Survivors of Kerala RTC bus accident left in a state of shock
They say local people came to their rescue

21/02/2020, G. KRISHNAKUMAR,KOCHI

Mangled remains: The KSRTC bus that met with an accident on the outskirts of Tiruppur on Thursday. M. PERIASAMY

Charishma K. woke up on hearing a loud thud and found that the right side of the bus in which she was travelling was completely open.

A passenger in the Garuda Volvo bus of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation that met with a major tragedy at Avinashi on the Coimbatore-Salem highway early on Thursday, Ms. Charishma boarded the bus from Bengaluru and was on the way to her cousin’s house in Ernakulam. “My seat number was 3 and it was on the left side of the bus. I found that the right side of the bus was completely damaged when I suddenly woke up. It was all over in flash. I am still in a state of shock.” she told The Hindu over the phone.

“We could not get out through the main exit door as it got jammed. Locals, who rushed to the spot immediately, broke the glasspanes of windows and rescued us,” she said.

Ms. Charishma, a bank employee in Bengaluru and a resident of Kannur, said she was not injured.

The images of bodies lying on the road refuse to leave Sreelakshmi Menon, who was seated in the first row of the bus on the left side.

“I was asleep and woke up after experiencing a huge jerk. I still do not know how I got out as the exit door was stuck. It was only after watching the news later that I realised that a trailer had rammed our bus as I could not spot it after coming out,” she said. An employee with an e-commerce company in Bengaluru, Sreelakshmi was en route to her residence near Thrissur. “I was taken in an ambulance along with a few others to Revathi Medical Centre in Tiruppur, where I was administered first aid. An X-ray was also taken and doctors advised that I could leave,” she said.

Rajiv case convicts: T.N. Cabinet advice has ‘zero’ value, says Centre

‘Home Ministry had decided not to release any of them and informed Governor’

21/02/2020, MOHAMED IMRANULLAH S.,CHENNAI

The Union Home Ministry on Thursday asserted before the Madras High Court that its approval was absolutely essential for releasing the seven life convicts in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and since it had already decided not to grant remission to any of them, the effect of a recommendation made by the State Cabinet to the Governor on September 9, 2018 to set them free was nothing but “zero.”

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) G. Rajagopalan told a bench of Justices R. Subbiah and R. Pongiappan that the Centre had also communicated to Governor Banwarilal Purohit a decision taken by it in April 2018 against releasing the seven convicts. On his part, State Public Prosecutor (SPP) A. Natarajan told the court that the Council of Ministers had only made a recommendation and it was up to the Governor to take a call.

Expressing shock over such a stand taken by the Centre and the State, M. Radhakrishnan, counsel for one of the convicts S. Nalini who had filed a habeas corpus petition seeking her immediate release, said, “There is a difference between an executive power and a sovereign power. The Union of India cannot even be allowed to speak in this matter because it relates to advice given by the council of ministers in the State to the Governor.

“It is unfortunate that such submissions are being made by the Additional Solicitor General. The State Public Prosecutor too is wrong in submitting that the Governor is the final authority. Ours is a quasi federal country where the Governors act as per the aid and advice of the council of ministers in every State but the submissions made now probably show the State government here is being run on the aid and advice of the Union Home Ministry.”

After hearing all of them, the judges reserved their verdict on the petition filed by Nalini who had sought her release on the ground of long delay on the part of the Governor in taking a decision on the Cabinet’s recommendation. Stating that the advice given by the council of ministers was binding upon the Governor and he would have no option but to accept it, the petitioner said, her detention since the date of recommendation should be considered illegal. Petitioner’s counsel cited a 1980 Supreme Court verdict in the famous Maru Ramu case and contended that the Governor’s signature was not mandatory for her release.

The SPP said the petitioner’s detention since September 2018 could not be termed illegal since she had been lodged in prison as per orders passed judicial forums. Stating that the Council of Ministers had only made a recommendation to the Governor for releasing the seven convicts, he said: “The government’s duty ends with making a recommendation. Unless the Governor passes an order on the recommendation, there is no question of illegal detention.”

