6.44 lakh students to get free bicycles in TN this year
Chennai: A total of 6.44 lakh class XI students of government and aided schools in Tamil Nadu will get free bicycles this year under a state government scheme at an outlay of Rs 230.72 crore. Marking the inauguration of distribution of the cycles for the current academic year, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Friday gave away cycles to seven class XI students at the Secretariat here. “During the current academic year, 2,86,400 boys and 3,57,600 girls will be getting the cycles,” an official release said. The free bicycle scheme was launched during 2001-02 by Jayalalithaa for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribe girl students in class 11 and 12 with a view to encouraging girls’ education. (PTI)
Dog lover beaten to death
Howrah (WB): A man who used to feed street dogs regularly was beaten to death allegedly by his neighbour who did not like their barking, the police said here on Friday. Jute mill worker Baneswar Shau (50) was feeding the stray dogs of his locality at Baksara near here at night when his neighbour, Sambhu Bag, was returning home. Bag said he did not like the dogs’ barking at night, accused Shau of encouraging stray dog nuisance in the locality which the animal lover denied, the police said. Following an altercation over the issue, Bag fetched a heavy rod from his house and started beating Shau with it. Shau was taken to hospital with major head injury and he succumbed later, they said. Shau also used to take sick and injured stray dogs to the veterinary doctors. The incident occurred on Wednesday night and Bag was arrested the next morning from his in-laws’ place, the police said. (PTI)
52 children missing from Kanpur, IG asks for report
Kanpur: As many as 52 children have gone missing from nine districts of Kanpur zone this year, prompting the Inspector General of Police to write a letter to the concerned officers, asking them to investigate the matter and submit a report by July 5. “Thirty-one children have gone missing from six districts of Kanpur mandal while 21 children have been missing from three districts of Jhansi mandal since January 1 this year,” Ashutosh Pandey, IG Kanpur said. Calling the issue of missing children a grave concern, Pandey wrote a letter to police officers yesterday asking them to investigate cases of missing children and submit a detailed report by July 5. Additionally, officials have also been directed to submit a report on developments of each of these cases on the 5th and 20th of every subsequent months, he said. Urging officers to be sensitive while investigating these cases, Pandey said increased attention must be paid to find the missing children. While many children willingly leave their homes, the issues such as extortion of children for money, child trafficking, sexual exploitation of girls cannot be overlooked, he said. (PTI)
TN Cong workers stage protest against rail fare hike
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu unit of the Congress on Friday staged statewide protests demanding rollback of the recent hike in railway fares announced by the Centre. TNCC president BS Gnanadesikan led the protests in Chennai in which senior leaders like former Union Minister G K Vasan participated. Vasan later told reporters that the recent hike had affected the common man and therefore Centre should withdraw the price revision. The Congressmen were staging protests across the state pressing this demand, he added. (PTI)
Student hides bluetooth device in wig,cheats in exam, expelled
Suri (WB): A student who wore a wig to hide a bluetooth device to cheat in an examination in a college in Birbhum district has been given the boot by the authorities. None of the invigilators at the Suri Vidyasagar College yesterday noticed that the BA first year philosophy student, Rafiqul Islam, was wearing a wig, but heard him speaking aloud sometimes, its Principal L N Mondal said. After being reprimanded a number of times, the student conceded defeat and took off his wig revealing the bluetooth device connected to his mobile phone using which he was speaking to an associate seeking answers. The student was expelled, Mondal said. The Burdwan University authorities were informed of the matter. (PTI)