Ex-VC Adesh Pal forced to retire

Ex-VC Adesh Pal forced to retire

Palanpur:31.10.2021

Adesh Pal, professor and head of the English department at the Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University and ex-VC of Gujarat University was forcibly retired after the syndicate passed a resolution against him on Saturday. The action is based on the Lokayukta report which states that Pal had failed to give a satisfactory reply to charges of corruption levelled against him. The government’s nod to retire Pal had come last Thursday.

The charges of corruption relate to his tenure in GU during 2011 when the GU campus library was said to have been defrauded of Rs 1.7 crore. The Lokayukta took up the case after the education department filed a formal complaint. On October 14, deputy secretary of the education department, Moulik Shah wrote a letter to North Gujarat university to take action which resulted in the syndicate forcibly retiring him from Nov 1, 2021.

He will get post retirement benefits as per government rules. TNN

US curbs eased, but visa wait time gets longer for Indians

US curbs eased, but visa wait time gets longer for Indians

Saurabh.Sinha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:31.10.2021

The lifting of US restrictions on fully-vaccinated travellers from India from November 8 has seen the processing time for visas rise significantly. The US embassy in India on Saturday warned of “significant appointment wait times for some nonimmigrant visa categories.” During pandemic, a long waiting time for visa-processing of countries that open their doors to travellers from abroad is a phenomenon seen regularly. “From November 8, an estimated 30 lakh visa holders from India, with proof of vaccination, will be able to travel to the United States under the new international air travel policy. Facilitating legitimate travel to support our strong and growing bilateral ties is our top priority. As we build back from covid-19 related interruptions, we expect significant appointment wait times for some nonimmigrant visa categories at our embassy and consulates. Thank you for your patience while we work to increase our capacity and maintain the safety of our applicants and staff,” the US embassy website states.

Describing the vaccination requirements for travellers, it adds: “Starting on November 8, foreign national air travellers to the US will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding to fly to the US, with only limited exceptions. The CDC has determined that for the purposes of entry into the United States, vaccines accepted will include those FDA approved or authorised, as well as vaccines with an emergency use listing (EUL) from the World Health Organization (WHO).”

“From November 8, an estimated 30 lakh visa holders from India, with proof of vaccination, will be able to travel to the United States under the new international air travel policy”

Couple gets death penalty for killing parents over property

Couple gets death penalty for killing parents over property

Passed Off Murder As Fire Mishap Due To Air Conditioner Blast

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:31.10.2021

A husband and wife who conspired together and murdered the parents and younger brother of the man to gain ownership of the family property, by throwing petrol bombs inside the house in Tindivanam, Villupuram district have been sentenced to death by a special court for bomb blast cases. The accused had passed off the murder as an accident by claiming that air conditioner explosion led to the fire. They have been found guilty under sections of the explosive substances act.

According to prosecution, M Govardanan, a private school teacher and his wife, Deepika Gayatri were living along with Govardanan’s family at Subarayan street in Kaveripakkam, Tindivanam. Investigations revealed that Govardanan, after his marriage in 2018, demanded money from his parents to start a business, but was denied as he had already spent lavishly. Besides, the main accused was also holding a grudge against his parents as they continuously insulted him. Subsequently, to settle his loans, Govardanan pledged his wife’s jewellery and then again demanded money from his parents. His father agreed to arrange Rs 30 lakh as his share from the ancestral property. Since there was delay, heconfronted his parents on May 14, 2019.

Aggrieved over their evasive responses, on May 15, Govardanan prepared petrol bombs (molotov cocktail) and threw them in rooms , where his parents and brother were sleeping. His mother, Kalaiselvi died in the room. When his brother Gowthaman tried to escape, another petrol bomb was thrown at him, leading to his death due to severe burns. When his father, Raju tried to escape through the kitchen door, Govardanan kicked him and stabbed him with a butcher knife. The couple later raised an alarm to make it seem like their family members have died due to explosion in the air conditioner.

P Velmurugan, Sessions Judge, special court for exclusive trial of bomb blast cases held that the prosecution proved their arguments with documentary evidence. “The crime committed is diabolic, gruesome, barbaric and inhuman. If the accused are awarded lesser punishment on the premise that there is a chance for reformation, it would amount to misplaced sympathy and society will not accept the same and will degrade the image of the Indian criminal justice administrative system,” the court said.

“The crime committed is diabolic, gruesome, barbaric and inhuman. If the accused are awarded lesser punishment on the premise that there is a chance for reformation, it would amount to misplaced sympathy and society will not accept the same.”

Police seek complaints against Siva Shankar Baba

Police seek complaints against Siva Shankar Baba

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:31.10.2021

CB-CID sleuths have sought complaints, if any, from public against Siva Shankar Baba who was arrested and detained in jail for sexually assaulting school students. Anyone can approach police on mobile numbers of CB-CID officers.

Siva Sankar Baba who was first arrested on June 16 from Delhi for sexual harassment charges, has been lodged in Puzhal prison. Police are seeking the common public to come forward and lodge formal complaints against the self-styled ‘godman’, as their preliminary inquiries revealed that he had been abusing several girl students of a residential school he founded on the city’s outskirts.

In a press release, the investigating agency said that people can reach deputy superintendent of police Velmurugan at 9498104461, inspector of police Renuga Devi at 9498104695, inspector of police Gomathi at 9498107303, or inspector of police Valarmathi at 9840643610.

Information provided will be kept confidential.

