TIRUCHY l Monday l august 19, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION FSSAI project to study microplastic contamination of food products The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched a project to assess microplastic contamination in food products aim is to generate data specific to India 12% spices sold in India fail safety tests The project aims to develop standard protocols for the analysis of micro and nanoplastics in food products and generate data on exposure levels among consumers in India. “This project will help understand the extent of microplastic contamination in Indian food and guide the formulation of effective regulations and safety standards,” the food regulator said ■ ■ Close to 12% of spices tested in India failed to meet quality and safety standards set by FSSAI, Reuters news agency reported citing the data it obtained under India’s Right to Information Act The data shows 474 of 4,054 samples tested by FSSAI between May and July didn’t meet quality and safety parameters, Reuters reported 14.5% shipments of a popualr Indian spice brand rejected by U.S. since 2022: Reuters CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI SC takes suo motu cognisance of Kolkata case CJI-led bench to hear matter on Tuesday; protests against rape-murder of trainee doctor at RG Kar hospital get bigger SUCHIT R A KALYAN M OHANTY @ New Delhi AMID widespread outrage over the brutal rape and murder of a resident doctor of Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the case and decided to hear the matter on Tuesday. Meanwhile, junior doctors in several states remained off-duty on Sunday disrupting healthcare services. According to the cause list of August 20 uploaded on the Supreme Court’s website on Sunday a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chan, drachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra will hear the matter titled ‘In Re: Alleged rape and murder incident of a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata and related issue’. Several letter petitions have been filed with the Supreme MHA seeks Court urging it to take updates every up the case on a suo2 hours motu basis, given the Union home ministry “brutal and horrific has asked states to n a t u r e ” o f t h e send situation incident. One such letter petireports every two hours. “A continuous tion was filed by Dr two-hourly law and Monica Singh of Army order situation College of Dental Scireport in this regard ences, Secunderabad, may kindly be sent Telangana, seeking to the MHA control the SC’s urgent interroom by fax/ email/ vention following a seWhatsApp,” the ries of alarming incicommunication said dents of brutal attacks on medical professionals, the latest one being the RG Kar hospital incident. The letter petition, accessed by this newspaper, filed through advocate Satyam Singh, said the rape-murder and subsequent attacks on the RG Kar Medical College on August 14 “ severely disrupted hospital operations and created an atmosphere of fear among medical staff. There must be immediate deployment of Central Forces to protect R.G. Kar Medical College and its staff ”. The Calcutta High Court had on August 13 ordered transfer of the case and investigation from the Kolkata Police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), citing laxity on the part of the local police. The HC transferred the investigation to the CBI after hearing petitions filed by the victim’s parents and several other individuals. (From left) Doctors protest at Shyambazar area of Kolkata on Sunday against alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital; supporters of football clubs East Bengal and Mohun Bagan take part in a protest march near Salt Lake stadium, in Kolkata | PTI Football fans clash with police during protest E x p r e s s N e w s s e r v i c e @ Kolkata Doctors summoned Kolkata Police on Sunday issued summonses to renowned doctors Kunal Sarkar and Subarna Goswami and former BJP MP Locket Chatterjee for allegedly spreading false information. The police also summoned Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, hours after he demanded that the CBI interrogate Kolkata police commissioner Vineet Kumar Goyal PROTESTS against the horrific rape and murder of a medic at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital spilled on to the streets on Sunday after the police clamped prohibitory orders and cancelled the much-anticipated football match between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan at the Salt Lake Stadium. The police action united supporters of traditional arch rivals of the two century-old clubs. In a rare show of solidarity, the supporters— men, women, young and old—of both clubs gathered at the stadium, with the slogan ‘We want justice’ reverberating in the air. Around 4pm on Sunday the fans , started assembling in front of the VIP Gate of the Saltlake Staidum where the Durand Cup derby match was scheduled but called off by the administration, fearing security concerns. Outside the Saltlake Stadium, India defender and Mohun Bagan captain Subhasish Bose, accom- CBI grills ex-principal Ghosh for third day In Kolkata, Sandip Ghosh, former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, appeared before the CBI on the third