Only 110 students register for NEET re-exam after missing exam due to train delay

Education

Earlier reports had suggested that 365 students had missed the exam due to the delay in the arrival of the Hampi Express in Bengaluru on May 5.

TNM Staff

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Only 110 candidates have registered for the National Eligibility Cum-Entrance Test (NEET) re-exam scheduled for May 20 for the students who missed it earlier due to a seven-hour train delay. Earlier reports had suggested that 365 students had missed the exam due to the delay in the arrival of the Hampi Express, which runs from Hampi to Bengaluru via Mysuru, on May 5. The train, which was supposed to reach Bengaluru at 7 in the morning reached at 2.30 pm, while the exam began at 2 pm. Upset on missing out on their rightful chance at the exams, the students started mass tweeting, tagging Union Human Resource Minister Prakash Javadekar. Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and many other politicians also urged the Centre to conduct a re-exam for the affected students. The HRD Minister then announced that a re-exam would be conducted for these students; the date for the re-exam was finalised to be May 20 by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Students were asked to submit a copy of the train ticket and the exam admission ticket along with the fresh application. The last date to register for the re-exam was May 10. However, only 110 applications have been received so far. A source in the state education department told TNM that among the 110 applicants, several have not specified the reason for the fresh application and that they will not be allowed to write the re-exam. “The NTA had asked for a copy of the admission ticket and a copy of the train ticket while registering for the re-exam. But it has received applications from students saying they were not able to attend the exam and want another chance to write it,” said the source. The NTA of the HRD ministry conducts NEET every year in May for students to secure admission to state-run and private medical and dental colleges across the country to study graduate and post-graduate courses.

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Karnataka crisis deepens, Siddaramaiah in talks with JDS, BJP MLAs

Politics

BJP and JD(S) insiders confirm that Siddaramaiah and his close aides have been holding talks with MLAs from other parties.

TNM Staff

Congress insiders say that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in a bid to break away from the alliance with the JD(S), is holding talks with 13 BJP and 7 JD(S) MLAs. Party sources say that Siddaramaiah wants to gather 20 MLAs on his side and ensure that he has the numbers post May 23. Sources say that Siddaramaiah is already in talks with JD(S) MLAs K Mahadeva from Piriyapatna, Suresh Gowda from Tumakuru Rural, Narayana Gowda from KR Pete, Ravindra Srikantaiah from Srirangpatna, Avinash Kumar from T Narasipura and several others. “Siddaramaiah needs 20 MLAs who will resign from the Assembly and force re-election. He has aspirations of becoming the Chief Minister and once the Lok Sabha election results are out, he is planning to put his plan to action,” the Congress source said. BJP insiders on the other hand say that Siddaramaiah’s close aides in Bagalkote are holding talks with 13 BJP MLAs from north Karnataka. “Siddaramaiah needs the north Karnataka BJP MLAs to defect to Congress. These MLAs have been promised money and a ticket to contest polls and some of them have also been offered ministerial portfolios. If he manages to get the BJP MLAs to defect, he will be making a smooth headway in the BJP bastion,” the BJP source said. Congress sources say that the Congress decision to form a hasty coalition after state Assembly election results were announced haleft him embittered. “Siddaramaiah wants to redeem his reputation. He has been running the show in the background. The fact that Deve Gowda’s family members have benefited because of his defeat has made him unhappy,” the source added. Siddaramaiah was defeated by JD(S) leader GT Devegowda in his home constituency of Chamundeshwari during the 2018 Assembly elections. In addition, when the Congress and JD(S) coalition was formed, the party's high command in new Delhi had agreed to a deal which made Kumaraswamy the Chief Minister. "Siddaramaiah wanted to be the CM and he lost the seat to his arch rival -- the Gowda family. That's why he wants to bring them down by poaching the JD(S)'s best leaders," the source said. On Monday, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy met with JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda and held talks about keeping the JD(S) flock together. JD(S) sources say that several MLAs from Mandya were unhappy about the party sidelining local leaders during the Lok Sabha elections. “Many local leaders wanted a shot at contesting the MP elections. They are unhappy that Nikhil Kumaraswamy was given the ticket. The move has made JD(S) leaders assume that they cannot further their political ambitions if they remain with the party,” the JD(S) source said.    