The Mamallapuram all-women police, based on three complaints, booked Siva Sankar Baba on June 12. The case was transferred to the CB-CID on June 13. Police apprehended him from a lodge at Chittaranjan Park in Delhi on June 16. Police also registered a case against a former student of the school, Sushmitha, for “brainwashing” other students into getting the ‘blessings’ of Baba at his ashram, police said.

People can reach out to DSP Velmurugan at 9498104461, inspector Renuga Devi at 9498104695, inspector Gomathi at 9498107303, and inspector Valarmathi at 9840643610

Airport to get separate travellers’ helpdesk

FOR MEET AND GREET

Airport to get separate travellers’ helpdesk

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:31.10.2021

Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to set up a facility to guide passengers who arrive and depart the city.

The meet-and-greet counter and its staff, popular in other airports, will assist departing passengers to fasttrack check-in formalities while assisting those who arrive with baggage, transport options to the city.

A tender has been floated to identify a company which will be able to carry out the work. The work is likely to be awarded next month.

An AAI official said a meet-and-greet facility is available at all airports and there has been a demand for the service for some time, especially from passengers who arrive for the first time and those who travel on business.

Passengers will have to pay a fee to use the service, but many have expressed that the absence of the service was an inconvenience, especially because of the ongoing construction work that makes alighting from vehicles and boarding cars a hassle. The service will be of use for business class passengers and is crucial as scheduled international flights may resume mid next month.

Barricading, movement of heavy vehicles, workers and equipment to build integrated terminals and two multi-level car parks is causing a hassle for passengers. As travel has resumed in a big way and the domestic terminal alone has started to see 20,000 passengers per day, there is congestion at check in counters and at security check in.

The assistance facility including a helpdesk is likely to be of help in this scenario, said an airline official. The airport is also not able to install enough signage on the city side due to construction work.

Chennai airport had a meet-and-greet facility a few years ago but it was not a success as the staff of the firm were not allowed access to the security check area and meet the passengers at the aerobridge or arrival gates. Sources said there was no need for assistance for passengers if it cannot be provided from the aerobridge or arrival gate and assistance all the way till the boarding gates in the case of departing passengers.

As the staff were not allowed into the security check area, passengers who needed assistance were forced to depend on ground staff or baggage handlers to help them carry out the formalities inside terminals. The airport does not have adequate staff to assist business class passengers also as it has only one ground handling company serving international flights.

After month in jail, Aryan Khan returns home to much fanfare

After month in jail, Aryan Khan returns home to much fanfare

Mohua Das & Mateen Hafeez TNN

Mumbai:31.10.2021

Aryan Khan finally returned home on Saturday morning to a hero’s welcome, two days after the Bombay high court granted him bail and almost a month of being lodged at Arthur Road Jail following his arrest in the drugson-cruise case.

Jail officials unlocked the bail box at 5.30am on Saturday to collect Aryan’s release order to initiate the process that had missed its deadline on Friday. While his father, actor Shah Rukh Khan, left home at 8am and managed to dodge the media glare—stationed inside his white Range Rover parked close to the prison ahead of his son’s release—the crowd of onlookers that grew by the minute cheered excitedly at a fleeting glimpse of Aryan, 23, as he emerged from a mini gate at 11.02am with SRK’s bodyguard Ravi Singh briskly escorting him into the SUV, ready to drive back home.

FREE AT LAST: Aryan Khan, 23, left Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai around 11am on Saturday, two days after he was granted bail

‘If we’ve been there for SRK in good times, we need to be with him now’

Fans also gathered outside Mannat, the Khans’ sea-facing bungalow. “If we’ve been there for Shah Rukh in the good times, it’s our responsibility to be here for him in the bad times,” said Aparna Agnihotri from Andheri, member of a fan club.

Fans burst crackers, waving banners that read ‘Stay Strong Prince Aryan’ and chants of “We love Shah Rukh”, even as security guards and a posse of policemen jostled to provide the actor’s car a safe passage back into the building.

If the crowd lined up on pavements outside Arthur Road jail kept the police on their toes, with barricades and ropes to keep onlookers within limits and an eye on suspected pickpockets following reports of at least seven mobile phone thefts outside the jail on Friday, it was a busy day for some of SRK’s biggest fans too.

As the wait for the star son’s arrival grew longer, a man kept the crowd intrigued with his “bhavishya vani” or fortune-telling for the Khan family while two others stopped by to regale fans with the quintessential SRK song ‘Tujhe dekha toh yeh jaana sanam’ on their shehnai and dafli.

“Aaj bahut din baad khushi ka mahaul hai,” said Lateef Khan, a 20-year-old from Kurla and member of Team Shah Rukh Khan, a fan club with more than 2 million followers. Upset at not being able to welcome back “Prince Khan” on Friday, he refused to go home and camped with a friend instead in order to board the 6am train for Aryan’s grand arrival.

Full report on www.toi.in

FAN FRENZY: Cops and guards struggled to control the crowd in a lane leading to Mannat, Shah Rukh Khan’s home, in Mumbai on Saturday

Embassy warns of long visa wait as US eases curbs

31.10.2021

As the US opens for Indians from November 8, the country’s embassy on Saturday has warned of “significant appointment wait times for some non-immigrant visa categories”. “From November 8, an estimated 30 lakh visa holders from India, with proof of vaccination, will be able to travel to the US under the new air travel policy. Vaccines accepted will include those approved or authorised by the FDA and vaccines with an EUL from the WHO,” it said.