Gurgaon schoolboy not sexually assaulted: Autopsy report

Agencies
September 13, 2017

Gurgaon, Sep 12: The seven-year-old boy, found murdered inside his school, was not sexually assaulted and died of excessive bleeding, the doctor who conducted the post-mortem said today.

In a related development, the Bombay High Court granted interim protection from arrest to Ryan International Group's founding chairman Augustine Pinto and his wife and managing director Grace till tomorrow in connection with the murder.

The school, where the boy studied, is run by the group in Gurgaon.

Group CEO Ryan Pinto filed an anticipatory bail application in the high court this evening, their lawyer said.

Dr Deepak Mathur, who conducted the post mortem, also said there were two cuts on the boy's body and a nerve was slashed due to which he could not cry for help when he was attacked.

"The second point that came out in the report is that the child died due to excessive bleeding. There was no sexual assault on the minor and no semen marks were found on his school dress," he said.

A fact-finding three member committee, constituted by the Gurgaon district administration, submitted its report to District Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh.

"The committee has detected lapses on the part of the school such as broken window, ill-equipped fire extinguishers, common toilets, no police verification of conductors and drivers and other ground staff, broken boundary wall and low quality CCTV without having wide-angle facilities, students' toilets without guard," Singh said.

Meanwhile, police recorded statements of two students in connection with the murder of their schoolmate.

"The SIT recorded statements of two students who went to change their Taekwondo dress inside the toilet at the time of the crime. The team is also questioning the suspended school principal Neerja Batra and two other female teachers," a senior police officer said.

Schoolbus conductor Ashok Kumar, who allegedly tried to sexually assault the class II student in a toilet and slit his throat with a knife when he resisted last Friday last, was sent to judicial custody till September 17.

As police are working to crack the case, Subhash Garg, a businessman, claimed the conductor carried the injured boy to a car to be shifted to a hospital on the orders of two teachers.

Garg said he had gone to deposit his son's fees on Friday and was standing at the main reception in the school when he heard some commotion.

"I saw two female teachers and two students were following an injured student who was being carried by Ashok Kumar. One of the teachers was weeping at that moment. She ordered Kumar to place him at the rear seat of the car," Garg said.

"There were also blood stains spread all over the place in a small toilet at the ground floor of the school building. There were blood stains on Kumar's shirt which may be due to the fact that he was carrying the boy," he claimed.

He further claimed that Kumar was behaving normally which is a rare thing for someone who has committed a crime, adding he recorded 1.14 minute video.

The school bus' driver Saurabh Raghav claimed Kumar was made a scapegoat by the school teachers.

The matter of safety of children in schools was also taken up in the Supreme Court which agreed to hear a plea of two women lawyers seeking framing of "non-negotiable" child safety conditions and implementation of existing guidelines to protect school-going children from offences like sexual abuse and murder across the country.

The plea which also sought cancellation of licences and forfeiture of state grants of erring schools will be heard by the court along with the petition filed yesterday by the father of boy.

Union ministers Maneka Gandhi and Prakash Javadekar will hold a high-level meeting tomorrow to develop a protocol for educational institutions to ensure safety of students following incidents of child sexual abuse in schools.

Officials of the ministries of women and child development and human resource development as well as representative of the National Commission of Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), CBSE, NCERT, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan will be a part of this meeting.

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coastaldigest.com news network
January 19,2026

rizwanzameer.jpg

Bengaluru: As the dust settles on the recent legislative session, the corridors of Vidhana Soudha are buzzing with more than just policy talk. A high-stakes game of political musical chairs has begun, exposing a deepening rift within the Congress party’s Muslim leadership as a major Cabinet reshuffle looms.

With the party hierarchy signaling a "50% refresh" to gear up for the 2028 Assembly elections, the race to fill three projected Muslim ministerial berths has transformed from a strategic discussion into an all-out turf war.

The "Star Son" Spark

The internal friction turned public this week following provocative remarks by Zaid Khan, actor and son of Wakf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan. Zaid’s claim—that his father "helped" secure a ticket for Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad in 2023—has acted as a lightning rod for resentment.

Rizwan’s camp was quick to fire back, dismissing the comment as a desperate attempt by Zameer to manufacture seniority. "Rizwan’s political pedigree was forged in the NSUI and Youth Congress long before Zameer even stepped into the party," a supporter noted, highlighting Rizwan’s tenure as an AICC secretary and his two-term presidency of the State Youth Congress.

A Tale of Two Loyalists

While both Zameer Ahmed Khan and Rizwan Arshad are staunch allies of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and represent Bengaluru strongholds, their political DNA could not be more different:

•    Zameer Ahmed Khan: A four-time MLA who crossed over from JD(S) in 2018. Known for his "overzealous" and often polarizing outreach during communal flashpoints—from the DJ Halli riots to the recent Wakf land notice controversy—his style has frequently left the Congress high command in a state of "discomfort."

•    Rizwan Arshad: A homegrown organizational man. Seen as a "quiet performer," Arshad represents the sophisticated, moderate face of the party, preferred by those who find Zameer’s brand of politics too volatile.

