Ayush Nautiyal, a final year student at Ram Lal Anand College was found murdered last night, after he went missing on 21 March. His body was recovered from the drains in Sector 13, Dwarka.
After Ayush did not reach home from college, his family filed a report with the police, but allegedly, they adopted a careless and callous approach. Ayush’s father Dinesh Nautiyal was contacted by the abductors through the student’s Whatsapp. The message comprised of a photo of Ayush who had suffered injuries on his head and he appeared to be tied up. The abductors also demanded 50 lakhs as ransom.
Keeping close contact with the abductors, Ayush’s family was able to reduce the ransom amount to 10 lakhs. The police asked his family to avoid going to the media, for it could have been adverse to Ayush’s life, and his family followed their advice. After trying to find the abductors and hand over the ransom money for more than two days, Ayush’s body was found in Dwarka.
While the reason for his abduction and murder has been unclear, the police have yet to make any statement about the same. A student at Ram Lal Anand College reported to DU Beat that he reportedly “had gone on a Tinder date before he was abducted”. It is uncertain if this may have had any connection.
Given the number of cat-fishers and perpetrators that linger on such websites that prey on innocent people, such an angle must be appropriately investigated. It is vital that justice is served and the murderers are punished. The source also reported that “Ayush was also active on social media after he had gone missing”.
A candle light march in the victim’s memory will be held from Ram Lal Anand College to South Campus police station on 2nd April from 10 a.m. onwards by the students.
DU Beat will be following the case closely. This report will be updated with the relevant details as received.
The students were involved in the supply chain of over a kilogram of Charas and LSD blot papers to Jaipur and around NCR.
In a major development before the New Year celebrations, the Delhi Zonal Unit of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested four students from across the top Delhi Colleges on Saturday. Among the arrested were Sam Mallick from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Gaurav Kumar and Tenzin Phunchog from Hindu College of University of Delhi and Anirudh Mathur from Amity University. The arrest was made after the the Narcotics Bureau received information on 28 December about the drug use and peddling around these campuses.
“For the last few months, NCB Delhi Zonal unit had been receiving inputs about drug peddling and intense abuse of drugs around institutional areas like Delhi University, Jawaharlal University and Amity University,” Times of India quoted S K Jha, Deputy Director General, NCB as saying.
Acoording to sources of the department, the authorities were given intelligence reports about a parcel of banned substances dispatched to Jaipur via DTDC, following which they reached the Vijay Nagar DTDC office and confiscated the consignment containing 1.14 kg Charas and 3 strips of LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide). The source was traced and the students were subsequently arrested. However, the major actor behind the drug racket functioning from Himachal Pradesh, Neelchand, is still at large.
The authorities confirmed that the students will be prosecuted under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.
The college administration cited the surplus staff strength as the reason following the calculation of the required ‘workload’.
University of Delhi’s Motilal Nehru Morning college released a press release on its official website on Tuesday stating the termination of three ad hoc teachers. Among the discharged was a teacher from the Computer Science department whose name could not be learnt in addition to Arunakar Pandey and Shashi Kumar from the Hindi Department. The teachers believe that the college used faulty calculation methods, as 41 teachers at the staff council meeting went on to complain the “wrong calculation”.
Workload is the number of a teacher’s teaching hours at the college. The workload at the University has been a cause of tussle between the Teacher’s Union and the University Grants Commission (UGC) ever since the Regulations introduced in 2010 which specified that the workload to be not less than 40 hours a week for 30 weeks in an Academic Year. Later it was further increased after the 2016 UGC gazette notification, leading to widespread protests last year. The Ministry of Human Resource Development had later intervened and asked UGC to re-examine the guidelines, leading to the University’s resolution on workload.
The sacked teachers opined that the college administration had infringed these guidelines in their case. “Blatantly violating the rules, the college sent me a termination letter late in the evening. Following protests against this calculation, the college principal said the standing committee is reviewing it,” The Indian Express quoted Shashi Kumar as saying.
