Kerala

Fake news

While the Rs 15 lakh deposit turned out to be fake news, 1050 new postal bank savings accounts were opened in three days.

Sandeep Vellaram

For three days, the Munnar town post office witnessed a rush of visitors like never before. Scores lined up to open postal accounts on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. This after fake news spread like wildfire that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised Rs 3-15 lakh deposit for those who have postal accounts. Estate workers from many parts of Munnar arrived after taking leave from work to open postal accounts. Even police had to reach the spot to regulate the crowd in view of the commotion that took place at the post office. The post office officials conducted a special drive for the workers to open accounts. The officials clearly stated that they were unaware of any such announcement from the Central government and no information regarding the same was passed on to the public from any post offices. "We did not give any information that they will get benefits by opening postal accounts. Last week, there were directions from the postal department to open Rs 1 crore new accounts and we arranged the facility also. As per the scheme, a deposit of Rs 100, Aadhar Card and two passport size photographs were required to start the savings bank account," said V. Paramasivom, Superintendent of Post Office. On Monday, another rumour spread that land and houses will be distributed for free by the government. The Regional District Office at Devikulam witnessed another rush from the workers. A long queue was seen in front of the office for "free land and home" in the morning. The fake news was that those who were not included in the list of land distribution at Kuttiyarvalley in August, have got a golden opportunity by submitting their applications at Devikulam office. Finally, the RDO officials issued a notice that it was not a direction issued from the office. Devikulam sub-collector Renuraj directed the police to take action against the rumour-mongers. "I had also erected a board in front of the office that there was no special benefit for the new account holders. We didn't issue any message regarding the benefits of the accounts. We suspect that someone spread the fake news through WhatsApp or social media. Within two days, we opened 1050 new savings accounts under the postal bank,” said Paramasivam.

Body 2:

Social Media

The funny memes of Kerala Police that raise social awareness are very popular among Keralites.

TNM Staff

After nurturing an ardent set of fan followers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the Kerala police has now set foot into TikTok which has become the latest sensation among social media users. The funny and engaging memes of Kerala police that have a sense of social awareness have got a popularity that has grown to be bigger than any other Facebook troll pages from Kerala. Getting over one million likes for its Facebook page, Kerala Police has beaten the reach of official pages of police from other states. As per reports, it is even more popular than the New York Police Department’s Facebook page. On Wednesday, the official account of TikTok in a tweet welcomed the entry of Kerala Police to the platform. “Your presence on TikTok will help inspire millions of youth to learn from the bravery & diligence that inspire the nation,” stated the tweet. The entry to TikTok is aimed at creating videos that raise awareness among the youth on various issues. “Apart from creating awareness, warning and safety lessons, we will also keep a watch on the unlawful activities by users in the platform,” read a statement of Kerala Police on its official Facebook page. Even the video which Kerala Police posted on Facebook to make their announcement of entering TikTok became viral. Within just a day, the TikTok account of Kerala Police was able to garner 74,000 fans. Through the account, Kerala Police will also conduct videos and short-film making competitions on various subjects that will raise social awareness among the youth, ADGP Manoj Abraham, who heads the social media team, said, according to Deshabhimani. The team will also seek the aid of other people who have become a sensation in TikTok among Malayalis. Last December, Microsoft even decided to conduct a study on distinctive ways in which Kerala police makes use of new age media interactions. Read: Meet the team that makes Kerala Police's Facebook page fun

Body 2:

Aviation

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said this in a meeting with Kerala MPs, Remya Haridas and MK Raghavan.

TNM Staff

FB / Calicut International Airport

Amidst speculations about the privatisation of Calicut International Airport, the Centre has made it clear that it has no intention to privatise the airport. This was conveyed by Union Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh in a meeting with Kerala MPs, Remya Haridas and MK Raghavan. It was also informed that only the privatisation of Trivandrum International Airport has been sanctioned as of now, reports Manorama News. AAI Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra in a news conference held at Delhi on Friday had hinted that the Calicut International Airport would be privatised in the next phase. A section of political leaders in the state including PK Kunhalikutty, MP and general secretary of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Mullappally Ramachandran, president of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, had come out opposing the privatisation of the airport. It had even created a ruckus in IUML, which has a strong hold in the northern districts of the state where the airport is located, as some members of the party criticised Kunhalikutty for openly opposing privatisation of the airport. Meanwhile, Hardeep Singh has also called for a meeting of Kerala MPs on Thursday to discuss the development of airports in the state. According to reports, the issue of privatisation was not a topic of discussion in the meeting of cabinet ministers held on Wednesday. The Kerala government is already not pleased with the Centre’s move to privatise Trivandrum International Airport and has openly expressed displeasure multiple times. Along with Trivandrum airport, the Centre had given approval for the privatisation of airports in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati and Mangaluru also. Adani group has won the bid to run these airports.

Body 2:

Human Interest

Niklaus Samuel Gugger, who was adopted by a Swiss couple, visited Thalassery – a place he calls his hometown.

Cris

In 1970, when Anasuya gave birth to a baby boy in India, she told the nurse and the lady doctor who attended her not to tell her son about her, and ask him never to come in search of her. Forty nine years later, Niklaus Samuel Gugger, now an MP in Switzerland visiting Thalassery in Kerala – a place he calls his hometown – is happy he honoured his unknown mother’s wish. “The lady doctor has passed away and the other woman is 84 years old. I respect my mother’s wish. She trusted the missionary hospital (where I was born) to find the best place for me. And they did,” Nik says on a phone call from Kochi. He has just reached Kochi from Thalassery. Before that he was in Thiruvananthapuram, where he was hosted for lunch by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Nik had hosted the CM when he visited Switzerland earlier. Nik is on a holiday with his family, and Kerala is very dear to him. After leaving India as a four-year-old to move to Switzerland, he has come back to the country at least 10 times, he reckons. “It is because of my parents – the Swiss couple that adopted me, Fritz and Elizabeth. They said we should never lose our roots,” Nik says. Fritz also made sure Nik remembers all of his childhood. With a Super 8 camera, he made movies of little Nik running around in Thalassery and at the Hermann Gundert Foundation where he lived for four years. “They are all in high quality and on a pen drive. I showed the movie – 22 minutes long – at the reception in Kannur and at the Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF, where Fritz worked),” the MP says. Those days he spoke mostly in English and German, he says, and to the kids in the street he spoke in Malayalam, but it was not clear. Today he makes sure his kids know the important words, ‘nandi’ and ‘Amma’ among them, Nik says in his Swiss accent. Niklaus Samuel and family with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan As a young man growing up in Canton of Bern, he did odd jobs – working as truck driver and so on – to pay for his studies. Nik says it is quite normal there, adding, “Most students have part time jobs if you are not from a really rich background. Fifty per cent of the students have to work.” He got into politics because he has always been a good communicator. “I was first a town counsellor, then an MLA. And for the past two years, I am an MP. There are only 200 people in the Parliament. India has 545 in the Lok Sabha.” Nik got elected from the state of Zurich – Canton Zurich – and he has been there for 25 years now. He is also the first Indian to be elected as an MP in Switzerland. Being an MP is a part time job there, he says. “In India, it is a full time job and the salary is high. In Switzerland, it is only part time salary. We don’t have the same privilege,” he says, laughing. He has been following Indian politics ever since he became the president of the Swiss Indian Parliamentary study group, he says, for interaction between the two countries. He reckons India could use more of the dual education system. A social entrepreneur, Nik is also a counsellor and life coach, and runs a counselling company with a partner. Nick respected his biological mother’s wish, but he has let her memory remain in the family. He has named his daughter Anasuya.