SBI launches ‘combo card’ for students in university

An ATM/ ID card, it can be used to enter restricted areas

21/02/2020, STAFF REPORTER,MADURAI

One card will do: State Bank of India’s ‘combo card’ being launched in Madurai Kamaraj University on Thursday.G. Moorthy

State Bank of India’s (SBI) ‘combo card’ for students, a multi-purpose card, was launched at Madurai Kamaraj University here on Thursday. This card can be used to withdraw money from automatic teller machines, as an identity card, to access the library and for inter-departmental access for students.

SBI Deputy Managing Director (Strategy) J. Swaminathan, Vice-Chancellor M. Krishnan, SBI Chief Manager (Payments and Special Project) Pankaj Kumar and Chief General Manager (Chennai Circle) Vinay M. Tonse were present during the launch of the ‘combo card.’ A memorandum of understanding was also signed between MKU and SBI.

These ‘combo cards’ will be initially given to about 1,400 postgraduate students. Research scholars will get them next.

Mr. Swaminathan said that the card will benefit the students, the university, the bank and the nation. “This is a step towards digitisation. It will also help in reducing carbon footprint and contribute towards ecological conservation,” he said.

The VC said that it was a student-centric initiative which will also help the university to document every activity digitally. “The university is in the process of applying for the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) ranking. Currently, documentation of records is poor. These combo cards, for instance, will help in documenting data about the students who used the library,” he said. He also added that the card can be used for all financial transactions inside the university.

‘Ajinomoto safe for consumption’

21/02/2020, STAFF REPORTER,MADURAI

Stressing the nutritional benefits of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), Dietician Dharini Krishnan said that MSG was safe for human consumption, at a press meet organised by the Japanese food and biotechnology corporation, Ajinomoto, here at Courtyard by Marriott on Thursday.

“Monosodium Glutamate is safe for human consumption. Glutamic acid is found in breast milk also and is very safe. It is prepared from natural ingredients”, she said.

Managing Director of Ajinomoto India Atsushi Mishuku said that Ajinomoto (MSG) was extracted from natural products like sugarcane, corn and tapioca.

Ajinomoto was the first company to produce MSG on a commercial scale, Mr. Atsushi Mishuku said.

Regarding the negative perception that the MSG had garnered, he said that, “only imitation products that come from China without regulatory approval are harmful”.

Manager-Marketing of Ajinomoto India Govinda Biswas said, “We have successfully been countering the misconception regarding Ajinomoto.”

He added that due to their regular efforts in this regard there was an increase in the sale and consumption of the product.

Driver-conductor pair had a commendable track record

21/02/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,KOCHI

V.R. Baiju

V.D. Gireesh

The driver-cum-conductor pair, who lost their lives in the accident, had a commendable track record, with their humanitarian ways winning them accolades from within the organisation and from passengers.

In July 2018, the KSRTC’s then Chairman and Managing Director Tomin Thachankery issued a special commendation letter to V.D. Gireesh from Perumbavoor and V.R. Baiju from Piravom after they pro-actively intervened to save the life of a woman passenger. Kavitha Warrier, a passenger, had seizures while the KSRTC Garuda Volvo bus was passing through Hosur. The driver took a U-turn and drove 3 km to the nearest hospital. With the hospital insisting that there had to be a bystander, they contacted the KSRTC officials, who suggested that Baiju stay back at the hospital, till her relatives arrived.

Aliyar, an office-bearer of Kerala State Transport Workers Union, spoke of how the duo also helped rush a child, who suffered from epileptic fit while travelling to Bengaluru, to a hospital.

Six Nepal pilgrims killed in van-bus collision in Salem

TNN | Feb 21, 2020, 04.40 AM IST

SALEM: Six pilgrims from Nepal, two of them women, were killed and 25 others injured after an omnibus rammed a minibus near Omalur here in the early hours of Thursday.