The college administration could not be reached for any further response on the subject inspite of our repeated efforts. The student community was particularly disturbed with these developments. A student from the Hindi Department when approached by our correspondent said, “Mr. Kumar had been serving at the college from eight years. It is most unfortunate.”
Student Manmeet Kaur Sareen had filed a plea in Delhi High Court questioning the policy of admission into the Law Faculty of Delhi. Even after the last cut-off list as 233-34 for the unreserved category, seats were left vacant. Ms. Sareen had scored 231 in her LLB entrance exam and there were 14 seats left in total at the three Law Centres.
Law Centre 2 had 7 seats for reserved category and one for a foreign national but after filing for an affidavit, the university declared that these seats won’t be carried forward to the next year.
The following is the rule by the University for reserved category students, ‘The seats reserved for SC/ST shall be filled by SC/ST candidates only. However, in case of non-availability of the eligible candidates, the reserved seats may be interchanged between the SC and ST. If still, any seats remain unfilled, the same shall be left vacant’.
In Justice Indermeet Kaur’s own words, “The ends of justice would definitely not be served if available seats in educational institutions are allowed to go waste; this could also not have been the intention of educational legislators…This would be a denial of opportunity to an otherwise meritorious student…”. to which DU argued that there were 67 students before Ms. Sareen.
The court ordered admission only for Ms. Sareen since only she approached the court and nobody else. She has been given admission at the University’s Law Centre 2.
The BJP-backed National Democratic Teachers’ Front (NDTF) on 23rd September, 2017 filed a police complaint against Asst. Prof. Kedar Kumar Mandal for allegedly writing offensive content about the Hindu Goddess Durga.
Assistant Professor of Dyal Singh College, University of Delhi faced flak for insulting Goddess Durga in his post on Facebook. On 22nd September, DU Professor Kedar Kumar Mandal’s post on Facebook read, “Durga is the very much sexy prostitute in Indian mythology”. A case has been registered under Section 153A and 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Lodhi Colony Police Station by the BJP-affiliated teachers’ group National Democratic Teachers’ Front (NDTF) on Sunday against him.
Mandal had posted the controversial post on 22nd September at around 6.43 PM which he later deleted. His remark invited the ire of students’ organisations like Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) who have demanded the immediate dismissal of the Professor.
Source: ScoopWhoop
The ABVP asked students to boycott Mandal’s classes. “We demand suspension of this person who has no respect for religious sentiments of Hindus as well as dignity of women. Such a person, if allowed to continue as a teacher, will only spread hatred amongst students,” said Saket Bahuguna, national media convener of ABVP, in a statement to Hindustan Times.
IS Bakshi, Principal of Dyal Singh College, said he had not received any complaint. Bakshi said Mandal is an assistant professor in the Hindi department. No contact has yet been established with Prof. Mandal.
The controversial remark comes at a times when the entire Hindu community is busy celebrating the auspicious nine sacred days of Navratri which is celebrated with fervour over India and is dedicated to the Goddess Durga and her Nine avatars.
The University of Delhi is currently admitting students and has released the eight cut-off list yesterday for admissions in various undergraduate courses. This exclusive drive is meant for students who have not been admitted to any college irrespective of any reserved category under previous cut-off lists even after registration. The admissions for this cut-off list will take place until August 4. A recent press release by the University said, “No fresh registrations will be allowed in the drive.”
This special drive is exclusively for admitting reserved category students. There are a lot of vacant seats under the reserved categories in various colleges and the varsity looks forward to filling up these seats by releasing more cut offs. To ensure reserved category fill the seats, the Delhi University will also issue ninth cut-off list to admit students belonging to reserved categories — SC, ST, OBC, Persons With Disabilities (PWD), Children/Widows (CW) of Armed Forces, Kashmiri Migrants (KM) and students in Sports/Extra Curricular Activities (ECA).
