Lost boy ‘rescued’ by alert passengers at metro station
New Delhi: An eight-year-old boy who got separated from his family on Tuesday at a metro station in south Delhi was rescued by alert fellow passengers after two unidentified men allegedly tried to forcibly take the child away with them. An inconsolable Sheikh Salauddin, who hails from Motihari district in Bihar and was stranded at the INA metro station, was later handed over to the family at the same station by the metro officials. “Some good samaritans brought the child to us saying two unidentified men were allegedly attempting to take the child with them on the pretext of handing him over to his family. We were also told that the duo were apparently intoxicated,” a CISF vigilance officer on duty at the station said. “The two men left by the metro after the alert passengers objected to their actions and did not allow them to take the child. If people had reported immediately about it, we would have taken action,” he said. The boy’s brother Sheikh Ahamad, 26, said “by accident my brother got separated at the AIIMS metro station and boarded the train alone as the doors snapped shut leaving us stranded on the concourse”. The boy also said that the two unidentified men were trying to take him away with them. “They held my hand and told me, come with us we are from your village and we’ll take you back to your family,” Salauddin said. An eyewitness who also helped rescue the child and later took him to the metro officials said, “The duo looked like drug addicts and it was clear that they were not trying to help the child”. (PTI)
‘Resolution to bifurcate AP be referred to state legislature’
New Delhi: Congress Lok Sabha member from Andhra Pradesh, Aruna Kumar Vundavalli, on Tuesday demanded that the resolution pertaining to bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh be referred to the State legislature. In a letter to President Pranab Mukherjee, he said, it is strongly believed that invoking Article 3, the State of Andhra Pradesh is being divided, without consent of state legislature. Citing excerpts from B R Ambedkar’s speech in Parliament during discussions on Article 3 in 1949, he said, States shall be consulted over the issue. “The Chief Minister must introduce a resolution in the Assembly in this regard,” Vundavalli, representing Rajahmundry Parliamentary constituency stressed. Queried about the consequence of the resolution being defeated in the legislative assembly since elected representatives from Seemandhra region constitute a majority in Andhra Pradesh Assembly, he said, in that event the President must arrive at a consensus. (PTI)
JD(U) MP faints on stage
Rajgir: Janata Dal (United) MP Ram Sundar Das on Tuesday fainted on stage at the party convention in Rajgir and was rushed to a hospital. 92-year-old Das, who was seated next to JD(U) president Sharad Yadav, was taken ill while Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh was speaking at the JD(U)’s ‘Chintan Shivir’ on the second and concluding day, JD(U) sources said. Noticing Das’s health condition, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar rose from his seat and called for an ambulance to take the ailing leader to hospital for treatment, sources said. He was offered sweets by the party workers before being bodily lifted by them to an ambulance on way to a hospital under the Chief Minister’s supervision. The JD(U) delegates prayed for the well being of the party MP. The JD(U) convention remained suspended for about 15 minutes in the wake of the deterioration of the JD(U) MP’s health. Das is the Lok Sabha MP from Hajipur and also the Deputy Leader of the JD(U) in the Lok Sabha. (PTI)
RTI activist goes on hunger strike
Panaji: A Goa-based RTI activist on Tuesday went on a day-long token hunger strike here to protest alleged “government’s action of pressurising officials not to provide information under RTI.” Activist Sudip Tamankar, who was recently booked by Panaji police for unlawfully taking away documents from the law department and abusing a lady government officer, sat on a day-long hunger strike at the Azad Maidan here. Talking to reporters at the protest site, Tamankar alleged that Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was pressurising the government officials not to give information under RTI. The hunger strike is supported by the Congress party and Goa RTI forum, he said. He alleged that RTI activists were being harassed by BJP-led government, by either denying or delaying information under the Act. Tamankar said on April 1, 2013, he had filed total 28 applications in various departments, including law department, seeking information about the amount spent on state Advocate General for fighting different cases in the courts. (PTI)\
Court gives custody of nine-year-old boy to aunt
New Delhi: An unmarried woman, who had been taking care of her nine-year-old nephew since the time he was an infant, has been granted custody of the child by a Delhi court which noted the boy’s parents have remarried and have their own families. Guardian Judge Sameer Bajpai allowed the plea of the woman for declaring her guardian of the minor boy and said there was no reason to disbelieve her testimony. “Moreover, both the natural parents of the minor have remarried after divorce and have their children. Moreover, the petitioner (woman) is the real sister of the mother of the child and has not married till date and has been looking after the minor child from the age of four months, who is now more than nine years. “Keeping in view the overall facts and circumstances, the petition filed by the petitioner is allowed. Accordingly, the petitioner is declared as guardian of the minor boy for all purposes,” the court said. As the child’s parents did not appear in the court to contest the matter despite several summons, the judge said that evidence of the woman goes “unrebutted and unchallenged”. (PTI)
Woman teacher suspended for making students massage her legs
Akola: In a shocking incident, a woman teacher of a government school here allegedly made speech and hearing impaired students massage her legs. The teacher, Shital Avchar, working at a government run school for deaf and mute students, was also found guilty of taking nap in the classroom during school hours and harassing the pupils, officials said. The misdemeanour of the teacher came to light through a purported sting operation conducted by a student who sent video clips to a school official. Subsequently, Akola zilla parishad’s chief executive officer Arun Unhale ordered an inquiry in which the teacher was prima facie held guilty, following which he recommended her suspension. She was suspended from service on Monday. (PTI)