District superintendent of police (SP) Deepa Ganigar said they had alerted the kin of the deceased through Nepal embassy in Chennai and they were expected to reach the city on Friday morning to receive the bodies.

According to the officer, the accident took place when the minibus, with a total of 34 Nepalese on board, was heading to Rajasthan via Salem after visiting Kanyakumari. “They had come down to the country to visit Hindu temples.”

When the minibus reached Naripallam on Salem-Bengaluru National Highway around 1am on Thursday, the officer said, passengers asked the driver to stop the vehicle for them to refresh.

Beemla Chowdry, 40, one of the passengers said, “We were travelling continuously for more than 10 hours and we wanted to take rest for a while. So, we asked the driver to park the vehicle near a stone mandapam belonging to a Kalilamman temple on the highway.”

Driver Gowlram Chowdhari subsequently parked the minibus on roadside and a few of them approached the night security at the temple, seeking permission to stay there for a few hours.

The SP said, “After obtaining permission from the security guard, they asked the driver to come to the stone mandapam. Chowdhari moved the minibus without noticing the omnibus that was coming in from the opposite direction. While the omnibus driver tried his best to avoid collision with the minibus, he didn’t succeed and hit the bus carrying the pilgrims at the centre, killing four of them on the spot and injuring others.”

She said the omnibus was heading to Kerala from Bengaluru and the passengers in that vehicle escaped unhurt.


When alerted by other motorists on the stretch, the Omalur police took the injured to the Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College and Hospital. The SP also reached the accident spot and oversaw the investigation.

“While Ber Bathur Rai, 46, Tikaram, 50, Gopal Taman, 53 and Bodhini, 50 died on the spot, Bulkari Cowdhri, 50, and Vishnu Thangal, 55, died in the hospital without responding to the treatment. The remaining passengers are out of danger,” the officer said.

Collector S A Raman, meanwhile, visited the injured at the government hospital and consoled them.

The Omalur police have registered a case under Sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 304 (a) (causing death by negligence) of Indian Penal Code and further inquiry is on. They are, however, yet to make any arrest.

Nirbhaya convict is back in court, this time with mental illness plea

TNN | Feb 21, 2020, 04.04 AM IST

New Delhi: A court on Thursday sought a reply from the Tihar Jail authorities on a plea by Vinay Sharma, a death-row convict in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case, that he be given better treatment due to his mental condition, including schizophrenia, and head and arm injuries. Additional sessions judge Dharmender Rana directed the authorities to file its reply on Saturday.

According to prison officials, Sharma injured himself by banging his head on his solitary cell wall in jail number 3 on Sunday afternoon. He suffered minor injuries and was treated on the Tihar premises, they said.

Advocate A P Singh, appearing for Sharma, told the court that “it was a serious matter” that the convict couldn’t recognise people, including his mother and lawyer. The lawyer claimed that while visiting his client on the family’s request, he had found Sharma had sustained a grievous head injury, had a plaster in his right arm due to a fracture, and was suffering from “insanity, mental illness and schizophrenia”.

Singh also claimed that the jail records would prove that Sharma had attempted suicide thrice in Tihar and was treated for depression.

The prosecution, however, opposed the plea arguing it was not maintainable. It termed the plea as a delaying tactic.

Meanwhile, according to an IANS report, Sharma’s counsel also moved the Election Commission of India challenging the rejection of his mercy petition. The rejection was suggested by Delhi government and signed by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia when the model code of conduct for the assembly elections was in force. The code made him “ineligible” to do so, Singh said, adding that a WhatsApp screenshot was sent instead of Sisodia’s digital signature while forwarding the plea to the lieutenant governor of Delhi.

After the LG sent it to the Union home ministry, it went to the President of India, who rejected the plea after considering the MHA’s suggestion.

Thursday’s petitions were filed after the court, on February 17, for the third time, issued death warrants for March 3 to execute the four convicts. Besides Sharma, the other convicts are Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta and Akshay Thakur.

Any further delay in their execution will be “sacrilegious” to the rights of the victim and for justice, the court had noted while fixing the new date.