years. He added, “We don’t have any king cobras in Delhi at all. The city is not a habitat for king cobras."

Airline fined ₹75k for delayed return of passenger’s baggage

Airline fined ₹75k for delayed return of passenger’s baggage

Vineet.Upadhyay@timesofindia.com

02.10.2024

 New Delhi : Holding an international airline liable for deficiency in service, a Delhi consumer court recently directed it to pay Rs 75,000 for misplacing a passenger’s check-in baggage and returning it after several days. “...It is clear that the bag of the complainant, which was rather a check-in baggage, was misplaced and was handed over to the complainant in Delhi at her given address on June 7, 2016. We find that this is a deficiency of service on part of the opposite party (Etihad Airways), as it caused great inconvenience to the complainant due to delay in getting her clothes, etc,” stated the coram comprising president Sangeeta Dhingra Sehgal and member JP Agrawal of Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. 

Asha Devi, the complainant, had alleged that valuable items, including Rs 30 lakh in cash and 30 grams of gold, had also been misplaced. However, the commission found no merit in this aspect and stated that Devi had failed to declare the high-value items, including money and jewellery, at the airport. Devi had purchased an Etihad Airways ticket to travel from Sweden to Delhi on June 1, with layovers in Berlin and Abu Dhabi. During her stop at the Berlin airport, her flight was upgraded to business class. 

On boarding from the airport, her bag was relocated to a different area due to a lack of space in the overhead compartment. After reaching Delhi, she was unable to find her bag. Following several attempts, she submitted a “Lost Cabin Baggage” application and was given a carbon copy of the form. Nearly a week later, her bag wrapped in plastic was returned to her. She claimed when she unwrapped the bag, her money, a gold chain and locket, a wristwatch, and a mobile phone among other items were allegedly missing. Etihad Airways personnel were contacted by her to resolve the issue. However, she alleged that no action was taken. Etihad Airways submitted before the court that Devi’s allegations were fabricated. The airline  argued that Devi should have approached “Air Berlin” whose crew had allegedly relocated her bag.

HC confirms death for man who killed mother, ‘cooked’ organs

HC confirms death for man who killed mother, ‘cooked’ organs

 Swati.Deshpande@timesofindia.com

02.10.2024 

Mumbai : Bombay HC on Tuesday confirmed the death penalty for a man who was convicted in 2021 of killing his 60-year-old mother on Aug 28, 2017, in Kolhapur, holding that the “grotesque” murder was premeditated. “Apart from the extreme brutality, cruelty and barbarism with which the convict had murdered his mother in a cold-blooded manner, one cannot turn a Nelson’s eye to the fact that his conduct was akin to cannibalism and, therefore, he could be a potential threat and danger to the inmates in the jail, in case a sentence of life imprisonment is awarded,” said a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan. 

The convict, Sunil Rama Kuchkoravi, was 35 when he stabbed his mother with knives and a ‘sattur’, cutting her neck and other parts, said HC. “It was... grotesque murder of a hapless, helpless and fragile old mother by her son,” it said. “It was indeed a cold-blooded and preplanned murder. The convict used to pick quarrels with his mother over his demand of money for liquor.” 

The judgment observed, “The convict had almost eviscerated the inner parts of the body of the deceased and was about to proceed further to place some of the parts in the kitchen on a stove with chilli powder and salt. It can be easily inferred from all the circumstances as to what might have been cooking in his mind.” His social integration is unquestionably foreclosed, HC said, while upholding the death sentence.The trial court had held that the prosecution examined 12 witnesses and produced proof to nail the convict in the case based on circumstantial evidence. The sessions court also held it to be the “rarest of rare cases”, a prerequisite to hand out a death sentence.

Guest worker treated for starvation succumbs at Chennai hosp

Guest worker treated for starvation succumbs at Chennai hosp 

02.10.2024

Chennai : A 35-year-old man — one of five guest workers from West Bengal who collapsed due to starvation at Dr MGR Chennai Central Railway Station a fortnight ago — died on Monday despite intensive care at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH). Doctors said acute renal failure, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and sepsis caused the death of the worker, Samar Khan. Twelve workers came to Chennai in search of agricultural work but decided to leave as they did not find jobs. On Sept 15, when they were at MGR Central Railway Station waiting to board a train for their home state, five people who had not eaten for a long time fainted. 

GRP identified them as Asit Pandit (47), Ganesh Midha (52), Manik Ghoroi (50), Samar Khan and Sathya Pandit (42), rushed them to RGGGH, where doctors said some of them hadn’t eaten for nearly six days. On admission, they had low blood pressure and their levels of creatinine — a waste product that comes from the breakdown of muscle tissue and the digestion of protein in food — were high, indicating poor kidney function. They were wheeled into the ICU and treated since Sept 16 for acute gastroenteritis and renal failure.

