Category: India

In New Delhi, seven student groups from different parts of India are getting together to protest at Jantar Mantar, a famous place in Delhi, on March 24. They will protest under the name ‘India Alliance Student Organisations.’ These students want to address important issues affecting them, like exam paper leaks, the need for university elections, and the removal of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The groups involved are the National Students Union of India (NSUI), All India Students Association (AISA), Students Federation of India (SFI), All India Students Federation (AISF), Muslim Students Federation (MSF), Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha, and Chhatra Rashtriya Janata Dal (CRJD). Starting from March 17 to March 22, they will hold protests and press conferences across the country to raise awareness for their cause leading up to the big protest on March 24.

The Union education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, responded to their concerns, explaining that new rules from the University Grants Commission (UGC) would give universities more power to hire their teachers and help develop state universities. However, some leaders from the opposition say these new rules take away important powers from the state governments regarding the hiring of university leaders.

The student groups say they will invite teachers, education experts, political leaders from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), and students from all over the country to join them. They hope to attract attention to educational issues during the government’s budget discussions.

NSUI national president Varun Choudhary said, “We invite all student organisations, teachers, and education experts to join us on March 24. We expect around 5,000 students to participate. We want the NEP 2020 and the new UGC rules to be taken back. We also want fair student elections at all universities and colleges, filling of reserved seats, and support for scholarships.”

The NEP 2020 was started by the Indian government on July 29, 2020, to improve the country’s education system and make it more relevant to future needs while keeping Indian culture in mind. This new policy replaced an older one from 1986 and suggested significant changes in how education is organized from schools to universities.

The new rules about hiring teachers, shared on January 6, state that a special committee will help choose vice-chancellors at universities. This committee will include a governor’s representative as the chair and two others chosen by the UGC and the university board.

Meanwhile, students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) are also protesting because their student union elections have been delayed. At Delhi University (DU), students will elect leaders from their colleges to form a team for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU).

Aishe Ghosh, the SFI Delhi state secretary, said, “The central government wants to control student elections like they do with elections in states and at the national level.”

A 15-year-old girl and a 42-year-old man were found dead in a remote area of Kasaragod district, Kerala, on Sunday. They had been missing for three weeks. It seems they were in a relationship and might have taken their own lives.

They were discovered hanging from a tree in a forest close to the girl’s home. Since their bodies were badly decomposed, police believe they died several days before being found. An officer from Kumbla police station reported that the inquest is done, and an autopsy will be performed at the Pariyaram Medical College hospital.

The girl was in Class 10, and the man worked as a taxi driver. Their homes were only a kilometer apart. They disappeared on February 12, and the girl’s parents filed a missing person report that same day. If you or someone you know is struggling, please seek help.

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A constable at the Sanganer police station has been taken into custody for allegedly raping a married woman. The incident happened when the constable, Bhagaram, was supposed to help the woman by recording her statement about a complaint her husband had made against a neighbor.

According to the woman’s husband, Bhagaram took his wife and their young son to a hotel under the false claim that he needed to gather information for the investigation. While the husband was at work, the constable lured the woman away from her home. He then rode his bike with her and their three-year-old to a hotel.

At the hotel, the constable asked for a room, pretending the woman needed to change her clothes. Once inside, he assaulted her. After the attack, Bhagaram threatened the woman, saying he would put her husband in jail if she told anyone what happened.

Now, Bhagaram has been detained and is being questioned by the police. A medical exam is being conducted on the woman to confirm the assault and check for any signs of pregnancy.

A first-year medical student from Sir JJ Hospital in Mumbai was threatened by a group of men who forced him to send ₹10,000. This happened on March 5, as the student was having dinner at a restaurant near his school.

After eating, a man approached him aggressively and asked, “Are you new here? What are you doing? This is our area, don’t you know us?” The student didn’t recognize the man. The man then led him to a nearby alley and called two more friends to join them.

They threatened the student, saying he had to give them all his money or they would hurt him. When he said he had no money, they made him call his father, who sent ₹5,000 through an app called PhonePe. The student also borrowed ₹5,000 from a friend.

The men then asked him to scan a QR code on their payment app and made him transfer ₹10,000 in four payments. After this scary event, the student went to the Dongri police and reported what happened.

The police registered a complaint against three unknown people, looking into the case under different sections of the Indian Penal Code. They are currently investigating the situation.

On Sunday, Delhi’s Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena honored seven amazing women who have done incredible things. They included social workers and athletes at an exciting event. During an all-women bike rally organized by Navbharat Times, Chief Minister Gupta praised women bikers for showing strength and power. “You have shown everyone that women can do anything!” she said.

