20-year-old man held for trying to scale Parliament wall
New Delhi, Aug 22: In a security breach, a 20-year-old man attempted to scale a wall of Parliament on Friday morning but was caught by security personnel and handed over to police, officials said. Identified as Ram Kumar Bind, the man from Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi worked at a factory in Surat, police said, adding that he appeared to be “mentally incoherent”. “Today at about 5.50 am, a man approached the Parliament House complex and tried to scale the perimeter wall with the intention of jumping inside. However, due to the alertness of the CISF and Delhi Police staff present on the spot, the man was apprehended and handed over to police for further inquiry,” a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officer said. DCP (New Delhi) Devesh Mahla said the man “appears to be mentally incoherent, and further interrogation and verification are in process”. (PTI)
Bengal suspends 4 officials over irregularities in electoral rolls
Kolkata, Aug 22: The West Bengal government has suspended four officials and initiated departmental proceedings against them for alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls, but has not lodged any FIRs, thereby partially complying with the directives of the Election Commission. The suspensions came just a week after Chief Secretary Manoj Pant appeared before the EC in New Delhi, where he was allegedly given a deadline of August 21 to suspend and initiate criminal proceedings against the officers by filing FIRs. “While the state government has acted on the suspension directive and initiated departmental proceedings, it has so far not registered any FIRs against the accused,” an official at the state secretariat said. He said the suspended officials comprise two electoral registration officers and two assistant electoral registration officers from South 24 Parganas and Purba Midnapore districts. (PTI)
JNU students launch sit-in against facial recognition gates at library
New Delhi, Aug 22: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) on Friday launched an indefinite sit-in protest at the Dr B R Ambedkar Central Library on the campus against the administration’s move to install facial recognition entry gates, terming them a “surveillance apparatus” imposed on students. In a statement, the All India Students’ Association (AISA) alleged that the acting librarian allowed contractors to continue the installation work despite peaceful protests, and barred students from entering the library. “Instead of addressing the students’ genuine concerns, the official allowed the installation and even summoned Delhi Police on the campus to suppress the protesters,” the statement claimed. According to the student groups, JNUSU president Nitish and student leader Manikant sustained injuries from glass shards while forcefully entering the premises to halt the work. The JNUSU said its demands were clear – expansion of seating capacity in the library, improvement of academic infrastructure, and withdrawal of the biometric gates. (PTI)