Body 2:

Protest

Hundreds of medical students gathered outside the Kerala Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the state Governor, in Thiruvananthapuram.

Korah Abraham

There was visible anger among the hundreds of medical students who had gathered outside the Kerala Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the state Governor, in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday morning. Wearing their lab coats, with their stethoscopes around their necks, holding banners which read “No to NMC” and chanting “We need justice,'' the students burnt placards with ‘NMC’ written on them as a show of protest against the new Medical Commissions Bill which was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill was first introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2017, as an alternative to the Medical Council Act of 1956. The Medical Council of India (MCI), which had been in charge of medical education in the country, had long been under scrutiny for corruption charges following which there were demands to replace the MCI with an alternate body. However, several doctors and medical students across the country have taken to the streets against the Bill. “It is not just an issue for the medical students or the medical fraternity of the country. It is an issue relating to the entire community. According to the NMC bill, any student from a non-medical field, after undergoing a few months of training or a ‘bridge course’, will be able to work in rural health centres. This is going to affect the poor who depend on rural health centres,” said Ajith Paul Densen, a medical student as well the student’s convenor of the Indian Medical Association (IMA). A day after the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday, the Indian Medical Association had called for a nationwide protest and boycott of medical services as a protest against the Bill. Some of the medical students in Thiruvananthapuram led by the Medical Student’s Network (MSN) began a hunger strike outside the Raj Bhavan on Wednesday evening. As per the MSN officials, the protest is expected to go on till Thursday evening and if the Bill is passed in the Rajya Sabha, then fresh protests will be organised from August 5 onwards. Speaking to TNM, Dr Binoy, chairman of MSN, referred to the bill as “pro-rich”, “anti-democratic” and “against the medical profession”. “The wealthy can afford to attain medical services from private hospitals which provide speciality treatment by well-qualified doctors whereas the poor in rural areas will be treated by a huge number of non-medical students, who are not qualified to act as doctors,” he said. The NMC Bill also seeks to implement exit exams after the undergraduate medical degrees in addition to the already existing final-year exams. The proposed exit exams, called the National Exist Test (NEXT), would also serve as the basis for which students would be eligible to apply for a postgraduate course. Furthermore, students who have completed medical studies outside India would be required to take the NEXT exam before they will be eligible to legally practice in India.

Body 2:

Transport

Some of the potholes are in the busiest stretches in Kochi city, with thousands of vehicles plying through them every day.

Neethu Joseph

Kochi is the largest municipal corporation in the state and Kerala’s only metro city. But the condition of the city’s roads often does not sync with these tags. From crater-like potholes to carelessly strewn gravel, Kochi has a handful of infamous roads that pose a threat to commuters. Unfortunately, these are some of the busiest stretches in Kochi city, with thousands of vehicles plying through them every day. If commuters don’t keep an eye out, there is every danger of slipping and falling into these pits. TNM surveyed some of these roads, which are in very bad shape. A caution board kept at Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road On top of the list is the Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road, which connects two busy points in the city – Banerji Road in Kaloor and Sahodaran Ayyappan Road in Kadavanthra. The condition of the road gets worse as one moves closer to Kumaranasan Junction from Kadavanthara. This stretch of road is filled with gigantic potholes, one even measuring about 7 inches deep and about three meters long. Giant pothole in Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road From two-wheelers to autorickshaws and even buses, none of the vehicles can move past without swaying to and fro in this crater formed right in the middle of the road. Not only does the road’s terrible condition take a toll on vehicles, it also affects the health of the riders, says Santhosh, an autorickshaw driver, after a bouncy ride through the stretch. “This has been the condition of the road for more than six months now and none of the authorities have even tried to rectify this. There is no way for us to move past these potholes without our vehicles getting damaged. Over the past six months, I had to take my autorickshaw to the workshop for repairs at least thrice a month,” Santhosh says. Gandhinagar Road What if a person wants to avoid the pothole-ridden Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road and take an alternative route to reach either Kaloor or Sahodaran Ayyappan Road? That’s where comes Gandhinagar Road, which runs parallel to the former. But the situation is not all that different here. The portion of the road in front of Indira Gandhi Co-Operative Hospital and near the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium looks like it has not been touched by tar in the recent past. Gandhinagar Road “Even healthy people will end up with back pain after riding through his road. Imagine the plight of patients coming to the hospital,” says Abdu, an autorickshaw driver. Interestingly, Gandhinagar Road is one of the roads in the city maintained by Kochi Corporation. Vyttila Similar is the case with the service roads in Vyttila, yet another traffic clogged junction in Kochi. Because of the ongoing construction of the Vyttila flyover, vehicles, including buses, are diverted through the service roads, which do not even seem to be tarred. Service road near Vyttila underpass The situation is worst along the service road near the Vyttilla underpass. One cannot be blamed if the road is mistaken for a mountainous terrain rather than the service road of a state highway. The road has become an accident-prone area with vehicles losing their balance or hitting the barricades kept on the narrow lane. Including this stretch, a majority of the roads in Kochi are under the Public Works Department (PWD). “The road has been like this since the Vyttila flyover work commenced in December 2017. It became much worse after last year’s flood. Though the councillor of the area intervened and got the road repaired, it soon got damaged after the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) carried out some pipe-laying works,” says Sudeesh, secretary of the residents association in the area. He also said that the residents are soon going to start a protest for better roads. “We are going to block the road and start a protest here, at least then the authorities will pay heed to our pleas,” Sudeesh says. Authorities stick to usual clichés Despite the constant uproar from citizens, authorities have done little to find a long-lasting solution to the issue. The resurfacing work of roads, which has finally started in some part of the city, is just like the clichéd explanation of the officials. Despite the Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road being the only road maintained by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), it has been in the same condition for more than six months. When TNM contacted GCDA, officials said that they were waiting to complete the paper work related to road repairs. Meanwhile, PM Harris, Works standing committee chairperson of Kochi Corporation, told TNM there was a need for a long-term plan for the maintenance of roads. “Digging open recently tarred roads for pipeline works or cable laying is one of the major problems that we face in the maintenance of roads. Unless it is an emergency, we do not encourage digging open a road that has just been repaired. But often it is an emergency situation and we will have to heed to the pleas of the KWA. This is what happened in the case of the Gandhinagar Road also,” said Harris.