Even in the eighth cut-off list, the highest percentage remains high with 95 for B.Sc Physics (Hons) at the Hindu College for the OBC students. In Hansraj College, the cut-off is 91.5 per cent for OBC students in B.A. Economics (Hons), 86.75 per cent for SC, 79.5 for ST candidates.
For details regarding variation in cut-off percentages, the candidates are advised to contact the respective colleges. The eligible students are further advised to complete their admission formalities in the concerned colleges within the specified time. Admissions for the general category are closed now. Delhi University will release the ninth cut off on August 7 and the admission will start on August 8.
Today’s tech-savvy world has allowed everything to go digital –right from food to sports to music and even the radio. It is only fitting that we find an alternative to the newspaper our father enjoys every morning with his cup of tea. We present to you a list of digital news apps for the courageous and honourable folks who admit they don’t read the average newspaper afterall!
Inshorts: We’ve all heard of this very popular news app that delivers news in short (quite literally). With crisp and accurate data accompanied by pointers explaining certain terms (yes, they do love us students), this funky app in signature red is a must read.
Google News: Yes and they publish news too (remember that old Tata Steel ad-after a wide range of activities, it read “we make steel too”). Let’s face it, nothing Google does is ever average and this is no exception. With a personalized newsfeed covering all possible areas of your interest, this app is perfect for those sloppy Joes.
Way2News : This app provides an exceptional reader experience , allowing you to skip the fluff and access the data. Let’s not forget, it operates in 9 Indian languages and has the most adorable monkey as its mascot. Yes, this is definitely worth your phone space.
We sincerely hope that all those who garner secret hatred for that badly formatted, black and white, advertisement ruled TOI will find solace in this article!
If I ask people about their most-used platform for daily news, majority of them are likely to speak of social media platforms. This is the reality of today. Due to the emergence of digitalization and an immense growth of technology, people of all age-groups are heavily relied on websites like Facebook and Twitter to get their daily dose of updates from all around the world. News channels are seen investing in mobile applications to keep up with the pace of technology and provide timely updates to the readers.
All of this is giving people a power. One, no longer, has to switch on their television set to become aware of the latest debates in the world, and nor do they have to wait around for the arrival of any newspapers. One can actively broadcast news and watch it unfold without any lapse of time.
So, all in all, traditional platforms and social media have become two powerful forces which are working towards a common goal of spreading awareness as efficiently as possible, despite the differences.
But, every power comes with a responsibility and its own set of pros and cons. As we already discussed the pros above, let us now look at some of the disadvantages posed by such a change.
“Half knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance”
This becomes significant in witnessing the relations between the users today and their news-reading habits. Through the help of status updates, shared posts and various 2-minute videos, we sure know what the latest news is all about and have a general idea or an overview of the specific situation; but do we really make an effort to know the whole story?
We know that Donald Trump is contesting in the US elections but do we even know anything about him? Do we understand why he’s being criticised by so many people? He said something about Muslims, right? But what did he say, why did he say so, and what is so wrong about it- do we ever question that?
Also, most of the times, when we come across a piece of news through the social media, we are so constantly involved in doing something else that we are likely to get distracted easily. There is also a fat chance of the article that you read, which is slowly forming your opinion, being factually incorrect because of its autonomy provided by the social media and a lack of stringent fact-checker.
So, somewhere, I believe, reading the headlines in our notification bars alone is creating a false sense of security among us. It sure helps us seem not-so-dumb in a social gathering because, “hey, at least I know there was some movie which was in news for being censored” but this is soon going to harm us in the longer run.
So, use the power, wisely. While the internet is a wonderful place with social media making everything accessible for everyone, do not run away from your own efforts. Read extensively from different authenticated platforms and then form an opinion. After all, knowledge is power, right?