The Outsiders Looking In

The bickering isn't limited to a duo. The "Beary" community, represented by leaders like N A Haris and Saleem Ahmed, is demanding its pound of flesh. Saleem Ahmed, the Chief Whip in the Legislative Council, has dropped the veil of diplomacy, openly declaring his ministerial aspirations.

"I was the only working president not included in the Cabinet last time," Saleem noted pointedly, signaling that the "loyalty quota" is no longer enough to keep the peace.

As Chief Minister Siddaramaiah prepares to finalize the list, he faces a delicate balancing act: rewarding the aggressive grassroots mobilization of Zameer’s camp without alienating the organizational stalwarts and minority sub-sects who feel increasingly sidelined by the "Chamarajpet-Shivajinagar" binary.

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News Network
February 1,2026

US President Donald Trump on Saturday claimed that the government of India led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a deal to buy Venezuelan oil, as opposed to purchasing it from Iran.

"We've already made that deal, the concept of the deal," he told reporters on Air Force One.

Trump had imposed 25% tariffs on countries buying Venezuelan oil, including India, in March 2025. He had also hit India with tariffs for buying Russian oil, saying it was "funding" President Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine.

Trump has said that the US has taken control of the oil-rich Venezuela after capturing former President Nicolas Maduro in January.

A fleet of 18 ships loaded with crude oil bound for refineries in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi in January, the most since December 2024, according to a report by the news agency Bloomberg.

Combined crude deliveries to the US will reach about 2,75,000 barrels a day, more than doubling volumes seen in December last year. Shipments to China, which averaged 4,00,000 barrels a day last year, fell to zero in January.

PM Modi, Venezuelan President Agree To Expand Ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez spoke on Friday and agreed to take the bilateral relations to "new heights" in the years ahead.

It was the first phone call between the two leaders since the capture of Maduro and his wife by the US on January 3.

"Spoke with Acting President of Venezuela, Ms. Delcy Rodriguez. We agreed to further deepen and expand our bilateral partnership in all areas, with a shared vision of taking India-Venezuela relations to new heights in the years ahead," PM Modi said in a post on X.

A statement from Prime Minister Modi's office said the two leaders agreed to further expand and deepen the India-Venezuela partnership in all areas, including trade and investment, energy, digital technology, health, agriculture, and people-to-people ties.

They exchanged views on various regional and global issues of mutual interest and underscored the importance of their close cooperation for the Global South, the statement said.

Rodriguez also said that they discussed partnerships in the fields of agriculture, science and technology, mining, and tourism, as well as the pharmaceutical and automotive industries.

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News Network
February 1,2026

Bengaluru, Feb 1: For travelers landing at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), the sleek, wood-paneled curves of Terminal 2 promise a world-class welcome. But the famed “Garden City” charm quickly withers at the curb. As India’s aviation sector swells to record numbers—handling over 43 million passengers in Bengaluru alone this past year—the “last mile” has turned into a marathon of frustration.

The Bengaluru Logjam: Rules vs Reality

While the city awaits the 2027 completion of the Namma Metro Blue Line, the interim has been chaotic. Recent “decongestion” rules at Terminal 1 have pushed app-based cab pickups to distant parking zones, forcing weary passengers into a 20-minute walk with luggage.

“I landed after ten months away and felt like a stranger in my own city,” says Ruchitha Jain, a Koramangala resident. “My driver couldn’t find me, staff couldn’t guide me, and the so-called ‘Premium’ lane is just a fancy tax on convenience.”

•    The Cost of Distance: A 40-km cab ride can now easily cross ₹1,500, driven by demand pricing and airport surcharges.

•    The Bus Gap: While Vayu Vajra remains a lifeline, its ₹300–₹400 fare is often cited as the most expensive airport bus service in the country.

A National Pattern of Disconnect

The struggle is not unique to Karnataka. From Chennai’s coast to Hyderabad’s plateau, India’s airports tell a familiar story: brilliant runways, broken exits.

City:    Primary Issue   |    Recent Development

Bengaluru:    Cab pickup restrictions & distance  |    App-based taxis shifted to far parking zones; long walks and fare spikes reported

Chennai:    Multi-Level Parking (MLCP) hike  |    Passengers report 40-minute walks to reach cab pickup points

Hyderabad:    “Taxi mafia” & touting  |    Over 440 touting cases reported; security presence intensified

Mumbai:    Fare scams  |     Tourists charged ₹18,000 for just 400 metres, triggering police action

In Hyderabad, travelers continue to battle entrenched local groups that intimidate Uber and Ola drivers, pushing passengers toward overpriced private taxis. Chennai flyers, meanwhile, complain that reaching the designated pickup zones now takes longer than short-haul flights from cities like Coimbatore.

The ‘Budget Day’ Hope

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2026 today, the aviation sector is watching closely. With the government’s renewed emphasis on multimodal integration, there is cautious hope for funding toward seamless airport-metro-bus hubs.

The vision is clear: a future where planes, trains, and metros speak the same language. Until then, passengers at KIA—and airports across India—will continue to discover that the hardest part of flying isn’t the thousands of kilometres in the air, but the last few on the ground.

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