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Autopsy report says Raichur engineering student was not raped: CID sources

Crime

The 23-year-old engineering student was found hanging from a tree in Raichur on April 15 and protests had broken out with students alleging that she was raped and murdered.

TNM Staff

The Criminal Investigation Department probing the death of the 23-year-old engineering student from Raichur has stated that the woman was not raped. According to CID sources, the autopsy performed by Dr Karadi in the Raichur District Hospital states the cause of death to be due to asphyxiation by hanging. “The post-mortem report also states that the woman was not raped. Her body was not burnt. Since the police discovered the body two days after she had died, it had begun to decompose,” the CID source said. The engineering student was found hanging from a tree in Raichur on April 15. Local police had initially concluded that it was a case of suicide as they had found a death note next to her body. The death note stated that the victim was taking her own life since she had backlogs in her exams. However, the woman’s friends and family had held massive protests in Raichur alleging that she had not taken her own life but was raped and murdered. CID sleuths are still investigating whether the woman’s death was a suicide or a murder. The victim’s viscera samples, along with the accused Sudarshan Yadav’s clothes and the death note, have been sent to the Forensic Science Lab. They are currently awaiting the report from the FSL in Bengaluru. “We suspect it is suicide and we are investigating to find the actual cause. The woman had several backlogs in several subjects in the previous semesters, although she had cleared her fifth-semester backlogs,” the source said. CID sources say that they have obtained CCTV footage from various places, including a lodge in Mantralaya. “The accused Sudarshan Yadav has an alibi. He was in Mantralaya when the victim died. We have CCTV footage of him entering the lodging facility. Sudarshan had called the woman multiple times and when she did not answer, he assumed she had gone to Mantralaya, as they used to go there when they were together,” the source said. Investigators say they are trying to find whether the woman died due to the harassment she faced at the hands of Sudarshan Yadav. “Sudarshan was a jealous boyfriend and he used to doubt the victim a lot, which led them to fight often. She had broken off the relationship a few months before she died and yet he would call her almost daily and ask her to get back with him,” the source told TNM. The outrage ensuing the woman’s death had resulted in the Netaji Nagar Police arresting victim’s former boyfriend Sudarshan Yadav. When the protests continued, the woman’s parents had demanded a CID probe after which the agency took over the investigation.    

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Bengaluru police arrest bus driver accused of assaulting, abducting biker

Crime

The incident took place when Harish, driving a bus towards Mangaluru, brushed against Manjunath and Raghu, who were riding on a bike in Peenya.

TNM Staff

Bengaluru police detained a bus driver accused of kidnapping and assaulting a biker on Friday night. The driver and three others allegedly kidnapped and assault the biker after an argument on the road over the former's driving.  The incident took place when Harish, who was driving a Seabird Travels bus to Mangaluru, brushed against Manjunath and Raghu, who were riding on a bike near the Nelamangala toll booth in Peenya. This led to Raghu questioning Harish about his driving and the argument soon escalated into a tussle between the two.  Raghu, in his complaint to the police, stated that Harish kicked him and forced him into the bus with the help of others presumed to be staff working inside the bus and then pushed him out of the moving bus four hours later in Sakleshpur. Raghu is receiving treatment at KC General Hospital.  Peenya police investigating the incident picked up Harish in Hassan when he was sleeping inside the bus. “We are still looking for the other three who are absconding. While Harish attacked Raghu repeatedly, Abhilash was driving the bus. We will nab all the culprits soon,” a police official told The New Indian Express.

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Night marathon event at Bengaluru’s Cubbon Park irks Walkers’ Association

Controversy

The Cubbon Park Walkers Association filed a complaint stating that the organisers violated rules by bringing in bright lights and sound systems during the event without police permission.

TNM Staff

The Cubbon Park Walkers Association has filed a complaint with Bengaluru police against organisers of a night marathon event that was held in the Cubbon Park area in Bengaluru on Saturday night.  “Running at late night hours and causing disturbance to our nature is not tolerable. Our association is working towards protecting and safeguarding nature. We would like to address the issue with the government," said Dr Sribhavani Rakesh, organising secretary of the Walkers’ Association speaking to Bangalore Mirror.   The association in its complaint alleged that the running event was organised at the park between 8 pm on Saturday night and 2 am on Sunday morning. The complaint stated that the event organisers violated rules by bringing in bright lights and sound systems without obtaining due permission. The complaint also stated that this created a nuisance for birds nesting in the trees in the iconic green space in central Bengaluru.  However, Cubbon Park Deputy Director Mahantesh Murgod stated that the event was organised with permission from the horticulture department and that it did not go on till 2 am as claimed by those complaining. "Based on directions from and permission given by higher authorities in the horticulture department, we decided to organise the event. It was held to establish Cubbon Park as a safe space, especially since BESCOM recently completed the installation of smart, sensor-controlled lights all across the park. It is a one-time event and did not go on till 2 am as some are claiming. It was from 8 pm to 10:30 pm and there was no noise except in the first ten minutes of the marathon run when some announcements were to be made," Mahantesh told The Times of India. 