2015 proved to be ‘just another year’ for the capital city of the country. However huge the political debacles in the first couple of months were, thanks to the Assembly Elections; the year turned out to be more or less a mundane one. Promises were left as mere promises and the dream of a Delhi with free WiFi, Water and Electricity stayed as bleak as before. While there were very tiny positive developments, the year was a stable one also because of lesser negative controversies in comparison to the days done by. Here’s a glimpse of all that brought Delhi in the headlines this year:
1. 66th Republic Day with Mr. Barack Obama: The Rajpath saw a multitude of people gathering on the chilly morning of 26th January, 2015, the republic day celebrations; the highlight of which weren’t the impeccable march pasts or processions but the presence of the President of U.S.A Mr. Barack Obama. President Obama and the First Lady also attended all the formal ceremonies, which was argued to hint at better diplomatic relations between India and the U.S.
Barack Obama attending the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath | Source: indianexpress.com
2. AAP in power again with 67/70 seats: Second chances were given, not just marginally but with a whooping, incomparable majority to Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party. 14th February, 2015 turned out to be a milestone for both Kejriwal and AAP, when the result-tabs board showed 67 out of 70 seats in the domain of the party. The same day came as a big blow to the unbreakable chain of wins for the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) which was reduced to a minor 3 seat arena. Free WiFi, subsidized electricity and water were the most ‘attractive’ promises of the campaign.
AAP Leaders celebrating their landslide victory in the Delhi elections | Source: ndtv.com
3. Violet Line connects Faridabad to NCR: Delhi Metro expanded its chains to Faridabad, the inauguration of which was done by the Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi on 6th September, 2015. The extension of the Violet Line of Delhi Metro from Badarpur Metro Station to Escorts Mujesar in Faridabad added 9 stations. The Violet Line now connects ITO to Faridabad.
4. “Four-Fold increase in salaries of MLAs of Delhi”, approves AAP Government: Whether basic amenities will ever be free and sanitation will ever be ensured is ambiguous, but the AAP Government was sure to work for the welfare of the MLAs by ensuring a 400% hike in their salaries. The proposal was approved in a Cabinet Meeting chaired by CM Arvind Kejriwal by passing the Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Government of NCT of Delhi (Salaries, Allowances, Pension) Amendment Bill 2015 on 27th November, 2015. The bill has now been sent to The Ministry of Home Affairs for approval.
5. Odd-Even Rule coming from WHO declaring Delhi the most polluted city of the globe: All hell broke loose in May 2014, and rightly so, when the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Delhi the most polluted city of the world. Pollution levels in Delhi have been standing constant at alarming rates since the past five years. Kejriwal government was inspired by the Chinese experiment of the Odd-Even Traffic Rule, and proposed to follow the same in Delhi in early December. Alternate days shall be allotted for odd numbered and even numbered cars as per the rule, which was criticised and supported by stakeholders alike (Though the former was way more apparent than the latter!). Only time will tell the success of this revolution of traffic rules in Delhi.
The odd-even vehicle rule in Delhi comes after WHO declaring it the most polluted city in the world | Source: indianexpress.com
6. AAP’s Cleanliness Mobile App launched: Keeping all rivalry and tension with the PM Narendra Modi aside, the AAP government proved itself to be a concrete supporter and promoter of the ‘Swacch Bharat Abhiyan’ by launching the Clean Delhi Mobile App on 17th November, 2015. The app lets one capture an image of ill-sanitary conditions in any area and the government, after locating the place, promises to get it cleaned up at the earliest. This initiative was widely appreciated and has seen a slow but positive response from the citizens.
7. Car-Free Day to be observed on 22nd of every month: This initiative started on October 22nd, 2015 as an attempt to manage the alarming pollution levels of the city. Residents observed the Car-Free Day by participating in cycle-rallies and taking public transport to work. A study released by Center of Science and Environment (CSE) reported as sharp as 60% decline in Delhi’s Air Pollution on October 22nd and the initiative was widely supported by Delhi-ites.
8. Juvenile convicted in Delhi’s Gang-rape Case of 2012 released: While activists, the victim’s parents, even certain politicians kept pleading against the release, the juvenile convicted in the 2012 Delhi Gang-rape case was released precisely after three years from the incident on 20th December, 2015. He was reportedly sent to an NGO for ‘mental reformation and rehabilitation’. Arguably as one of the most heinous incidents that shook the nation, the 2012 Gang-rape case sparked an uncontrollable fire of demand for justice to Jyoti Singh, who eventually succumbed to her wounds.
