1. Eye On Eminence Tag As JU Shield
Jadavpur University remains in contention for the status of Institution of Eminence (IoE) and a level of autonomy that might have spared it the trouble of toeing the government's line and inviting a campus revolt against scrapping of undergraduate entrance tests.
The university, No 7 on a shortlist of eight "public institutions" drawn up by an empowered expert committee, missed out when the University Grants Commission (UGC) picked three from among them on 9 July with the assurance that the rest "shall be considered...at a later stage".
The shortlist of "private institutions" had three names, all of whom have been selected.
(Source: The Telegraph)
2. Class XII Boy Kills Self on Live Video Chat
A Class XII boy on Wednesday midnight committed suicide during a live video chat with his girlfriend. The mother of the victim lodged a complaint against the girl with whom the boy apparently had a relationship. Police initiated a probe under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the victim’s mother, the student, a resident of Baruipur, had a heated altercation with someone over the phone. “I went to bed around 12 am. An hour later, some of his friends came rushing to our house and frantically knocked on the door. When I opened the door, one of them told me that my son had committed suicide by hanging himself in his room,” said the mother of the victim.
(Source: The Times of India)
3. Presi Gherao Over Merit List
A group of Presidency University students gheraoed administrative officials on Thursday demanding the authorities publish the admission test merit list for undergraduate courses.
The students want the counselling to be held after the list is published "to ensure transparency in admissions".
At present, the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examinations Board that conducts the admission test provides students with rank cards.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. Rath Route to Boost Vaishnava Site Tourism
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) is trying to raise awareness about the sites in and around Calcutta associated with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, his companions and its founder Srila Prabhupada. It has chosen Lord Jagannath's chariot festival to carry the message.
"Our Rathyatra this year has the theme 'Hidden Treasures of Calcutta'," said Ananga Mohan Das, co-director of Iskcon's Radha Govinda Temple in Calcutta, on Thursday.
(Source: The Telegraph)
5. Sleaze Racket: 4 Held, 5 Girls Rescued
The CID busted a sex racket and rescued five minor girls and arrested four people, including a woman, from a guest house belonging to Konnagar Municipality on Wednesday evening.
Preliminary investigations revealed the municipality had given the Bishramika guest house on Indira Gandhi Road near Konnagar station on a lease to a company.
The company appears to have sublet the guest house on the second floor of a high-rise to a local Trinamul leader, a CID officer said.
(Source: The Telegraph)
6. Commuters Sit Tight, Delay Metro Rescue Op
The city’s much talked-about humane face took a beating on Thursday after Metro passengers refused to get off at the Kalighat station even after being told that a young man lay bleeding on the tracks below.
RPF personnel had to be summoned to coax the passengers out before the train could be reversed into the tunnel and the man rescued.
The incident occurred at 8:52 am. A man, in his late twenties, jumped in front of a Dum Dum-bound train; the motorman applied brakes but the train stopped only after three coaches had entered the platform.
“None of the passengers were ready to get off saying they would get delayed if they got off,” Metro Railway CPRO Indrani Banerjee said.
(Source: The Times of India)
7. On First Day, Winners Nab Six Harassers
Hours after the city’s first all women police patrol squad on two-wheelers hit the streets of Kolkata, it caught six youths allegedly harassing women in front of Victoria Memorial Hall and Birla Planetarium on Thursday morning. The accused were allegedly pestering their victims for their contact numbers or names so that they could befriend them on Facebook when the Winners, as the cop squad has been named, nabbed them during a raid on the area.
“The accused were handed over to the local police stations,” said DC (south) Meeraj Khalid. Images from CCTV cameras in the areas will be checked to frame water-tight cases against the accused, the police said.
(Source: The Times of India)
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