Body 2:

Controversy

Reports had emerged last week stating that a quality test conducted on the Vytilla flyover by PWD quality control wing showed that the structure was not built conforming to standards.

Neethu Joseph

For the past few days, yet another flyover in Kochi, this time one still under construction, has been all over the news as reports came out raising concerns about the quality of the structure. The issue became controversial after an official of the Public Works Department (PWD) was suspended following media reports stating that quality tests revealed there were irregularities in the construction. The construction of the flyover in Vyttila, one of the traffic-congested spots in the city, commenced in December 2017. According to reports, the controversy started brewing when about 70% of the flyover construction had been completed. According to the initial plan, the construction of the flyover was to be completed within 18 months, that is May 2019, but it hasn’t been. (Photo credits: Midhun J) The issue is being looked at closely by the public as another flyover in Kochi has been shut down just two years after being opened, because of severe lapses in construction. Amidst this, reports emerged last week stating that a quality test conducted on the flyover by quality control wing of PWD revealed that the structure was not built conforming to standards. Following this, an assistant executive engineer in-charge of quality control wing of PWD was suspended by the government. However, the government is standing firm that there have been no irregularities in the flyover construction and has denied that tests have revealed the flyover to be built under substandard conditions. Talking to TNM on the issue, PWD Minister G Sudharakan said that the Vyttila flyover was pulled into a controversy unnecessarily for political gains. “We strongly believe that the officer who gave this report out even before submitting it to the government or higher officials concerned, was used politically by some to cover up the issue of Palarivattom flyover,” the minister said. Palarivattom flyover, another flyover located in another busy junction in the city, was closed on May 1 just two years after it was built as an expert study revealed severe lapses in the construction. The flyover was constructed when the Oommen Chandy-led UDF government was in power. The ongoing vigilance probe started on the directive of the government, has even named the then top officials of Road and Bridges Development Corporation of Kerala Limited (RBDCK), a government-run company. “Many reports compare Vyttila flyover to Palarivattom flyover issue, but that is absolutely wrong. Three tests have so far been conducted on Vyttila flyover as per the quality control manual and none of them have stated such a finding,” said Sudhakaran. According to the quality control manual, two tests were conducted, one by officials of the PWD and the other by the quality control wing of the same department. “The first report stated that the quality of all pier, pier caps and girders of the structure is above the required standard value as per the manual. A second test was conducted by quality control wing of PWD. The official who conducted this test, did not submit the report to the officials concerned, but rather leaked the reports out. From what we understand, this official sent a mail to people outside the official circle complaining about her superiors in the department and also things relating to the report. That was the start of this controversy,” said the minister. “But actually, even the second report has not said that construction was substandard. But it had varying result values from the first test report. That is why we went along with the protocol of the quality control manual for a third test,” he said. As per the protocol, the third round of tests should be done by an independent body. An expert team from Mar Athanasius College of Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district conducted an independent test. According to the minister, the test report they submitted on Monday revealed that all the three main structures of the flyover – pier, pier cap and girder – meet the quality standards. Govt orders for more detailed tests Though the government has stated that three tests conducted as per the quality control manual of PWD show that the structure meets the required standards, it has decided to conduct more detailed tests on the flyover. “The expert team from Mar Athanasius College had recommended the government to conduct a more detailed test. As per that, we have decided to conduct ‘core test’ of the flyover also. An expert team from Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) will conduct this,” said the minister. The core test is one of the non-destructive tests that gives a more detailed analysis of the standard of work done. The minister added that as part of being more cautious, the government has also asked an IIT Madras team of experts to submit a report on the flyover. Incidentally, it was an IIT Madras expert team that pointed out the faulty construction of Palarivattom flyover. Meanwhile, the minister said that the work of Vyttila flyover construction will continue without pause.

Body 2:

Infrastructure

After a concrete bridge was washed away by floods in 2006, residents of Nettara tribal colony in Thirunelly village, Wayanad, have been dependent on makeshift bridges every monsoon.

Shiba Kurian

For 13 years, more than 150 residents in the Nettara tribal colony of Thirunelly village in Kerala’s Wayanad district have been dependent on a makeshift wooden bridge to access the mainland after a concrete bridge was washed away by floods in July 2006. Since then, after almost every monsoon, the makeshift bridge gets washed away in the heavy flooding and the villagers get stranded. Before the onset of next monsoon, the villagers restore the bridge on their own with bamboo and wooden planks, due to no help from the panchayat. This cycle repeats every year. This year, too, with no sight of the panchayat delivering on its promise to build a permanent concrete bridge across the Kalindhi river, the villagers put up a fresh makeshift bridge before the monsoon, in mid-June. “But how long will this go on,” thought Lijin Thomas Varghese, a resident of the colony, to himself. He restarted his online petition on change.org from last year when the residents of the colony were stranded for more than 15 days as the makeshift bridge was washed away in the floods in August 2018. This time, he added Wayanad’s new Member of Parliament (MP), Rahul Gandhi, as one of the Decision Makers of the petition, to draw his attention to the plight of the tribal colony. The District Collector AR Ajayakumar and Mayadevi, president of Thirunelly Panchayat, too, have been marked in the petition. On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi responded to the petition and shot off a letter to the Collector, to construct a permanent bridge across the Kalindhi river for the tribal colony in Wayanad. “For the last 13 years, the residents construct a temporary wooden bridge before the monsoons. In fact, the primarily tribal residents of this village have pooled in their personal resources for this endeavour each year. However, the structures have been washed away on several occasions due to heavy rain. This has left the residents stranded for extended periods of time in the past,” Rahul Gandhi wrote to the Collector in the letter dated July 31. “In this backdrop, I request you to expedite the construction of a permanent bridge to connect Nettara Tribal Colony, Thirunelly village to the main village. In the interim period, I request you to consider providing makeshift arrangements for the convenience of the residents,” wrote Rahul Gandhi. Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi writes to Mr. Ajaykumar for the construction of a permanent bridge in Thirunelly for the benefit of Nettara tribal community. pic.twitter.com/UOqFY8D3qD — Rahul Gandhi - Wayanad (@RGWayanadOffice) August 1, 2019 Villagers continue to live in fear Residents of the Nettara Colony, which is in Ward 1 of Thirunelly panchayat, once accessed the mainland through the hanging bridge. Later, the panchayat replaced this with a bridge made of concrete pipes until heavy rains washed away a major portion of the structure in 2006, says Lijin. Speaking to TNM, Lijin said that in 2016, the Thirunelli panchayat grama sabha, under local MLA OR Kelu, passed a budget to build a new concrete bridge. A grant of Rs 10 crore was also announced then. However, three years have passed since the announcement, and no progress has been made in this regard. “The previous governments have failed in providing permanent access to the villagers,” said Lijin. He further explains that if the current makeshift bridge collapses again, it will kick-start another cycle of inconveniences: The elderly, pregnant women, ill and school-going children in the village will have to walk more than 4 km in extremely dangerous and slushy terrain. “In the absence of the bridge, the villagers will have to take a particular route through the forest, where there is also a threat of attack from wild animals. Besides, the villagers need to access the other side of the Kalindhi river to procure basic necessities such as rice bags and other provisions,” Lijin said. “I included Rahul Gandhi in the online petition this year because he is our MP, and never came to the colony although he visited the Thirunelli temple in the village in April,” says Lijin. When TNM contacted District Collector Ajayakumar, he denied receiving the letter from Rahul Gandhi. “I will look into the matter when I receive the letter,” he said, when asked about the budget allocated to construct the bridge. Meanwhile, as rains continue in Wayanad and the river swells up, villagers remain fearful of losing the makeshift wooden bridge. “Let me appeal yet again to MLA Kelu Master to follow up with the respective departments on starting the work on the bridge that was budgeted for and promised three years ago,” Lijin wrote in his updated online petition.