The women honored included:
– Humaira Mushtaq: The first woman car racer from Jammu and Kashmir
– Divya Kakran: A wrestler who has received the Arjuna Award
– Sweety Mehta: A brave survivor of domestic violence who started NGOs to help other women
– Rekha Jindal: A dedicated worker in drug rehabilitation
– Nalini Asthana: A teacher who helps slum children learn computers
– Kanchan Lakhani: A skilled para-athlete
– Neetu Chaudhary: A caring social worker

The bike rally started from Connaught Place around 11 AM. Chief Minister Gupta shared that this event has been happening every year since 2013. She mentioned that before this, Delhi faced a big tragedy. “Women should not be afraid; our strength is beyond fear,” she said.

Lieutenant Governor Saxena added that the bike rally showed the bravery of women. He pointed out that women in India are standing strong next to men. “In some areas, women are doing better than men. During the Delhi elections, more women voted than men!” he shared.

Jaipur: Three men, including the chancellor and the registrar of a private university in Uttar Pradesh, were arrested by Rajasthan’s Special Operations Group (SOG) on Saturday for giving out fake degrees. This happened during the recruitment exam for Physical Training Instructors (PTI) in 2022.

The police discovered that after catching the chancellor and registrar of Om Prakash Joginder Singh (OPJS) University for issuing over 43,000 fake degrees, they found out that Jagadish Singh (JS) University in Shikohabad, Uttar Pradesh, had also given fake Bachelor of Physical Education (BPEd) degrees to several candidates from Rajasthan who took the PTI-2022 exam.

According to VK Singh, an officer with the SOG, the JS University was established by Sukesh Kumar in 2015. He is both the chancellor of the university and a principal at Agra Government College. Along with registrar Nandan Mishra and an individual named Ajay Bhardwaj, these three men sold thousands of fake degrees to students over the last ten years for money.

They issued BPEd degrees to students who never even attended the university but used backdated dates. On Saturday, the police arrested Kumar, Mishra, and Bhardwaj.

So far, 108 out of 254 JS alumni that took the PTI-2022 exam were found to have fake degrees. These candidates claimed to have received their degrees in 2022, even though the university only accepts 100 students in the BPEd program.

Additionally, many candidates submitted degrees from JS University during their application process, even if they mentioned a different university before.

On Saturday, Sukesh Kumar was trying to leave the country when the SOG called him. He was arrested at the Delhi airport. Meanwhile, Ajay Bhardwaj was found to have ties to a notorious paper leak mastermind in Rajasthan. Bhardwaj also wanted to open two more private universities in Dungarpur, Rajasthan, and Meghalaya.

In January, the University Grants Commission (UGC) stopped the university from giving out PhD degrees due to integrity issues. Following the PTI-2022 verification, the SOG conducted a secret operation and arrested a middleman named Pradeep Sharma, who was linked to both OPJS University and another institution in Uttarakhand.

As of now, the SOG has arrested 16 people involved in this fake degree scam.

India is all set to face New Zealand in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, happening in Dubai. Excitingly, people have placed bets totaling up to ₹5,000 crore on the match! Many believe India is likely to win, according to reports.

However, there are some serious concerns. It’s been said that dangerous groups, like Dawood Ibrahim’s gang known as ‘D Company,’ are involved in betting on major cricket matches in Dubai. The police in Delhi have caught at least five big gamblers during this Champions Trophy. They found many gadgets and items used for betting while questioning these gamblers, which led them to discover more about the betting happening in Dubai.

The Indian team, led by Rohit Sharma, has been doing great. They have won every match so far, including important games against Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand. They also defeated World Champions Australia in the semifinals to reach the final. This is a special moment for the team, as they last won the ICC Champions Trophy way back in 2013 and lost the final in 2017 to Pakistan. Now, they have a chance to win it all again!

A group of ten lawmakers from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will meet the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, on Tuesday. They want to talk about problems with Voter ID cards, specifically the issue of duplicate Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) numbers. TMC MP Derek O’Brien shared this news on Saturday.

There’s been a lot of talk in West Bengal about this issue. On February 27, the TMC accused the Election Commission of India of messing with voter records. They claimed this gives an unfair advantage to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). O’Brien said, “We have asked for a meeting with the CEC, and he has agreed. Our team will meet him at 5:30 PM on Tuesday.”

The TMC group includes important leaders like Kalyan Banerjee, Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, Kirti Azad, and Sagarika Ghose. While many opposition parties are planning to talk about the duplicate EPIC numbers in Parliament, TMC is taking the first step by meeting the Election Commission.

One TMC member pointed out that since each EPIC number should be unique to every voter, having duplicates could lead to people being denied their voting rights. The Election Commission’s handbook says that EPIC numbers must be unique. It’s concerning that voters in different areas, and even different states, have the same EPIC numbers. The TMC wants the Election Commission to explain how these duplicate numbers occurred and why they can’t make sure every voter has their own unique ID.