ED can attach overseas assets equivalent to fraud value: HC

ED can attach overseas assets equivalent to fraud value: HC 

02.10.2024

Chennai : In a money-laundering case, if proceeds of crime are located outside the country, Enforcement Directorate (ED) has the power to attach the properties equivalent to the value of the fraud within the country, Madras high court has said. “Even the properties purchased prior to the scheduled offence can be attached under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA),” a division bench of Justices S M Subramaniam and V Sivagnanam said on Tuesday. 

HC passed the order while dismissing a batch of pleas moved by Sterling Futures and Holidays Limited, SN India Pvt Ltd, and Chennai Properties & Investments Ltd. The issue pertains to the fraud committed by the petitioner-companies in obtaining two loans to the tune of $119 million from IDBI Bank.

Woman cons medical seat aspirants of ₹6.4cr

Woman cons medical seat aspirants of ₹6.4cr 

CRIME FILE 

Claimed To Be Trustee Of 2 Colleges & Took Payment | Used Unsuspecting Friend As Go-Between 

Chaithanya.Swamy @timesofindia.com 

Bengaluru : A city-based teacher filed a complaint against a Chennai-based woman, accusing her of cheating medical seat aspirants to the tune of Rs 6.4 crore. Dipti K Simha, a resident of Whitefield, told police that one of her friends introduced her to the accused — Anna Jacob of Kattupakkam in Chennai — in 2022. Anna claimed to be a trustee at St John’s Medical College, Bengaluru, and Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu. After getting to know each other, Anna told Dipti there were a few payment seats available for Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Doctor of Medicine (MD) courses at both colleges. Saying she could help aspirants get seats, Anna asked Dipti to recommend those interested. 

Believing her, Dipti informed her friends and colleagues about the seat availability in both colleges. They referred eight aspirants to Dipti and she, in turn, organised a meeting of the parents and aspirants with Anna. Anna met them in star hotels, where they discussed the price of the seats and finali sed a deal. Anna told the aspirants and parents that she would get the seats allotted to them after she received payment. Accordingly, the parents of five aspirants transferred money to Dipti’s bank account, who then transferred it to Anna’s account. The remaining three parents transferred money directly to Anna’s account for their children. In all, they paid around Rs 6.4 crore. 

However, Anna didn’t get seats for any of the students even after the deadline for admissions passed. Whenever questioned by either the aspirants or Dipti, she would give some excuse or the other. Eventually, they enquired with the respective colleges and learned that Anna wasn’t a trustee of either college. Dipti told police that after learning Anna had cheated them, parents of the aspirants were behind her, asking her to get their money back. Dipti enquired about Anna in other places and found that she had allegedly cheated a few other aspirants similarly, including a Hyderabad-based man, and then gone incommunicado.

 A case has been registered under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the Indian Penal Code. Central Crime Branch police are investigating

Driver an employee, says HC, fines Ola ₹5.5L for inaction on abuse plaint

Driver an employee, says HC, fines Ola ₹5.5L for inaction on abuse plaint

Vasantha.Kumar@timesofindia.com 02.10.2024

Bengaluru : In a landmark judgment, Karnataka high court has ruled that under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (PoSH Act 2013), a driver-subscriber of a transport aggregator is to be considered as its “employee”. In view of this, the court ordered ride-hailing firm Ola to pay Rs 5 lakh as cost and an additional Rs 50,000 as litigation expenses to a woman petitioner-complainant for failing to act on her complaint. 

Justice MGS Kamal, in his judgment delivered on Sept 30, 2024, rejected Ola’s contention that it is merely an “intermediary” and partially allowed the petition filed by a woman from Bengaluru. Furthermore, the judge directed Ola’s Internal Complaint Committee to conduct an inquiry into the complaint dated Sept 30, 2018, in accordance with the provisions of the PoSH Act, 2013, and submit the report to the district officer within 90 days. 

The court also found the officers in charge of Karnataka State Transport Authority guilty of deliberate inaction and negligence in discharging their statutory obligations, imposing a penalty of Rs 1 lakh, payable to the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority within 30 days. 

‘No jurisdiction’,  Firm, plaint panel claimed they had no jurisdiction to take action against driver 

The case dates back to Aug 23, 2018, when the complainant, a regular user of Ola, booked a taxi through the platform to commute from her residence in Yelahanka to her office in JP Nagar here. During the ride, she noticed the driver staring at her through the rear-view mirror in an uncomfortable manner. Much to her shock and horror, she then saw him watching a pornographic video clip on his phone, even as he was masturbating. Despite her repeated requests to stop the vehicle, the driver refused and insisted on dropping her at her destination. She finally managed to exit the taxi only near her workplace. 