consecutive day and was asked to furnish details of the phone calls he made before, and after the incident at the hospital, an officer of the central probe agency said. Gosh was questioned by the CBI for around 10 hours on Friday. He was again grilled on Saturday panied by his wife Kasturi Chetri, and All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey joined the protest march. A huge contingent of police personnel was present to handle law and order. Soon, chaos erupted with the police forcing the supporters to retreat. The police resorted to baton charge and made some arrests. Protestors questioned why the match was cancelled when there was such a large number of police force available. They alleged that the police had failed to control rampaging mob at RG Kar. Chaubey who is also a BJP lead, er, said: “Football is beyond politics, religion or any colour. The match should not have been cancelled. If the fans are arrested, it’s a shame for the state’s law and order.” Earlier, the Durand Cup Organising Committee said: “This office has been informed by the police that they are unable to provide security cover for the 133rd Indian Oil Durand Cup Group A fixture between Mohun Bagan Super Giant and Emami East Bengal scheduled at the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in Kolkata on Sunday August 18, 2024.” , Some distance away from Salt Lake Stadium, several celebrities, theatre personalities, intellectuals held a protest march from Shyambazar towards RG Kar Medical College & Hospital raising slogans. Unreserved travellers in reserved coaches jump two-fold in TN trains B A n b u s e lv a n @ Chennai The number of passengers travelling in reserved coaches of express trains holding unreserved tickets in the state increased two-fold during 2023-24 compared to the previous year. Despite high demand, the railways has not been able to operate additional trains to serve unreserved travellers due to shortage of loco pilots, ticket-checking staff, and other resources, official sources said. A total of 4.18 lakh passengers were penalised across four railway divisions in Tamil Nadu (excluding Kanniyakumari district, which falls under the Thiruvananthapuram division) during 2023-24, compared to 1.96 lakh the previous year. Also, the railways is yet to take any decision on capping the sale of unreserved tickets for long distance trains. Currently, it sells about 600 to 700 unreserved tickets in many stations for trains that have two general class coaches. In Chennai and Salem divisions, as many as 400 to 500 passengers, found travelling in reserved coaches of trains heading to northern and northeastern states were deboarded and penalised repeatedly last year. A section of rail passengers’ representatives has called for additional Antyodaya or MEMU Express trains on short routes such as Chennai-Tiruchy, Chennai-Salem, and Salem-Coimbatore, as well as to northern and northeastern states. However, railway officials stated that any decision on new trains would have to be made only by the railway board. P5 Champai in Delhi amid buzz over BJP switch M u k e s h R a n j a n @ Ranchi Union Minister Rajnath Singh releasing the commemorative `100 coin at an event in Chennai on Sunday in the presence of CM Stalin | Martin louis Rajnath releases coin, hails Karuna as ‘titan’ of politics Express news service @ Chennai Political differences took a backseat as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh showered encomiums on former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi in Chennai on Sunday. Releasing a `100 coin, which was received by Chief Minister M K Stalin, to commemorate the birth centenary of the late DMK president, Minister Singh called Karunanidhi a “titan” of Indian politics. Throughout his speech, the defence minister was all praise for Karunanidhi and asked the audience to give him a standing ovation. “While many regional parties that emerged during the time have vanished, Karunanidhi provided such a strong foundation to DMK that it remains the only regional par- ty from the 1960s, continuing to hold power even today,” Rajnath Singh said. He said that while still being deeply rooted in Tamil identity, Karunanidhi never allowed regionalism to undermine the unity of India. Karunanidhi understood that the strength of Indian democracy lies in its ability to accommodate diverse voices and identities. “His insistence on state rights was a call for a more balanced distribution of power within the union. His ability to bring together different parties to form stable governments reflects the pluralistic nature of Indian democracy he added. ,” Minister Singh also recalled how Karunanidhi played a constructive, positive role in supporting the Vajpayee government when the DMK was part of the NDA some 25 years ago. P5 Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and for mer Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren along with four party MLAs landed in Delhi on Sunday, triggering speculations that he is set to join the BJP months before the state Assembly elections. After reaching the national capital, Champai took to X to accuse the JMM leadership of humiliating him and forcing him to look for “an alternative path”. He also removed the name of the party from his X account. After