Probe in TNPSC scam picks up pace 
 
Main Suspect Granted Bail By City Court

K Sureshkumar & A Selvaraj TNN

Chennai: 17.05.2018

The Central Crime Branch probeintotheTNPSC Group-I officers recruitment scam picked up steam even as a city sessions court granted anticipatory bail to promoter of a coaching institute that accountedfor 62of 74Group-1 officers selected more than a year ago.

The XV additional sessions judge (vacation judge), S Purushothaman, granted anticipatory bail to Apollo Study Centre’s Sam Rajeswaran, but directed him not to leave the country without the court’s permission.

The CCB had said, in response to the remand plea of TNPSC section officer Kasi Ram Kumar, that 62 of 74 officers selected after the 2016 examination were from Apollo.

Most of the recruited officersdid notjoin duty after the scam hit the headlines and prompted the Madras high court to bar their postings till the conclusion of the case.

The CCB has stepped up the pace of the investigation by nominating SP-rank officer Shyamala Devi to lead the probe. Investigators, who suspect that middlemen question paper drafters, evaluators, TNPSC officials and others received ₹1 crore per candidate, have arrested four people,including Kasi, in connection with the scam.

The city police cybercrime wing initially investigatedthecasebeforetheforgery wing of the CCB took over.

On Wednesday, the prosecution lodged a “strong objection” against Rajeswaran’s anticipatory bail plea, arguing that the high court had already given the go-ahead to the CCB to the probe the case. The investigation was proceeding in the right manner,the prosecution said.

Additional sessions judge Purushothaman,however, allowed the bail application concurring with the submission of Rajeswaran’s counsel that the CCB had not recovered any document againstthe petitioner, even after the arrestof four TNPSCsection officers. He granted Rajeswaran anticipatory bail on the condition that appear before the investigating officer every Monday for eight weeks.

The CCB’s remand application of April 26, seeking judicial custody of Kasi, stated that Kasi confessed to the offences and admitted to conspiracy with Rajeswaran. The application said the CCB arrested Kasi based on evidence seized in a raid on Apollo Study Centre on January 28.

Information that investigators gathered through the seizure from the study centre of various documents, phone numbers and model question papers revealed a clear picture of the crime and its modus operandi,including illegalfavours that section officer Kasi performed for gain on behalf of Rajeswaran, the remand memo said. 

Tamil Nadu to start counselling for MBBS, BDS in June 3rd week

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 17.05.2018

Counselling for MBBS and BDS admissions in the state will start in the third week of June, after the Directorate General of Health Services completes its online admission process, health minister C Vijayabaskar said on Wednesday.

Central Board of Secondary Education, which conducted NEET-2018 on May 6, is yet to release answer keys or announce the results date.

The government declared the state board Class XII results on Wednesday, but most medical aspirants are awaiting their scores in NEET, which has since 2017 been the sole criterion for medical and dental admissions. More than 13 lakh candidates, including 7 lakh girls, appeared for the exam countrywide.

“The results are likely to be out in the first week of June,” the minister said. “The Centre will then hold two rounds of counselling for the 15% all India quota in the state. If everything goes right, we will be able to start counselling by June 25.”

The state selection committee at the Directorate of Medical Education will by May-end issue prospectus and application forms for admission to state run medical colleges, ESIC, Annamalai University and state quota seats in self-financing medical colleges affiliated to the state university.

“We have asked self-financing colleges to surrender seats for the state quota,” director of medical education Dr Edwin Joe said. “Some colleges are still awaiting permission for admissions from the MCI.”

The state will release the rank list three to four days ahead of the counselling.

B.Com top draw, demand for science courses up too

Ram Sundaram & Aarthi Krishnan 17.05.2018

The lure of a career in the corporate sector remains high and BCom courses continue to be the most sought after in colleges in Chennai, but the fact that demand for basic science courses has also gained momentum is clear: Many reputed institutions were by Wednesday running out of applications.

On Wednesday, soon after the Class XII board exam results were out, long queues were spotted outside most colleges despite the entire admissions process being made online. Almost every college has set up a temporary guidance cell, offering advice to students and their parents on selecting courses as well as on the scope for employment and higher studies in the various courses.

When TOI correspondents posing as students approached the guidance cells, staff manning them said that only those with scores of 90% or more above stood a chance of securing a BCom seat.