Body 2:

Politics

The national vice-president of IUML Youth League has asked Abdul Wahab to resign from his post as Rajya Sabha MP if he is busy with other engagements.

TNM Staff

Yet another Member of Parliament of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has come under severe criticism for missing a crucial session regarding the Triple Talaq bill, in the Upper House of Parliament. The absence of PV Abdul Wahab, who represents the party in the Rajya Sabha, during the discussions of the Triple Talaq bill on July 30 has angered a section of the IUML, with some of them going to the extent of demanding his resignation. Leading the angry voices from within the party is the national vice-president of Youth League, Sayed Moeen Ali Thangal, who, according to reports, feels that the absence of Wahab is an issue that has far-reaching consequences for the Muslim community in India. According to a report by The New Indian Express (TNIE), Moeen Thangal, the son of IUML state president Hyderali Shihab Thangal, has asked Abdul Wahab to resign from his post as Rajya Sabha MP if he is busy with other engagements. He was quoted to have said that, “It was saddening that he was not present in the Rajya Sabha during the discussion on Triple Talaq Bill. Such incidents are an insult to the party cadre.” He went on to add that there are many other capable leaders in the IUML who can represent the party in Rajya Sabha. This was not the first time that an IUML MP is facing the wrath of the party members. According to a report by the Times of India (ToI), both Abdul Wahab and Lok Sabha MP PK Kunhalikutty, could not cast their vote in the vice-president elections of the party as their flight was delayed in August 2017. Followed by this, another similar occasion arose in December 2018 when Kunhalikutty failed to attend the Lok Sabha session while the House discussed the Triple Talaq bill.

Body 2:

Crime

Through fingerprint analysis, the police were reportedly able to confirm the identity of the thief.

TNM Staff

We've seen some truly entertaining thieves in Malayalam cinema, including ones who leave behind notes for the house-owners. But as they say, truth is stranger than fiction and a real life thief from Kerala has imitated his celluloid inspirations. Kollam native Jose, popularly called 'Motta' Jose, wrote a letter to the man whose house he'd paid an uninvited visit. His request? Please keep something in the house which he can steal the next time! But unlike films where the thief wins the appreciation of the audience, Motta Jose has landed himself in jail because of his "request". Police officers of Paravoor in Kollam district of Kerala were on the hunt for a thief who'd stolen 50 sovereigns of gold from a house in the same area last week. A few days ago, the police received information that Motta Jose was allegedly behind the theft. On Monday, the police, who were working with the residents of the area to nab the thief, noticed that the doors of a house which was usually locked up, were open. Though the team spotted the thief and chased after him, he managed to escape. However, the police reportedly identified him to be Motta Jose, who'd been in jail for theft and had been released two weeks ago. When the police inspected the house, they found the letter that Motta Jose had written for the house-owner in Malayalam: "The next time you leave your house, keep money and gold for me. Otherwise, I will break in here again. You can lock the house, you can lock the door." The police told TNM that it seemed like Jose had been living in the house for a few days. "The house seemed like Jose had inhabited it for the past few days. We did a fingerprint analysis in the house and confirmed that it was Jose," a police official said. After the police came to the conclusion that the thief was allegedly Jose, officers were deployed in mufti in the area to nab him. Early in the morning on Thursday, Jose was finally nabbed. It was the residents in the area who spotted him. "Though he tried to run away, the youngsters who spotted him were able to get hold of him and handed him over to us," the police said. The police also retrieved the 50 sovereign of gold that Jose allegedly stole from the house in the area earlier. Jose has been arrested under Indian Penal Code sections 457 (Lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night in order to commit offence), 461 (Dishonestly breaking open receptacle containing property) and 380 (Theft in dwelling house), and has been remanded. The notorious Jose is also famous for one incident which showed that he had a heart. According to reports, Jose had once entered a house to steal but he saw that the family was about to kill themselves. Jose then called out for help and even gave the family some money.

Body 2:

Education

The state government as well as the Kerala High Court deemed the 18-year-old, who secured rank 1294 in NEET under the persons with disabilities quota, ‘medically unfit to pursue’ a degree in MBBS.