Jyoti’s father, Badrinath, commented, “It’s all politics that’s happening, and not justice.” He couldn’t be more accurate to analyse the event. The Judiciary in India reached an all time low with this judgement which was passed in less than a month of clearance of all charges against Salman Khan in the 2002 Hit-and-Run Case. Do we still have reasons to believe that the Indian Judiciary is unbiased and advocates justice? Or is it time to re-think what the Constitution of India promises?
After intense debate, the #juvenilejusticebill has been passed by the Rajya Sabha. While it isn’t possible to charge the #Nirbhaya rapist under this law, do you think it will work as a deterrent in the future?
As the year ends, we look at the various events that changed the face of the country. Some restored our faiths in the governing system of the country, some disappointed us at the existing social structure. In this new series at DU Beat, we bring to you the best and worst of news from the National platform.
1. Constitutional and Policy Changes
March 24 – Section 66A of IT Act Repealed
In a move widely considered as protection of Free Speech in India, the Supreme Court of India, gave the verdict that Section 66A is unconstitutional in the Shreya Singhal v. Union of India case. Section 66A stated a punishment for any person who uses means of a computer resource to spread information that has a grossly offensive and menacing character.
April 13 – NJAC Act and the Constitutional Amendment Act come into force. Declared unconstitutional on October 16
National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was a proposed body which would have been responsible for the appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary in India. On 16 October 2015 the Constitution Bench of Supreme Court by 4;1 Majority upheld the collegium system and struck down the NJAC as unconstitutional after hearing the petitions filed by several persons.
December 22 – Juvenile Justice Bill passed in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
In 2015, responding to the public sentiment after Delhi Rape case, both the houses of parliament in India further amended the Juvenile Justice bill that lowered the juvenile age to 16 and proposed adult-like treatment for juveniles accused of heinous crimes. The lower house, i.e. Lok Sabha passed the bill on May 7, 2015 and the upper house,i.e. Rajya Sabha on December 22, 2015. The bill currently awaits president’s approval.
Maneka Gandhi discussing the Juvenile Justice Bill in Rajya Sabha on December 22, 2015. Image credits: tribuneindia.com
2. Riots and terror attacks
6 July-present – Patel reservation agitation
Starting of July 2015, the people of India’s Patidar community, seeking Other Backward Class (OBC) status, held public demonstrations across the Indian state of Gujarat. Later, there were incidents of violence and arson across the state resulting in curfew in several cities and towns. The properties and vehicles worth crores of Rupees were damaged and destroyed. The agitation has led to the deaths of 11 people till now.
The Hardik Patel-led Patidar Anamat Sangarsh Samiti protests in Gujarat, August 2015. Image credits: livemint.com
July 25 – Terror attack in Gurdaspur, Punjab.
Three gunmen dressed in army uniforms opened fire on a bus and then attacked the Dina Nagar police station in Gurdaspur district of Punjab, India. The attack resulted in the death of three civilians and four policemen. All three attackers were killed in an operation that lasted 12 hours. Indian Ministry of Home Affairs alleges that the attacks were carried out by Pakistan based terror group Lashkar-e-Tayiba.
3. Rising intolerance and communalism
March 2 – Maharashtra ban on export and sale of beefcomes into effect
Maharashtra cow slaughter ban was extended to ban the sale and export of beef, with a punishment of 5 years jail, and/or a ?10,000 fine for possession or sale.
March 5 – Mob lynching in Dimapur, Nagaland.
A mob of about 7000-8000 people broke into a prison, dragged a man detained under suspicion of rape out of the Dimapur Central Jail, paraded him naked and beat him to death in a case of vigilante justice. The victim, allegedly called an illegal Bangladeshi, was originally from the state of Assam whose 2 brothers were employed in the Indian Army with another brother who died during service in the Kargil War.