On the continued high demand for B Com, Dr C R Ravi, former principal of a government aided college, said, “It has become a time-tested course and students believe that they have some future in banking, financing and accounting by opting for this.”

The demand for basic science courses has also shot up with many probably believing that engineering may not take them far and that they have better options if they pursue post graduation courses or undertake a PhD after a basic science course like BSc (physics) or BSc (chemistry).

N Shettu, general secretary of the Association of University Teachers said there was a popular misconception that taking up a CA (Chartered Accountant) course gets easy after BCom.

“This is not true as anyone can take up CA after completing a UG course. As far as life sciences are concerned, BSc (zoology) and BSc (botany) are getting more attention of late. Many of these students have excelled in researches with the help of increased exposure attained through these courses,” Shettu said. 

Hearing impaired girl scores high in boards, sports & dance

Gayatri Vasudevan 17.05.2018

Talented in sports and dance and simultaneously excelling in academics, Maheswari S, student of MGR Janaki School for the Deaf, Ramapuram, is over the moon having secured 800/1000 in her boards.

It’s been a tough road for Maheswari, whose mother and younger brother also suffer from a hearing impairment. But, says Maheswari, the impairment which resulted in her inability to speak, didn’t stop her from realising her dreams.

Maheswari says her day would begin at 4 am and she would continue to study till late into the night. She would commute from Kattankulathur, where she lived to her school in Ramapuram, which was more than an hour-and-ahalf away, as the school was equipped with hearing aids. “With extra training in auditory and sign language, daily lessons were taught,” says Maheswari, who hopes to pursue BCom in MGR Janaki College. “She works hard, and has told me she hopes to get a job in a bank,” says her father S Subramaniam, who works for daily wages at a cycle shop.

Dr Latha Rajendran, secretary and principal of MGR Janaki School, said Maheswari was a very determined student. “She hopes to become the breadwinner in her family,” she said.

She lost her eyes but not her vision

Vinayashree.J@timesgroup.com 17.05.2018

Mahalakshmi was just two months old when she lost sight in one eye and by her second birthday she had gone blind.

But 16 years later, the Class XII student proved that she did not let the impairment come in way of her success by securing 93% (1125/1200), the highest for her school Little Flower Convent for the Blind in T Nagar. Mahalakshmi said she was sponsored by the institution as her father — a truck driver — and her mother, who works in a college mess, could not make ends meet. The girl has also made a mark in her school by being the only student to secure full score of 200 in economics ever since the school was started.

On Wednesday, after the results were declared, Mahalakshmi’s mother and teachers stood beaming beside her. “She’s very ambitious. I also encourage her to pursue civil services as she has a mindset to do good for others,” said Caroline, her economics teacher.

The school had more than one reason to celebrate as there were many other high scorers. Mahalakshmi’s friend Indhrani scored 1,106. “We were constantly competing. I scored higher in the revision tests but she ended up beating me in the finals.” Like her friend, Indhrani too is keen on bringing about a change.

“There are too many restrictions especially when it comes to caste. Also there are child marriages – we were 16 girls in my class when I started out and today only three remain unmarried. I want to bring about changes in the district,” she said.

But it’s not only about academics for these two. While both the girls enjoy reading books, Mahalakshmi also plays chess and is a long-jumper. Indrani kicks back with some ‘kuthu’ songs in her leisure time. 


Mahalakshmi (left) and Indhrani

MORE MIGRATE FROM STATE BOARD TO CBSE

Ram.Sundaram & Vinayashree J | TNN 17.05.2018

More than 32,000 fewer students appeared for state board examination this year from the number the previous year. Nearly half of them moved to CBSE schools, whose numbers increased from 250 in 2010 to 830 in 2018, Tamil Nadu government records show.

The 260% increase is a result of matriculation schools moving to CBSE and few simultaneously operating branches that offer matriculation. Educationists attribute this to introduction of NEET and JEE and a drop in quality of the state board. “The Centre indirectly pushed [the schools] toward CBSE by making NEET mandatory,” educationist Prince Gajendra Babu said. Ashok Shankar, of Tamil Nadu CBSE Schools Management Association, said the board’s poor record also nudged schools toward CBSE.

However, a school education department official said students would be lured back when the government releases new textbooks with the revised syllabus. “In another three to four years, these students will migrate back to our schools,” he said.

