ABVP protests outside Bangalore University, seeks probe into exam evaluation scam

Protest

A complaint was filed by the University after Optical Mark Reader (OMR) answer sheets of as many as 804 students were found to be tampered with.

TNM Staff

ABVP

Nearly 400 members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad’s (ABVP), the BJP’s youth wing, staged a protest outside the Bangalore University on Friday, seeking a probe into the exam ‘evaluation scam’ that was unearthed by the University. On January 5, the varsity had registered a complaint against a private firm after finding out that it had allegedly tampered with Optical Mark Reader (OMR) answer sheets of as many as 804 students while scanning them. “The employee at the private firm named Charan Babu in a letter to the company has admitted that he has under the pressure of certain influencers from the university indulged in malpractice, yet the university is not taking any action other than filing an FIR,” Harsha Narayan, a member of ABVP, told TNM.  Registrar (Administration) K Jyothi, according to Deccan Herald, demanded an inquiry against the private firm, which has been given the tender since 2018 to scan the scripts and upload the marks of Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate courses. She had also said that the university will conduct an internal inquiry as well. However, the ABVP has said that when a question paper was leaked in 2018, the university had been inactive then as well. Harsha Narayan further alleged that the varsity, like in 2018, will merely register a complaint with the police and not punish the culprits. “We demand that the university take action against the culprits sooner. They should set up a committee and probe the matter,” he added. The ABVP has said that the University's Vice Chancellor, Venugopala, has accepted the ABVP's appeal and has assured that stringent legal action will be taken immediately. The University syndicate, the highest decision-making body at the varsity, met on Tuesday, January 6 and decided to withdraw results of the students involved in the scam. They also decided to approach the Criminal Investigation Department and hand the case over to them. ABVP’s Harsha Narayan also alleged that there was a land scam on the university campus as well. “A private entity took over a part of university land. Of the 1,000-acre land, they have taken over 227 acres of land,” Narayan claimed, further adding that they have demanded the state government’s intervention into the matter. 

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Protestors in K’taka gather against leasing forest land to businesses

Environment

The state government recently extended the lease of 20,000 hectares of forest land spread over four districts to the Mysore Paper Mills.

Soumya Chatterjee

A large group of protesters gathered in Karnataka’s Shivamogga on Thursday, demonstrating against the state government’s decision to extend the lease for 20,000 hectares of forest land to private companies through the now-defunct Mysore Paper Mills (MPM). These 20,000 hectares of forest land are spread across four districts-- Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga and Davangere districts.  The protesters consisted of environmentalists, farmers and civil society members under the umbrella of Nammorige Acacia Beda Horata Samiti. They had initially planned to gather at the Chief Conservator of Forest’s office. Their plan was foiled by police, who were present in large numbers at the site, preventing the protestors from entering the building. The protestors however, continued with their demonstration behind the barricades in the vicinity. While the MPM is a state government company (set up by the erstwhile Mysore kingdom), activists have raised concerns about how the government is looking to involve private companies in managing the forest lands through subcontracting.  A majority of the protesters demanded that the government return the land to the forest department, as the company is not only environmentally destructive but is also making losses. The MPM grows acacia trees in the land, which they use to source the wood needed to make paper. A majority of its employees have availed of the voluntary retirement scheme when the company stopped its day-to-day functioning in 2015. The previous lease of 40 years to MPM had expired in August 2020, but recently the government extended the lease to the company till 2026.  For years, the MPM has earned the ire of local residents in the region for creating a monoculture of acacia plantations and destroying the natural biodiversity. Some environmentalists had also gone to the Karnataka High Court to stop the company’s functioning on environmental grounds.  Akhilesh Chipli, a conservationist who took part in the protests, claimed that the High Court in its order had said at the time that the lease should not be extended. “The MPM and the government was told it can’t go on damaging the environment and should do some balancing act by replanting natural local species. So even before the lease ended, we had met all leading politicians both in the government and the Opposition. So our agenda is clear, the government has to cancel this lease extension and return the forest land to the forest department,” he said. 