Sreedevi Jayarajan

Photo courtesy: Albin Joseph, Junior Red Cross Muvattupuzha/Facebook

“Who says persons with disabilities cannot dream? I know I can do it. I’m willing to study and I’m positive that the apex court will see this” – these are the words of Albin Joseph, on the day that he moved the Supreme Court in an uphill battle to realise his dream of becoming a doctor. Since June 2019, when the NEET ranks were announced by the Medical Council of India, the 18-year-old has been a victim of institutional bias that candidates with disabilities are oftentimes subjected to. “Albin has spina bifida, a pre-birth defect which has left him immobile in his lower body,” his sister Anita tells TNM. Over the last two months, both the state government as well as the Kerala High Court deemed the 18-year-old, who secured rank 1294 in NEET under the persons with disabilities (PWD) quota, ‘medically unfit to pursue’ a degree in MBBS – effectively putting an end to his childhood dream. However, Albin, whose story was first reported on Manorama news, is not ready to silently accept this fate and instead moved the Supreme Court to challenge the Kerala HC verdict. “Becoming a doctor has been my dream since I was a child. When I underwent surgeries for my spine, most of the surgeons would pat me and tell me I should grow up and become a doctor. That was the moment I realised that a doctor was what I would become,” he tells TNM. Albin’s disability Spina bifida, a birth defect which occurs when the spine and the spinal cord do not form properly, is termed a ‘neural tube’ defect. The neural tube in the embryo is what grows into the baby’s brain and spinal cord. This happens quite early in pregnancy, usually within the first 28 days of conception. For babies with spina bifida, a section of the neural tube fails to develop properly, which results in an improperly formed spinal cord and bones. Albin lives with open spina bifida (or myelomeningocele), a severe variant of the defect where the spinal canal in the lower or middle back is open along several vertebrae. The membranes and nerves in this opening push and stick out, forming a bulge in the person’s back. “He has not had it easy. Within the first year of his birth, he underwent 9 surgeries for his back. He currently moves around in a motorised wheelchair as he lacks motor skills in his lower body (including bladder and bowel control). But he is not deteriorating. In fact, his condition is improving. He does everything on his own and does not need any of us,” Anita adds. Born to Maradi natives Shaji Joseph and Jisha Shaji, Albin lives with his family, including an older sister and a younger one. The family is also entirely supportive of Albin’s dreams of becoming a doctor. State government plays dampener June 5, 2019 was a day of jubilation for Albin’s parents thinking their son’s dream will finally come to fruition when he scored a good rank in the NEET entrance. The hope and excitement, however, was short-lived. Albin was declared ineligible by a medical team constituted by the Commissioner of Entrance Examination (CEE), which assessed all medical candidates with disabilities and approved or rejected their application. “The team consisting of specialists from each field marked Albin at 85% disability. This, when the disability certificate issued by the district medical authority had marked him at 60%,” Anita says. The latest guidelines of the Medical Council (appendix H1) states that any candidate for a graduate medical course with a disability level of above 80% is ineligible to pursue the degree. With Albin’s score at 85, the CEE automatically struck down his candidacy. To fight this order, Albin took the help of Mathew Kuzhalnadan, a Supreme Court lawyer, to file a writ petition in the Kerala High Court. The court ordered the CEE to set aside a seat for Albin in the Kottayam Medical College Hospital. It also set up another medical panel to assess Albin’s disability and issue a report. “This panel consisted of heads of department (HoDs) from the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. When we went there for the assessment, two of the panellists were downright rude to us. They kept saying such children should not even consider medicine as they won’t be able to complete the course. It was a total waste of time, they said,” Anita recalls. The family, which did not take action against the ableist remarks, plan to meet the disability commissioner regarding the same. The High Court constituted medical panel too let Albin down, rating him at 80% disability with the assistance of a motorised wheelchair. Three of the panellists – the physician, neuro suregeon and the orthopaedic surgeon – left comments stating that Albin was unsuitable to pursue medicine. According to the judgement of the High Court on the writ petition, “The physical medicine rehabilitation expert, however, opined that the student will not be able to give basic lifesaving procedures such as Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and other procedures mentioned in the MBBS curriculum.” The neurosurgeon as well as the orthopaedic professor too noted that the student would be unsuitable to pursue the course. “The report was sent to the CEE, which yet again declared that Albin was not a suitable candidate to pursue medicine. As per the rules in Kerala, the CEE too has the authority to decide on the eligibility or lack thereof of a student wishing to pursue a graduate degree in MBBS or other courses. The Kerala High Court acknowledged this and dismissed the petition,” Mathew adds. Case in apex court On Wednesday, the case reached the Supreme Court with Mathew filing a special leave petition in the top court. “There was a similar case of a student with disability in Kerala who moved the Supreme Court to acquire a medical seat in the state. This happened in 2018 and then the MCI rule, which until then had the disability cut-off at 70%, was revised. The new rules issued in 2019 extended the cut-off to 80%. With this, the student was permitted to pursue medicine and is currently in his second year. We feel even Albin will get justice from the Supreme Court. Nobody has said that he is ineligible for medicine,” Mathew says to TNM. With classes beginning in September, Albin is hopeful that he will be able to receive a just verdict from the Supreme Court soon and commence classes right when they begin. “My disability is not a weakness. I do everything on my own. I am positive that I can do this too. So why can’t they give me chance?” he asks.

Body 2:

Law

Shuhaib’s parents had feared that since the alleged suspects owed allegiance to the ruling party, the investigation into the crime would not be fair.

Korah Abraham

More than a year after Shuhaib, a Youth Congress worker, was hacked to death in Kannur district, a division bench of the Kerala High Court headed by Chief Justice Hrishikesh Roy on Friday quashed a single judge’s order to hand over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The judgement by the HC was based on a petition filed by the Kerala government against the March 2018 order by Justice B Kemal Pasha, to hand over the investigation of Shuhaib’s murder to the CBI after his parents pointed out lapses in the police investigation. Twenty-seven-year-old Shuhaib was hacked to death in Kannur’s Mattannur on the night of February 12, 2018, allegedly by workers of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), one of the major constituents of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala. Following statements by Shuhaib’s friend, who also sustained injuries during the attack, the Mattannur police had registered an FIR under sections 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 307 (attempt to murder) and 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code. A few CPI(M) workers were also arrested in connection with the murder. However, Shuhaib’s parents had feared that since the alleged suspects owed allegiance to the ruling party, the investigation into the crime would not be fair. The non-recovery of the weapons used in the crime from the accused also pointed to a shoddy investigation by the police, they claimed. Another reason that irked Shuhaib’s parents was that the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were not invoked while registering the FIR. These reasons taken together led the parents to approach the Kerala HC to transfer the investigation to the CBI. However, the HC on Friday observed, “There was hardly any material available before the writ court that could have led it to assume that the investigation was inherently unfair or biased in any manner.” It was also pointed out that the CPI(M) leaders against whom Shuhaib’s parents had levelled allegations had not been made a party in the petitions and their versions had not been heard. The Court also observed that the conclusion by the single judge regarding the unfairness of the investigation “was based solely on the finding that the investigation authority had not recovered the weapons.” The bench went on to add that the state police had already arrested six persons and recovered the weapons within three weeks of the incident, and that if the single judge had wanted further details, he could have asked for the case diary but did not choose to do so. Reacting to the Kerala HC order, the state opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said that the party would file an appeal in the apex court after carefully examining the judgement. “I spoke to Shuhaib’s father. They are also planning to appeal in the SC. Congress will provide them with all the necessary support,” he said.

Body 2:

Accident

The victim was identified as Gayatri, a resident of Vellallor village in Thiruvananthapuram district.