Some experts attributed the decrease in the number of students who appeared for the exams to a possible rise in the dropout rate. However, the dip in government school enrolment does not correspond to an increase in matric school student numbers. Growth in state board schools has been marginal this year.

SC holds hearing at 1.45am after Cong-JD(S) asks it to block Yeddy’s swearing-in at 9am 

Parties File Joint Petition After Governor Gives BJP 15 Days To Prove Majority In Assembly 

Naheed Ataullah & Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN

Bengaluru/New Delhi: 17.05.2018

After another day of intense political drama in Bengaluru, the action shifted to New Delhi late Wednesday night as the Congress and JD(S) moved the Supreme Court in a bid to stop B S Yeddyurappa, leader of the 104-strong BJP in the Karnataka assembly, from being sworn in as chief minister at 9am today. The 11th-hour legal manoeuvre by the newly minted alliance came after governor Vajubhai Vala invited Yeddyurappa to take oath as CM and gave him 15 days to prove his majority, a decision that instantly triggered araging controversy because it is seen to give the BJP ample time to entice Congress and JD (S) MLAs-elect to switch sides.

Supreme Court officials gathered at the CJI's residence and went through the petition. There was only one previous instance of the SC agreeing to a late night hearing -- when a three-judge bench was set up to hear a plea seeking postponement of the death sentence awarded to Mumbai blasts convict Yakub Memon. One of the judges on that bench, Justice Dipak Misra, now the CJI, set up another three-judge bench of Justices A K Sikri, S A Bobde and Ashok Bhushan, to consider the Congress-JD(S) petition. It was announced that the hearing would begin at 1.45am.

The hearing was still on at the time of going to press and it was unclear whether Congress-JD(S) would get the immediate relief they seek. Their arguments revolve around stating that BJP has presented no evidence that it can get the additional eight MLAs it needs to reach the majority mark from its current 104 seats and the invitation to Yeddyurappa would ensure horse trading.

Congress was represented by Manu Abhisekh Singhvi and the BJP and Centre (read governor) were represented by former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi.

Rohatgi was expected to argue that the discretion of the governor cannot be challenged and there were sufficient precedents to support his decision when the incumbent government had lost decisively and the third player was a distant third.


Only 2nd midnight hearing in SC history


The dramatic post-midnight hearing last night marks only the second time in the judicial history of independent India that such an event has taken place. In the previous instance, a three-judge Supreme Court bench began hearing a petition seeking postponement of Yakub Memon’s execution at 3.24am on July 30, 2015. At 4.46am, Yakub’s final petition was dismissed.

Appealed only for conscience vote: BJP

In case the low-key swearingin ceremony goes ahead at Raj Bhavan, it is likely to be skipped by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. Vala ignored the Congress-JD(S) combine’s claim that their chief ministerial nominee H D Kumarawamy be given the first opportunity to form the government as the two parties with 116 MLAs between them enjoy a clear majority in the House, which has an effective strength of 222.

Though the decision of the governor, who served as a minister in the BJP government in Gujarat before taking up the constitutional office, was along anticipated lines, it attracted a furious response from Congress and JD(S), which accused him of shaming the Constitution. The two parties rushed to CJI Dipak Misra in the night to secure a “stay” order. They also sought a direction from the court to the governor to invite Kumaraswamy to form the government.

Seeking quashing of the governor’s decision, joint petitioners KPCC chief G Parmeshwara and JD(S) president Kumaraswamy said, “Failure of the governor to invite Congress-JD(S)-BSP alliance which together commands a clear majority of 116 legislators in the assembly is ex facie unconstitutional, illegal and arbitrary.”

Besides privileging Yeddyurappa over Kumaraswamy on the ground that BJP finished as the single largest party, the governor was also attacked for giving Yeddyurappa a fortnight to secure a vote of confidence from the assembly, with Congress alleging that the window would be used to manufacture a mandate. “Fifteen days will be used to turn 104 into 111,” former finance minister P Chidambaram said.

Independent MLA R Shankar symbolised the tussle for MLAs. The lawmaker was found at Yeddyurappa’s house in the morning. By evening, he was back with the Congress-JD (S) combine and accompanied them to Raj Bhavan. Shankar later said he believed the best interests of his constituents would be served by him being with the Congress.

BJP denied the “horse trading” charge and was upfront in acknowledging that it had appealed to MLAs of rival parties to exercise a “conscience vote” — shorthand for a call to defy whips issued by Congress and JD(S).