1. IIT Madras Student Stabbed by Classmate
A second-year postgraduate student at IIT-Madras was allegedly stabbed by his classmate inside the campus on Wednesday, 13 February. Pramod Kaushik, the victim, is studying Mtech and is a native of Haryana. Police say he got into a fight with his classmate Manoj, who also hails from Haryana, on Wednesday.
“Around 5.30 pm, a clash broke out between the duo near the central library. In a fit of rage, Manoj stabbed Pramod on the shoulder with a sharp object and fled the spot,” a police official said. “Other students who witnessed the incident rushed the victim to the hospital, where he is currently under treatment in the ICU.” Sources say the duo were in love with the same girl and the fight was over who would get to propose to her on Valentine’s Day.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
2. CCTVs Will Join the Fight to Curb Lecherous Babus
Around 11.45 on Thursday morning, 14 February, Justice S M Subramaniam of the Madras High Court retired to his chambers for a short break before delivering his order on a batch of cases. The cases pertained to a sexual harassment complaint filed by a woman Superintendent of Police against an Inspector-General of Police in the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). Interestingly, the SP was the chairperson of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) on the day she lodged the complaint.
The judge issued a “strong recommendation” to the chief secretary of the Tamil Nadu government to install closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras inside the official chambers of all bureaucrats. This would avoid allegations of sexual harassment and safeguard the interest of women employees, he said.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. Days After Schoolgirl's Skeletons Found in Field, Police Arrest Her Uncle
Four days after the police found skeletons of a 15-year-old girl at a sugarcane field near Tirutani, about 100 km from Chennai, police arrested her uncle and launched a hunt for four of his friends. Police suspect them to have sexually assaulted the girl.
A senior police officer said the victim's uncle also hailed from the same village Pudhuvenkatapuram village near Podaturpettai in Pallipattu near Tirutani. On 7 September, she had left for school, but she did not return home. Her parents searched for her and later learnt that she did not attend classes. Police said they found in their investigations that had taken the girl, who was headed to school, to a pump room in the sugarcane field where he allegedly sexually assaulted her.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
4. PMK Wants to Contest in Five Seats, Alliance with AIADMK Likely
It is no secret that the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), led by S Ramdoss, is currently in discussions for a pre-poll alliance with both the DMK and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. But sources in both Dravidian parties tell that the PMK is leaning towards the ruling AIADMK as it is more open to giving the PMK up to five seats. “Yes, we have unofficially confirmed the alliance with PMK,” says a source in the AIADMK.
“They want five seats while the BJP wants 8. This seat sharing agreement is not complete,” an AIADMK source said. Sources in the DMK say that with the DMK-Congress alliance not willing to spare more than two seats for the PMK, the party is unlikely to join them.
(Source: The News Minute)
5. Royal Enfield Workers on Strike Once Again
A section of workers at two-wheeler major Royal Enfield's manufacturing facility in Oragadam is on strike for alleged non-payment of bonus and demanding recognition of the union. “The pending issues with the management including the non-payment of bonus continue. The talks with the management did not yield any favourable results and so we are on strike,” R Sampath, vice-president of The Royal Enfield Employees Union (REEU) said.
“It is unfortunate that a certain section of our workforce has resorted to an illegal strike at our Oragadam plant in Chennai, despite the company’s best efforts and positive intentions. We have been working closely with our workforce and have undertaken various constructive and confidence-building initiatives,” Eicher Motors, the parent company of Royal Enfield said.
(Source: The Hindu)
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