TNM Staff

A 19-year-old Kerala woman succumbed to her injuries after a freak bus accident that happened on Friday in Thiruvananthapuram. The woman was dragged along the road by the bus after her bag’s strap got stuck in its door. Gayatri, a resident of Vellallor village in Thiruvananthapuram district and a final year student of Rajadhani Institute of Engineering and Technology in Nagaroor, succumbed to her head injuries one hour after the accident. The accident happened on Friday morning at around 9 am while the student was on her way to college. The incident happened at the college junction bus stop in Nedumparambu, while she was getting down from the bus. According to officials at Nagaroor police station, the student was the last to get down from the bus. “As she got down her bag’s strap got stuck in the door of the bus. Without knowing this, the driver took the bus forward and the door came open and hit her on the head. She was also dragged along the road for a few feet,” the police official told TNM. Though Gayatri was taken to a private hospital in Venjaramoodu, she succumbed to her injuries by 10 am on Monday. Nagaroor police have registered a case and started a probe into the accident. “The staff including driver and conductor of the private bus named ‘Subramaniyam’ will be arrested. We have started a search for them, they will soon be taken into custody,” the official said. Funeral rites of the girl will be conducted after post-mortem. Gayatri was the eldest daughter of Vellaloor resident Reekha and late Shajees.

Body 2:

Politics

The state government’s decision to appoint A Sampath as the special representative at a Cabinet rank has been flayed by the Opposition as ‘extravagant expenditure’.

TNM Staff

Pic/ A Sampath MP Facebook Page

A Sampath, a three-time MP of the CPI(M), has been appointed as a special representative of the Kerala government to coordinate with the NDA government. The post is a Cabinet rank post and the decision to appoint Sampath as the representative was taken at the state cabinet meeting on Thursday. The appointment has been flayed by the Congress-led opposition in the state, who has called it an extravagant expenditure from the state exchequer. “The decision to give a post with cabinet rank to someone who was defeated in the elections is something which has not even been heard in the history of the state,” KPCC President Mullappally Ramachandran said. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Sampath lost to Adoor Prakash of the Congress, which had come as a big jolt to the party in its stronghold Attingal constituency in Thiruvananthapuram. Mullappally also alleged that the state government is collecting flood cess to fund such extravaganza. “There is full-fledged Kerala house, there are experienced and eminent IAS officers if the government wants to get things done at the Centre; what capability does a defeated candidate have which the IAS officers don’t? This is at a time when the state has been suffering a severe financial crunch. People hit by the deluge last year have not received any assistance yet and at such a time the state government is finding new ways of extravaganza,” Mullappally accused. The government has clarified that the appointment has been made to ensure that the Centre implements schemes for the state which have been delayed. “There are in total 29 MPs for the state both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, why is a special representative needed? There are two different governments, a BJP and a non-BJP one, both at the Centre and in the state. But what is opposed is the Cabinet rank, which in turn paves way for the creation of other posts too and hence an extra pressure to the state exchequer,” a source said. Former Chief Secretary of Kerala CP Nair told TNM that it is usual for north-Indian states to appoint liaison officers with the Centre but in his knowledge this is the first time that Kerala has made such a move. "Sampath is ideal for the post since he has been an MP for three terms, he knows senior bureaucrats and ministers and he is aware with procedures and modalities. The ministries give more importance to politicians, irrespective of political parties, rather than bureaucrats. Unlike several other MPs from the state, it is not the first time Sampath is in Delhi. The state needs central sanction in several areas, like the fund for flood rehabilitation, projects in Railway, National Highways, etc. An experienced politician with a cabinet rank will be able to push those projects. If a bureaucrat approached a ministry for a project, nobody would be that keen to listen but when a senior politician does the same, that would get due importance. That is the sole justification for the government’s move,” CP Nair said. However, reports suggest that the appointment was not discussed in the Left Democratic Front headed by the CPI(M). LDF convener A Vijayaraghavan was unavailable for comment.

Body 2:

Human Interest

Sarah Joseph met Budhni, who had been thought dead and on whom she wrote a novel, still living in a Jharkhand village.

Cris

Budhini and Sarah Joseph; Picture Courtesy: Mathrubhumi Magazine

Sarah Joseph got the phone number of Vijayakumar, PRO of the Damodar Valley Corporation, after a lot of trouble. She was writing a novel on Budhni, a woman who was thought to be dead, decades after she was banned by the Santhal tribe in Jharkhand. Budhni had garlanded Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who came to inaugurate the Panchet dam in Damodar Valley in 1959. She was 15 then and working with the Damodar Valley Corporation. Her action had been against the traditions of the tribe, which considered the act of garlanding a marriage. She was thrown out of her home and village for marrying outside the community and dubbed by the media as the ‘tribal wife of Nehru’. Writer Sarah Joseph called Vijayakumar when she wanted to visit Budhni’s village and meet people who could tell her about Budhni. Vijayakumar, on the phone, asked her: “Why don’t you ask all your questions to Budhni herself?” Sarah was shocked. She made sure they were both speaking of the same person. “If you are asking about the woman who was ousted from her village for putting a garland on Nehru, she is still alive,” Vijayakumar said. “It was a big shock to me. I had read an article in The Hindu, ‘Recovering Budhni Mehjan from the silted landscape of modern India’, that appeared on June 2, 2012. It said that Budhni died in 2010,” Sarah tells TNM on a call. Sarah wrote about meeting Budhni in the Mathrubhumi magazine – the same one that published her novel Budhni as a series. “I was very happy to meet her. She didn’t have much to say though. I asked her if she wanted to go back, but she has now put her past behind her. She said what’s over is over. She didn’t even want to talk about it,” Sarah says. Budhni with Jawaharlal Nehru at the Panchet Dam inauguration in 1959; Courtesy: The Hindu It is years earlier that Sarah heard Budhni’s story in a speech by writer and political critic Civic Chandran. She says, “I had been part of the protests against the Athirappilly (hydroelectric) project. Many studies had proved it is without scope. In one such gathering, Civic Chandran spoke about Budhni. It touched me so much.” Sarah went back and read more and more about Budhni. “I realised it cannot be a short story or essay. There were so many aspects to Budhni’s story – India’s history, India’s development history, so many different roots. It took me one-and-a-half years of preparations. We didn’t know anything about this girl from the Santhal tribe. What is her life, her history, language, culture?” When she delved deep, Sarah began reading about the losses that the development of the country at various stages has often resulted in. She is talking about the people who were evicted from their homes. “Different studies suggest that about six-and-a-half crore people were evicted from their own land since 1947. How has the government concern been in this case – has a method been formed in independent India? At the time of the British rule land acquisition was easy. They would beat up and throw people out their homes and take over the land. But what about independent India? For many big projects, land has been taken over. What happens to the people who are evicted from these lands? The political sculptors may envision a project for them, but it should be implemented. About seven or eight thousand families were evicted for this Panchet dam project. Where did they go… so many aspects would evolve from Budhni’s story.” Once she wrote two chapters of her novel Budhni, she wanted to visit her village in Jharkhand. Discovering Budhni had made her very happy, Sarah says. “Budhni is planning to visit Kerala for the book launch in Kozhikode next month.”