Heman Soren was ar- rested in January in a corruption case, Champai was asked to take over as the CM. Champai said, that after Hemant Soren was released on bail on June 28, all his official programmes in the first week of July were abruptly cancelled by the party without his knowledge. “Can there be anything more humiliating in a democracy than a Chief Minister’s programs being cancelled by some other person? Despite swallowing this bitter pill of insult, I said Coast Guard DG dies of cardiac arrest in Chennai Express news service @ Chennai Director General of Indian Coast Guard Rakesh Pal (59) passed away due to cardiac arrest in Chennai on Sunday afternoon. Pal, who took charge as the 25th Indian Coast Guard (ICG) chief on July 19 last year, was in the city for the inauguration of the state-of-theart Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) building by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday . The officer suffered a cardiac arrest before the inauguration event and was rushed to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital where he was declared dead. The Defence Minister, who was in Chennai to release a commemorative coin to mark Kalaignar M Karunanidhi’s birth centenary, visited the hospital and paid his last respects. Sources said the mortal remains of the officer will be flown to New Delhi soon. “He was an able and committed officer under whose leadership ICG was making big strides in strengthening India’s maritime security,” the minister said. In his distinguished career spanning 34 years, the flag officer had held several key appointments on the sea and ashore. that the appointment letters would be distributed in the morning, while the legislative party meeting would be held in the afternoon, so I would attend it from there. But, I was flatly refused from there,” Champai wrote on X. He said after this incident he was ‘broken from within’. When he asked the party leadership, he was told that a meeting of the legislative party had been called on July 3. Till then he could not attend any programme as the chief minister. Champai said at that meeting, he was asked to resign and Hemant Soren was elected as the legislative party leader. Champai wrote that the ‘humiliation’ he suffered left him with no choice, but to look for an alternative path. “I felt as if I had no existence in that party for which I dedicated my entire life... After facing so much insult and contempt, I was forced to look for an alternative path”. He wrote from that day, he had three options — to retire from politics, to form a new party or to join another party , . He said all options are open. Express read No pension for caste victims’ kin for past 5 months Madurai: Hundreds of Dalit families, whose relatives were killed in caste atrocities, have not received the `7,500 monthly pension sanctioned for such families for the past five months. The Tamil Nadu government started giving enhanced pension for these families since November 2023, sources said. According to Dalit Liberation Movement (DLM) state secretary C Karuppiah, around 506 beneficiary families across TN have not received the amount since March this year | P2 Rape at TN NCC camp: 7 including principal held Fake bomb threat at Rajasthan hospitals Krishnagiri: A day after Sivaraman, an ex-NTK member, was booked under Pocso for allegedly raping a Class 8 girl during an NCC camp at a private school near Bargur, seven persons, including the school’s correspondent and principal, were arrested on Sunday for not reporting the crime and conducting the camp without permission. Twelve more girls may have been sexually harassed at the camp by the accused, who is on the run | P4 Jaipur: Several hospitals across Rajasthan received email bomb threats on Sunday which turned out to be a hoax, police said. Bomb disposal squad cordoned off the hospitals to check their premises but found nothing suspicious. The emails claimed bombs had been planted under hospital beds and in bathrooms, police said. Among the hospitals that received threats mails are Monilek Hospital, CK Birla Hospital, Manas Hospital, Apex Hospital and Rungta Hospital Shiv Das Meena took over as chief secretary in June 2023 following the retirement of V Irai Anbu | Express Shiv Das Meena dropped as Chief Secy, named as TNRERA chief E x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai A few months ahead of his retirement in October, Shiv Das Meena has been shifted out from the post of Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu and appointed as chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Real Estate Re gulatory Authority (TNRERA). The Government Order, dated August 18, 2024 and signed by Principal Secretary to Government Kakarla Usha, stated that the appointment has been made after careful examination of the recommendations of the selection committee which was constituted to recommend suitable persons to be appointed chairperson and members of the TNRERA. The tenure of K Gnanadesikan, who was previously the chairperson of the regulatory authority had ended in Febru, ary this year. Senior bureaucrat Shiv Das Meena took over as chief secretary in June 2023 following the retirement of his predecessor V Irai Anbu.
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