Maharashtra gives nod for promulgation of ordinance on Maratha quota

The Maharashtra government has received permission from the Election Commission (EC) to promulgate an ordinance for Maratha reservation in post- graduate medical courses.

Sources said the issue would be discussed in the state cabinet meeting to be held on Friday.

Promulgation of ordinance will pave the way for admissions to post-graduate medical courses under the Maratha quota.

On March 8, the Maharashtra government had written a letter to the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) to incorporate the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) quota from the 2019 academic session in the post-graduate medical courses.

However, in its order earlier this month, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court had said that the 16 per cent reservation for the Maratha community under the SEBC category will not be applicable for the post-graduate medical courses this year.

The high court had contended that the government’s decision to introduce the quota was unconstitutional. The division bench of justices Sunil Shukre and Pushpa Ganediwala had said that the March 8 notification (about the new quota) shall not be applicable to the admission process, which had started earlier.

The apex court had also upheld the high court order, cancelling the 16 per cent SEBC quota for post-graduate medical seats in Maharashtra. PTI

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Considering to move international forums against acquittal of Samjhauta train blast suspects: Pak

By Sajjad Hussain Islamabad, May 16 (PTI) Pakistan on Thursday said it is considering to move international forums against the acquittal of the 2007 Samjhauta train blast case suspects that left 68 people, mostly Pakistanis, dead. The blast in Samjhauta Express took place near Panipat in Haryana on February 18, 2007, when the train was on its way to Attari in Amritsar, the last railway station on the Indian side.

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Haryana’s Panchkula on March 20 acquitted Naba Kumar Sarkar, alias Swami Aseemanand, and three other accused in the case. “Swami Aseemanand, the mastermind who confessed to this heinous act of terrorism before a magistrate, was acquitted. Such a decision cast aspersions on the credibility of the Indian judicial system,” Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal told a weekly media briefing here.

He said Pakistan has been regularly raising this issue with India, especially “after the acquittal to which India has no reply”. “Presently, we are considering different options to take up this case with the relevant international forums,” he said

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Prayagraj: An unidentified miscreant allegedly threatened to kill Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Nand Gopal Gupta aka Nandi if he did not pay a ransom of Rs 5 crore to him.

The caller threatened to kill the minister in another bomb attack and hurled abuses on him and his family members, police said.

In 2010, the minister had faced a deadly bomb attack in which his gunner and a journalist lost their lives.

An police complaint was lodged on Wednesday night against the unidentified person and they are hunting for him through the mobile number, police said.

In the complaint, Nandi’s legal advisor Subhash Vajpai said an unidentified person made a call on the minister’s mobile on May 12. The caller abused the minister and threatened to kill him in another bomb attack . The caller asked him to give Rs 5 crore or face the attack. A few minutes later, an SMS was also sent on the minister’s mobile from the same number containing abuses against him and his kin.

“The caller said the minister escaped the last attack on him but this time he will definitely be eliminated”, Vajpai said in the complaint.

Vajpai demanded early arrest of the miscreant.

SP, crime, Ashutosh Mishra said the threat has been taken seriously. Efforts are on to trace the caller through electronic surveillance, he added

‘Nandi’ and his wife Abhilasha Gupta, the present mayor of Prayagraj, have from time to time received several threat calls. Some of the culprits were arrested but they claimed to have made the calls only to have fun.

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Four girls commit suicide in Assam after failing in HSLC exam

Utpal Parashar

utpal.parashar@htlive.com

GUWAHATI: Failure in Assam’s high school leaving certificate (HSLC) exam, results for which were announced on Wednesday, reportedly led four girl students to commit suicide on Wednesday. All four victims took their lives by hanging.

The announcement of the results of the exam conducted by Assam’s Board of Secondary Education (SEBA) is a much anticipated annual affair, with names of toppers flashed across TV channels and appearing as front-page headlines in newspapers.

Experts say that the pressure from parents and peers to perform well leads students to take such extreme measures, if they fail to do well in the exam.

The reports of the four girls who took their lives came in from Assam’s Sarbhog, Baksa, Jorhat and Lanka.

“A girl student from Baksa district committed suicide yesterday. Preliminary investigation suggests the cause was due to failure in HSLC exam. The victim was brought to a hospital in Barpeta Road where she was declared brought dead on arrival,” said Debadanda Das, in-charge of Barpeta Road police station.

Terming it an alarming public health issue, counselor Gariasi Dutta said that competition and the marking system, which result in students missing ranks or admission in colleges if they get even one mark less than someone else, could also have contributed to such incidents.

“Without taking into account the individual potential and capacity of the student, undue pressure is put on them. Inadequate coping skills of students also add to the pressure,” said Dutta.

First Published: May 18, 2019 12:56 IST