Body 2:

Terrorism

The top court found her guilty of criminal conspiracy and of being associated with a banned terror outfit.

TNM Staff

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the conviction of a Kerala woman who was found to have joined the Islamic State, on the counts of criminal conspiracy and association with a banned terror outfit with intention to further its activities. According to reports, a bench of Justices UU Lalit and Indu Malhotra dismissed the appeal filed by the woman - Yasmeen Mohammad Zahidi - challenging her conviction under IPC Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and Section 38 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The bench restored a trial court order of Ernakulam in Kerala, which had sentenced Yasmeen Mohammad Zahid to seven years in jail. The bench set aside the Kerala High Court order reducing her sentence to three years, saying the quantum of sentence imposed by the trial court was correct and adequate."The only ground that weighed with the High Court while reducing the sentence was sympathy. The material on record indicates the role played by Yasmeen. Even at the time of her arrest, while leaving for Afghanistan, certain objectionable material was found on her person," the top court said. "The intensity of her participation and involvement were clearly made out. In the circumstances, there was no room for invoking sympathy". The bench, however, disagreed with the Centre’s allegation that the woman, from Kerala, had waged a war or attempted/encouraged war against the government of any Asian country which was in alliance or at peace with the Indian government, reports state. The apex court also found that the woman was not guilty, as the centre claimed, of raising funds for the terror outfit or of arranging and managing meetings to ensure support for the organisation. Yasmeen Mohammad Zahidi was arrested in 2016 from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi while she was on her way to Afghanistan along with her child to join her husband. According to reports, a local police in Kerala had first received a complaint that in 2016, the Kasaragod native had first left the country with 14 others, including her husband, to join the IS. The Supreme Court found her guilty of association, stating that she had attended classes also taken by her husband that propagated ISIS ideology.

Body 2:

Death

Sriram Venkitaraman IAS was travelling in the car that was allegedly overspeeding.

TNM Staff

The Thiruvananthapuram bureau chief of Siraj newspaper, KM Basheer (35), passed away on Saturday after being hit by a car when he was riding on his bike near the museum in Thiruvananthapuram. Survey director Sriram Venkitaraman, IAS, was travelling in the car that was allegedly overspeeding, and rammed into Basheer’s bike early on Saturday morning. But it remains unclear if the IAS officer was driving the car, or a woman friend of his named Wafa was. The car reportedly belongs to Wafa. According to reports, both Sriram and his friend Wafa have reportedly told the police that she had been driving the car during the accident. Though Malayalam media has reported that there was ambiguity over who was driving the car, the Commissioner of police told TNM that all aspects of the accident are being looked into by the investigating officers. The 35-year-old journalist who was taken to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College hospital immediately after the accident had passed away by then, reports state. Sriram, meanwhile, has sustained minor injuries and was admitted to the KIMS hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. City Police Commissioner Dinendra Kashyap told TNM that the police are examining if Sriram was under the influence of alcohol. Visuals from the accident site show that the Basheer’s bike had skid 100 mts after the car rammed into it. Parts of the car and bike are also seen scattered on the stretch where the accident took place. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took to social media to express his heartfelt condolences at the news of Basheer’s death. “Basheer was notable among the journalists in the capital because of his pleasant behaviour and active work. I share the grief of the family members,” the Chief Minister added. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said that Basheer was a hardworking journalist and the fact that he became a bureau chief at such a young age showed his commitment to the profession. Also read: Sriram IAS was driver in accident that killed journo: Kerala cops, eyewitnesses say Basheer had started his journalism career as Tirur local reporter of Siraj in 2003 and later became the staff reporter in Malappuram. He then joined the Thiruvananthapuram bureau as a staff reporter and was later promoted as the Bureau Chief. Sriram had become a well-known name in Kerala in 2017 when he was the Sub-Collector of Devikulam in Idukki district. The IAS officer was heading the anti-encroachment drive in Munnar, which caused a political storm in the state, and he locked horns with CPI(M) minister MM Mani. He was transferred out in July 2017. Sriram had later taken a sabbatical to study Public Health at the Harvard University. He returned to Kerala earlier this year and assumed office as Survey Director. Sriram Venkitaraman IAS Also read: Blood sample of Sriram IAS taken in Basheer accident case: How cops read alcohol levels

Body 2:

Accident

The preliminary investigation has confirmed eyewitness accounts that it was the IAS officer who was behind the wheels when the car hit the bike of journalist KM Basheer, killing him.

TNM Staff

Senior police officers have confirmed that preliminary investigation shows IAS officer Sriram Venkitaraman was driving the car when it hit the bike of Thiruvananthapuram bureau chief of Siraj newspaper, KM Basheer, resulting in the latter's death. Cantonment ACP Suneesh Babu said, “We have connected all the evidence available in the case. From the statements of the eyewitnesses, it is clear who the accused is. Looks like it was him (IAS officer) who had driven the car.” Survey director Sriram Venkitaraman IAS, was travelling in the car that was allegedly overspeeding, and rammed into Basheer’s bike early on Saturday morning. According to Siraj Daily, Basheer was returning home to Thiruvananthapuram after Siraj Promotion Council meeting in Kollam when the accident took place. Asianet News reported that two auto drivers named Shafique and Manikuttan who were at the crash site, have also corroborated this by stating that IAS officer Sriram was behind the wheel. They also added that Sriram himself had got out of the car, removed the journalist from the bike and placed him on the ground. Following the impact of the accident, the bike had hit a nearby wall and was found leaning against it in an upstanding position with its front wheel resting on top of the wall. The auto drivers also added that they had moved to one side of the road after seeing the speed of the car in which Sriram was travelling. Another eyewitness stated on social media that Sriram was in a heavily inebriated condition. “Around 12:55 in the night, when I saw people, police vehicles and a van crowded near the museum public office, I parked my cycle and went to see what was happening. There was a bike which stood leaning near the wall of the building. Suddenly I saw the man who was lying down. Blood was flowing out of him. The police were waiting for an ambulance as it was too risky to take him in the police jeep due to his critical condition. The man who got out of the car, who looked like he was in his 30s, could not place his legs firmly on the ground. He was heavily inebriated. The woman who was with him seemed petrified...The man was calling a lot of people on the phone. The ambulance had arrived by then and taken the victim. From first sight, I could see that his hand was broken and completely dislodged,” says Dhanasumod in his Facebook account. The account also stated that the police have taken the name and address of the woman who accompanied Sriram and then allowed her to leave for her residence in an Uber. “The man, who gave his address as Civil Service Colony Kowdiar, Thiruvananthapuram, was asked to accompany the police to the museum PS,” the account further stated. Asianet News also claimed that the police did not insist on a blood test for Sriram. Before it was confirmed that it was Sriram who was driving the car, a senior cop told the media that he'd refused to do a blood test and that the police will follow procedure. Meanwhile, a doctor at the General Hospital told Asianet News that the police had allowed Sriram to go to a private hospital. However, a source from the hospital told TNM that a blood sample was taken from Sriram by staff from the General Hospital who came to KIMS under police instruction. Police have also reportedly taken Sriram's statement from KIMS hospital. "There will be no lapse on the part of the police in investigating this case,'' state Police Chief Lokanath Behara told media. Read: Kerala journalist Basheer killed in road accident, car involved had IAS officer in it

Body 2:

Accident

Sriram Venkitaraman, an IAS officer, was driving the car that rammed into Kerala journalist Basheer, killing the latter.