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Mangaluru woman murdered, body parts found in two different places

Crime

Two days before the body was discovered, the family of the deceased, Shreemathi Shetty, had filed a missing complaint.

Prajwal Bhat

A case of gruesome murder has emerged from Mangaluru. The body of a middle-aged woman, stuffed in a gunny bag, was found in two different areas in Mangaluru on Sunday. While the head and the limbs of the body were found on the roadside of the highway between Nantoor and KPT, the torso was found in Nandigudda in the district. The officials from Kadri and Pandeshwar police station discovered the body after being alerted by passersby. The police officials from both the stations arrived at the two spots as soon as they were alerted about the discovery of the body parts. "The parts of the body were discovered in two different places, around 9 am. On the highway, one bag of body parts was found near the MRPL Petrol Bunk by a group of fruit vendors and the other bag was found near the burial ground in Nandigudda. The parts of the body have been sent to a hospital and we are investigating the case," said an official from Pandeshwar police station. The deceased has been identified as Shreemathi Shetty, a resident of Amar Alva Road in the district. The family of Shreemathi was informed about the murder and were asked to visit the hospital where the body was taken to. Incidentally, two days before the body was discovered, her family had filed a missing complaint at Pandeshwar police station, stating that Shreemathi had not returned home since Friday.  After a preliminary inquiry, the police officials stated that this could be a case of murder committed for personal reasons. Three teams of police personnel have been formed to trace the murderers and a detailed investigation will be carried out. "We have registered an FIR but are yet to ascertain where the crime has taken place. We will be transferring the case to the relevant police station when the spot, where the crime was committed, has been established," said a police official from Kadri police station. According to the police, Shreemathi is divorced and her husband is in judicial custody over a case of theft registered in Mangaluru South police station.

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Pakistani couple caught in Bengaluru with fake Aadhaar IDs deported

Crime

Kashif Shamsuddin, his wife Kirhon Ghulam Ali and Sameera, a woman married to an Indian man, were arrested in 2017.

TNM Staff

Photograph via The Quint

A couple from Pakistan, convicted in 2017 of illegally entering India and holding fake documents while living in Bengaluru, was deported from the country on Saturday. As per sources in Bengaluru police and the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), Kashif Shamsuddin and his wife Kirhon Ghulam Ali were handed over to Pakistani authorities at the Wagah-Attari border on Sunday. “They have been deported on Saturday,” confirmed a senior officer from Bengaluru police. The couple hailed from Chakragot in Karachi and were arrested in May 2017 in Bengaluru along with Sameera, another Pakistani national, who had entered India with them. Sameera is currently in jail in Bengaluru. She is married to Mohammad Shihab, a native of Kerala who was working in Qatar. The couple got married against the family’s wishes some time in 2015 and has a child. Police officials stated that the trio was residing in India with fake documents, including Aadhaar cards. Officials are yet to decide on deporting Sameera and her child. Since the mother is an illegal immigrant, the child will not be given Indian citizenship. According to the Citizenship Act of 1955, “A person born in India on or after 3 December 2004 is considered citizen of India by birth, if both the parents are citizens of India or one of whose parents is a citizen of India and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of his birth”. As per Quint, Shihab brought Sameera into the country via Nepal after her father placed her on house arrest. The three nationals from Pakistan first came to Nepal from Qatar via Muscat in Oman. They reached Patna in Bihar after crossing the Indo-Nepal border from Kathmandu. Sameera was arrested along with Kashif and Kirhon in May 2017 from Bengaluru’s Kumaraswamy Layout. They were charged with illegally entering the country and creating fake identity cards. They were sentenced to 21 months and 12 months in prison for the two cases respectively.

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