Upon reaching office, the petitioner lodged a complaint against the driver on the Ola platform. However, although Ola executives informed her that the driver concerned had been “blacklisted” and would be sent for counselling and further training, the petitioner was not satisfied with the response and sought further action. Ola attempted to persuade her to close the complaint, but she remained firm in her demand for substantive punitive measures. Ola management and ICC claimed they had no jurisdiction to take any further action against the driver as there was no employer-employee relationship, and the actual perpetrator was an impostor who was not even authorised to drive the vehicle in question. However, the court rejected these arguments

Passengers drenched as rainwater leaks through roof of TNSTC bus

Passengers drenched as rainwater leaks through roof of TNSTC bus

Rainwater leaks inside a TNSTC bus in Madurai on Tuesday.

The Hindu Bureau

MADURAI  02.10.2024 

Passengers onboard a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus in Madurai on Tuesday had to cover their heads while travelling from Melur to Sekkipatti as rainwater started leaking inside from several holes on the bus roof.

The TNSTC bus started from Melur bus stand around 6 p.m. and within a few minutes it started raining, said Jeeva, a passenger from Kesampatti. As the rain continued for about 10 minutes, water started leaking from some of the holes on the roof and window corners.

When the rain turned intense, all holes started leaking water. Passengers, who initially stood up from their seats to avoid getting wet, were left with no option other than to cover their heads before getting fully drenched, he added.

While elderly passengers covered their heads with cloth and hands, mothers covered infants with their saree and shawls. The incident was just a precursor to what was yet to comewhen the northeast monsoon started in the middle of October. A similar problem existed in TNSTC buses operated in routes such as Sekkipatti, Sirukudi and Kunnarampatti

“Some repair works to prevent leakage should be carried out before the onset of the northeast monsoon as thousands of people from villages are dependent on government buses,” he said.

Officials hold inquiry at Isha Yoga Center after Madras HC directive

Officials hold inquiry at Isha Yoga Center after Madras HC directive

The petitioner had accused the Foundation of abusing certain persons by brainwashing them into becoming monks.

The Hindu Bureau

COIMBATORE 02.10.2024 

Police personnel and officials of the Social Welfare Department conducted an inquiry at the Isha Yoga Center in Coimbatore on Tuesday, a day after the Madras High Court directed the police to submit a status report on the allegations raised by a petitioner against the Isha Foundation.

District Superintendent of Police K. Karthikeyan, District Social Welfare Officer R. Ambika, and members of the District Child Protection Unit and District Child Welfare Committee visited the Center for inquiry, which began around 10 a.m. and continued till the night.

Justices S.M. Subramaniam and V. Sivagnanam of the High Court ordered the inquiry while hearing a habeas corpus petition filed by S. Kamaraj, a retired professor, whose daughters had joined the Foundation. The two women appeared before the court on Monday.

The petitioner had accused the Foundation of abusing certain persons by brainwashing them into becoming monks, and not even allowing their parents and relatives to meet them. The petitioner had also submitted that a criminal case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act was registered against a doctor who worked at the institution, on the charge of molesting 12 schoolgirls. His counsel had submitted that several other criminal cases were registered too.

“In view of the serious nature of the allegations raised against the institution, and the manner in which the detenues have spoken before us, we could form an opinion that some more deliberations are required to understand the truth...,” the judges had said in their order on Monday, tasking the Additional Public Prosecutor to submit a report on October 4.

As per the order, an affidavit of the petitioner stated that his elder daughter contacted him over the phone on June 15 this year and informed that his younger daughter would be fasting unto death till the petitioner gave up his litigation against the Center. The court directed the Coimbatore Rural Police to conduct an inquiry and file the status report.

Foundation responds

A statement issued by a spokesperson of the Foundation on Tuesday said, “We do not ask people to get married or take up monkhood...Isha Foundation was founded by Sadhguru [Jaggi Vasudev] to impart yoga and spirituality to people. We believe that adults, individual human beings have the freedom and wisdom to choose their path. We do not ask people to get married or take up monkhood as these are individual choices. The Isha Yoga Center is home to thousands who are not monks, and a few who have taken up brahmacharya or monkhood...”

The statement further pointed out that the monks had presented themselves before the court, and said they were staying at the Center out of their own volition. “Now that the matter is seized by the court, we hope that the truth will prevail and there is an end to the unnecessary controversies...”

It alleged that the petitioner, along with others, tried trespassing into the institution’s premises on the pretext of being a ‘fact-finding committee’ to inquire about the facts surrounding the crematorium being constructed by the Isha Foundation, and then filed a criminal complaint against the people of the Isha Yoga Center. The High Court has granted a stay on the submission of the final report by the police. Apart from this, there is no other criminal case against the foundation, it added.