Megha Kaveri

Kerala woke up to the grim news of a journalist who was killed in a road accident on Saturday. Basheer, the Thiruvananthapuram bureau chief of Siraj newspaper, was hit by a car which, police officers and eyewitnesses say, was driven by Survey Director Sriram Venkitaraman IAS in the wee hours of Saturday. Though Basheer was rushed to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College hospital, he passed away by the time they reached. Sriram sustained minor injuries and has been admitted to the KIMS hospital, where the police have recorded his statement. His blood has been drawn for testing blood alcohol limits to ascertain if he was driving under the influence of alcohol when the accident occurred. Though it is yet to be confirmed, one of the eyewitnesses of the accident had posted on social media that the driver of the car was heavily inebriated. Timing of test - a crucial factor In cases of suspected drunk driving, timing can prove to be a crucial factor in determining whether the person at the wheels was under the influence of alcohol when he or she caused the accident. A retired Additional Superintendent of Police says that the driver must be secured and taken to a government hospital for a medical test within 24 hours of the accident. Adding that there are different levels of alcohol influence that the doctors categorise the accused into, the ADSP says, “One category is ‘Consumed alcohol and unable to drive vehicle’, second one is ‘consumed alcohol and is conscious’ and the last level is ‘only smell of alcohol but no symptoms of alcohol disorder’,” he explains. Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act (Driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs) will be added to the FIR if the accused falls under the first two categories. Consent of the accused The ADSP, however, says that consent of the accused is necessary before extracting body fluids from him or her. “The doctors will take samples of body fluids with the consent of the accused. If the accused refuses to give consent, the police cannot force him or her to give samples,” he says. Another senior police officer in Tamil Nadu police confirms this but adds that if the accused is in an inebriated condition, then his consent is not mandatory since he will be considered incapable of giving consent. "If the accused is in his senses and refuses to give consent to draw blood, then the police will approach the court to seeking permission to draw blood," he adds. In the Kerala case, a senior cop had initially told the media that Sriram had refused to give a blood sample. In practice, police officers generally coax the accused to give the samples for testing if they suspect drunk driving. “Actually in any case, if an accident happens on the road, we arrest the driver. Drunken or otherwise. We then take him to a government hospital and coax him to give samples for the medical test to ascertain if he was driving under the influence of alcohol,” says another police officer who works in the Traffic division in Tamil Nadu. Breathalyser tests are the basic results which the police fall back on, given the delay involved in taking blood alcohol tests. “If the breathalyzer results show alcohol levels above 30mg per 100ml of blood, then we file the FIR under section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act as well. When breathalyzer machines are not available, then police depend on blood and urine test results to add that section in the FIR,” he explains. Medical tests When people suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol are brought to a hospital, the physician starts with simple tests on the suspects. “The examination of the accused by doctors is done in two stages. One is the subjective exam which is checking the pupillary response (response of the pupils of the eye) of the accused, making him speak to see if his speech is slurred and asking him to walk a few steps to see if he is physically stable. The lab tests are a method to ascertain the blood alcohol levels objectively,” a doctor working in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai told TNM. Poorvisha Ravi, a Scientific Officer in the Department of Forensic Sciences, Tamil Nadu, says that the results will be different in every case since the alcohol content keeps decreasing inside the body as time lapses. “Honestly, alcohol is metabolised completely in about four to six hours in the body. It means that it becomes difficult to trace after that point and the traceability becomes more tough as time lapses. However, the urine test can be a better gauge to test alcohol traces in the body since it is not eliminated immediately and is collected and stored for quite a while within the body,” says. Adding that there are legal limits set for considering a person as driving under the influence of alcohol, the labs generally do not interpret the results. “We have machines that detect alcohol traces from 20mg to 350mg per 100ml of blood. The range is pretty wide. We report whatever we find in the body fluid sample irrespective of what the law says. We leave the interpretation of those results to the medical officer or the court,” she adds.

Body 2:

Death

The mortal remains of KM Basheer, the Thiruvananthapuram bureau chief of Siraj newspaper, were brought to the city’s Press Club at around 2:45 pm for people to pay their last respects.

TNM Staff

The mortal remains of KM Basheer, the Thiruvananthapuram bureau chief of Siraj newspaper, was brought to the city’s Press Club at around 2:45 pm for his colleagues and other journalists to pay their final respects. Among the notable persons who arrived at the Press Club to pay homage to Basheer was Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who had also expressed his condolences on social media after hearing the news of Basheer’s death. Following Basheer’s death, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) chairperson Antony Dominic, urged the state Police Chief Loknath Behera to look into the complaint alleging that officers of the Museum Police Station did not test the blood samples of Sriram IAS despite prima facie evidence that the IAS officer had driven the car in an inebriated state. The Commission also directed the city Police Commissioner to start the probe and has ordered the DGP and Commissioner to submit a report within the next 10 days. The SHRC issued these orders after receiving a complaint from the Loktantric Yuva Janatadal National President Salim Madavur. According to Siraj newspaper, it was only last week that Kerala Media Academy honoured Basheer for his noteworthy contribution to the Assembly media coverage. The 35-year old journalist died early Saturday morning, after a car which was being driven by Survey Director Sriram IAS rammed into his bike near the museum public office in Thiruvananthapuram at 1 am. Basheer is survived by his wife Jaseela and two children.

Body 2:

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Why give Cabinet rank: Row over A Sampath's posting as Kerala’s representative in Delhi

Writer Sarah Joseph finds woman banned by tribe in 1959 for garlanding Nehru still alive

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Kerala journalist Basheer killed in road accident, car involved had IAS officer in it

Sriram IAS was driver in accident that killed journo: Kerala cops, eyewitnesses say

Blood sample of Sriram IAS taken in Basheer accident case: How cops read alcohol levels

Hundreds turn up in Thiruvananthapuram to pay homage to journalist KM Basheer