Mob lynching in Dimapur, Nagaland Image credits: mirror.co.uk
August 30 – Scholar and VC, Kannada University M.M. Kalburgi shot dead
M. M. Kalburgi was was a scholar of Vachana sahitya (Vachana literature) and academic who served as the vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi. He was awarded the National Sahitya Akademi award in 2006. He was under fire for making statements against idolatry in Hinduism. He was shot dead by two unidentified men at his home in Dharwad, Karnataka.
Later this year it was revealed by Karnataka Police that rationalists M. M. Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare were all killed by the same weapon
M. M. Kalburgi Image credits: intoday.in
September 28 – Mob lynching in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh
A mob of people attacked a Muslim family on the night of 28 September 2015 in Bisara village near Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, India. The attackers killed 52-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq Saifi and seriously injured his son, 22-year-old Danish. They were accused of consumption of beef. The controversy took new heights when it was supported by many right-wing politicians and the police, who decided to do a meat test instead of seriously investigating the case.
September-present – Writers return awards. Celebrities speak up against rising intolerance
Noted writers Uday Prakash and Chandrashekhar Patil were the first to return their Sahitya Akademi Award and Pampa Awards. In October, writer Nayantara Sahgal also returned Sahitya Akademi Award citing M. M. Kalburgi’s murder among other incidents with people being “killed for not agreeing with the ruling [party’s] ideology.”
Bollywood actors like Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan also chose to speak against the rising intolerance in the country receiving flack and criticism.
Aamir Khan expressing his views on intolerance in India. Image credits: indianexpress.com
4. From the digital front
March-present – Net Neutrality issue
As of now, there are no laws governing net neutrality in India, which would require that all Internet users be treated equally, without discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application etc.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in March released a formal consultation paper on Regulatory Framework for Over-the-top (OTT) services, seeking comments from the public. The consultation paper was criticised for being one sided and having confusing statements. It received condemnation from various politicians and Indian Internet users.
July 1 – Digital India is launched
Digital India is an initiative by the Government of India to ensure that Government services are made available to citizens electronically by improving online infrastructure and by increasing Internet connectivity. The initiative includes plans to connect rural areas with high-speed internet networks.
Narendra Modi launched Digital India on July 1 Image credits: livemint.com
October – December – CEOs visit India
For the promotion of his venture Internet.org (or Free Basics) Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited India in October and held a townhall session at IIT Delhi
Satya Nadella, similarly, visited in November with Sundar Pichai joining in December doing a similar townhall session at SRCC, University of Delhi.
Mark Zuckerberg at the townhall session at IIT Delhi. Image credits: ndtv.com
5. In other news..
January 20 – Tiger population in India rises by 30%
Presenting the findings of the latest tiger census, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the tiger population had risen from 1,706 in 2011 to 2,226 in 2014. He said a number of government initiatives to streamline tiger conservation were behind the increase. India is estimated to be home to around 70% of the world’s tigers.
July 27 – APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India passes away
Kalam was elected as the 11th President of India in 2002.He was a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour.
While delivering a lecture at the Indian Institute of Management Shillong, Kalam collapsed and died from an apparent cardiac arrest. Thousands including national-level dignitaries attended the funeral ceremony held in his hometown of Rameshwaram, where he was buried with full state honours.
Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, former president of India passed away this year. Image credits: indianexpress.com
October 22 – Amaravati declared new capital of Andhra Pradesh
Amaravati is the proposed riverfront capital city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the southern banks of the River Krishna in Guntur and Krishna districts. The foundation stone of the planned city was laid at Uddandarayunipalem village of Guntur district by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Amaravati to be Andhra Pradesh’s new capital. Image credits: kostalife.com
October 25 – Chhota Rajan extradited to India
Known underworld Don, Chhota Rajan was arrested in Bali by Indonesian police.He was extradited to India on 6 November after 27 years on the run and is currently awaiting trial in CBI custody.