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Protestors in K’taka gather against leasing forest land to businesses

Environment

The state government recently extended the lease of 20,000 hectares of forest land spread over four districts to the Mysore Paper Mills.

Soumya Chatterjee

A large group of protesters gathered in Karnataka’s Shivamogga on Thursday, demonstrating against the state government’s decision to extend the lease for 20,000 hectares of forest land to private companies through the now-defunct Mysore Paper Mills (MPM). These 20,000 hectares of forest land are spread across four districts-- Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga and Davangere districts.  The protesters consisted of environmentalists, farmers and civil society members under the umbrella of Nammorige Acacia Beda Horata Samiti. They had initially planned to gather at the Chief Conservator of Forest’s office. Their plan was foiled by police, who were present in large numbers at the site, preventing the protestors from entering the building. The protestors however, continued with their demonstration behind the barricades in the vicinity. While the MPM is a state government company (set up by the erstwhile Mysore kingdom), activists have raised concerns about how the government is looking to involve private companies in managing the forest lands through subcontracting.  A majority of the protesters demanded that the government return the land to the forest department, as the company is not only environmentally destructive but is also making losses. The MPM grows acacia trees in the land, which they use to source the wood needed to make paper. A majority of its employees have availed of the voluntary retirement scheme when the company stopped its day-to-day functioning in 2015. The previous lease of 40 years to MPM had expired in August 2020, but recently the government extended the lease to the company till 2026.  For years, the MPM has earned the ire of local residents in the region for creating a monoculture of acacia plantations and destroying the natural biodiversity. Some environmentalists had also gone to the Karnataka High Court to stop the company’s functioning on environmental grounds.  Akhilesh Chipli, a conservationist who took part in the protests, claimed that the High Court in its order had said at the time that the lease should not be extended. “The MPM and the government was told it can’t go on damaging the environment and should do some balancing act by replanting natural local species. So even before the lease ended, we had met all leading politicians both in the government and the Opposition. So our agenda is clear, the government has to cancel this lease extension and return the forest land to the forest department,” he said. 

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Kannada actor Radhika Kumaraswamy appears before Bengaluru police in cheating case

Crime

The actor was summoned after officials found monetary transactions worth Rs 75 lakh between Radhika and an accused in a cheating case.

TNM Staff

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Sandalwood actor Radhika Kumaraswamy on Friday appeared before the Central Crime Branch in Bengaluru after investigation officials found monetary transactions between the actor and the prime accused in a cheating case. In December last year, the CCB had arrested 52-year-old Yuvaraj alias Swamy for allegedly posing as a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker and cheating government job aspirants of several lakh rupees. Radhika Kumaraswamy was summoned by the CCB, which found monetary transactions worth Rs 75 lakh between her and Yuvaraj.  The CCB claimed that the money had been transferred by Yuvaraj to Radhika. In a press conference held on Wednesday, the actor said that she had known Yuvaraj for the last 17 years and that he had approached her to act in the lead role in a period drama. Radhika said that Yuvaraj was also her family's astrologer and that his predictions about her life, career and also her father's death, had come true. She said that she had deeply trusted Yuvaraj and was shocked when she learned of his arrest last year. On December 16, 2020, the CCB said that it had seized 100 cheques worth Rs 91 crore from Yuvaraj's residence after his arrest.  Read: Bengaluru man arrested for posing as RSS worker to dupe job aspirants "Yuvaraj owns a production company and he had approached me to act in a role for a historical movie. Since I have known him for 17 years, I immediately agreed to it. He said that he would send me an advance of Rs 15 lakh, which he transferred from his account to me," Radhika Kumaraswamy said. When asked about the rest of the money, she said that Rs 60 lakh was transferred to her allegedly from Yuvaraj's brother-in-law's account.  The money was transferred to Radhika Kumaraswamy's account between February and March 2020. The actor said that due to the pandemic and the lockdown, she had not questioned Yuvaraj regarding the shooting of the film. "Yuvaraj had predicted my father's death several years ago. He also predicted what would happen in my life, career and other things that have come true. We have been in contact ever since my father's death. It was because of this trust that I agreed to taking up the role in his film," she said.  CCB sleuths claimed that Radhika Kumaraswamy and Yuvaraj had not signed any written agreement for her remuneration for the alleged film that the accused was to produce. "In many of my movies, I accept payment because of the trust I place with the producers. I have not signed agreements in the past. Here too, I did not sign an agreement because I trusted him. My accountant asked me to have an agreement drawn up this time. I called him multiple times but I did not receive a response. I was shocked when he was arrested, that such a respected person could cheat so many people. It was hard for me to believe," she added. 

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Van crashes on Karnataka highway leaving 3 dead, one critical

Accident

The Tempo Traveller was going from Coimbatore to Srirangapatna and crashed near Chamarajanagar.

Soumya Chatterjee

Image for representation

Three persons of a family—a young girl, her mother and father—were killed in a road accident in the early hours of Friday in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. The accident occurred on National Highway 209 (Bengaluru-Coimbatore), wherein the driver is suspected to have lost control of the vehicle after driving at high speeds. The family was traveling from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu to Srirangapatna near Mysuru in a Tempo Traveller. Another person who was travelling in the vehicle is in critical condition and is being treated in the district hospital. Another 10 persons who were in the vehicle were also injured, but they are all in a stable condition and are recuperating in the same district hospital. The incident occurred near the Suvarnavathi Dam, which is around 15 km away from Chamarajanagar town centre. The group of 14 travellers were reportedly on their way to a temple and had started from Coimbatore at around 11.30 pm. Police suspect that the driver was over speeding to make up for a late start. District Superintendent of Police, Divya Sara Thomas told TNM that the exact reason of the accident is yet to be established. She said, “There were a total of 14 persons in the vehicle. Out of them, three persons have succumbed to their injuries. One more person is critical. According to preliminary findings, it seems that this is a case of rash driving. But we are yet to ascertain the details and investigate the incident further. The driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel too.” “We suspect that the driver lost control over the curve as the vehicle was going at a high speed. That part of the road has been recently redone,” she added. According to local reports, the two adult deceased have been identified as Subramanya (65) and Amaravati (55). This incident comes after three persons were killed on the same day in two separate accidents in the district on the same day last month. That time too, two residents of Coimbatore including an infant succumbed to their injuries.

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Bengaluru residents to be charged 2% 'road transport cess' on property tax from April

Civic

The BBMP said that the amount collected will be used for upkeep of pedestrian infrastructure in the city.

TNM Staff

Representational image

Starting this April, residents of Bengaluru have to shell out extra money as the city’s civic body will start charging property owners a 2% ‘road transport cess’ on their property tax. Two years after the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) first passed a resolution to impose the same, it will be implemented in the coming financial year starting from April. When the BBMP council had first passed a resolution on the issue, the state government did not go through with the move, fearing public backlash. But now, both BBMP Administrator Gaurav Gupta and the Urban Development Department of the state government have approved the council’s decision. The Times of India reported that the amount collected by BBMP for this will be transferred to the Directorate of Urban Land Transport, which will use that money for upkeep of pedestrian infrastructure. Deccan Herald reported that the BBMP has lost out on revenues to the tune of Rs 95.63 crore between 2013-14 and 2016-17 citing the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) findings for not imposing this cess. At the start of 2020, the BBMP council led by Mayor M Goutham Kumar passed the resolution on the issue but it was pending approval from the state government. At that time, it was said an amount of Rs 150 crore is expected to be collected through this. Incidentally this 2% additional cess was opposed by BJP corporators in the council in the past. At the time, activists had pointed out that the BBMP should work on collecting taxes more efficiently first before adding additional burden on those who are already paying taxes. In fact, BBMP currently sees a property tax compliance rate of a little over 80%. Some said that if such a transport cess is imposed then all public transportation in the city should be made free to justify a transport cess. The transport cess has also been mentioned in the newly passed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Act 2020 as a means of additional revenue generation

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8 Democratic governors demand HHS release more vaccine doses

The federal government has held back doses equal to the amount it has shipped out, to ensure that everyone who is vaccinated completes the recommended two-shot sequence.

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