Urmila Matondkar’s letter against aides of Sanjay Nirupam out

Kochi: An Indian Air Force (IAF) flight carrying the mortal remains of the Indians who died in the tragic fire incident in Kuwait two days ago, landed at the international airport here on Friday.

The IAF C30J aircraft is carrying the bodies of the Indians and of them 31 were received at the airport here.

The 31 bodies include 23 Keralites, 7 Tamilians and one person from Karnataka, officials said.

Officials had said that 49 people were killed in the fire in the Al-Mangaf building on June 12 and majority of them were Indians; the remaining were Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian and Nepali nationals.

The blaze in the seven-storey building that housed 196 migrant workers in Mangaf, south of Kuwait City, on Wednesday killed 49 people and injured around 50 others. 

A preliminary probe has indicated glaring lapses – there were around two dozen gas cylinders on the ground floor of the building; inflammable materials were used as partitions to separate the workers in the cramped rooms; the doors to the rooftop were locked, etc.

Ernakulam Range DIG Putta Vimaladitya earlier said that all the required arrangements have been made to receive the bodies at the airport. 

“We have coordinated with the family members of the victims. Once the bodies are received, they will be properly escorted to their respective places.” Vimaladitya said.

A dedicated vehicle will be provided for each body, the DIG said. Heavy police force and ambulances have been deployed at the airport in Kochi.

New Delhi: Indian universities and higher education institutions will now be allowed to offer admissions twice a year on lines of foreign universities with the University Grants Commission giving a go ahead to the plan, UGC chief Jagadesh Kumar said.

The two admission cycles will be July-August and January-February from the 2024-25 academic session.

"If Indian universities can offer admission twice a year, it will benefit many students such as those who missed admission to a university in the July-August session due to a delay in the announcement of board results, health issues, or personal reasons," Kumar said.

"Biannual university admissions will help students maintain motivation since they do not have to wait one full year to be admitted if they miss admission in the current cycle. With biannual admissions in place, industries can also do their campus recruitment twice a year, improving employment opportunities for the graduates," he added.

The UGC chief explained that biannual admissions will also enable the higher education institutes (HEIs) to plan their resource distribution, such as faculty, labs, classrooms and support services, more efficiently, resulting in a better functional flow within the university.

"Universities worldwide already follow a biannual admission system. If Indian HEIs adopt the biannual admission cycle, our HEIs can enhance their international collaborations and student exchanges. As a result, our global competitiveness will improve, and we will align with the global educational standards," Kumar said.

"If HEIs adopt biannual admissions, they need to work on administrative intricacies, good planning for increased use of available resources, and providing seamless support systems for the smooth transition of students admitted at dissimilar times of the year. HEIs can maximize the usefulness of biannual admissions only when they sufficiently prepare faculty members, staff and students for the transition," he added.

Kumar, however, clarified that it will not be mandatory to offer biannual admissions for universities and those HEIs that have the required infrastructure and teaching faculty can utilise the opportunity.

"Offering biannual admissions will not be mandatory for the HEIs, it is the flexibility that UGC provides to the HEIs which want to increase their student intake and offer new programmes in emerging areas. To be able to admit students twice a year, HEIs must make suitable amendments to their institutional regulations," he said. 

Bengaluru: A court in Bengaluru has remanded Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, his long-time friend Pavithra Gowda and 11 others to six days of police custody in connection with the murder of a man from Chitradurga. 

Darshan, 47, an A-lister of Kannada cinema, is accused of orchestrating the kidnapping and murder of 33-year-old Renukaswamy, who allegedly posted lewd messages about Pavithra on Instagram. 

A team of Kamakshipalya police from Bengaluru apprehended Darshan at the Radisson Blu Plaza hotel in Mysuru, his hometown, around 8:30 am on Tuesday. He was subsequently brought to Bengaluru and taken to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital for a medical examination. 

By the evening, Darshan, Pavithra and the 11 other suspects were presented before the 24th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court on Nrupathunga Road. The court granted the police's request to interrogate them in custody for six days. 

Renukaswamy’s body was discovered in a drain near an apartment complex in northwestern Bengaluru's Sumanahalli on the morning of June 9. The following day, four suspects surrendered to the police, claiming they murdered Renukaswamy over a financial dispute. 

Police sources told DH that Renukaswamy was brought from Chitradurga to Bengaluru on June 8, put up in a shed in RR Nagar owned by one of the suspects, and severely beaten. He sustained fatal injuries to his groin and at least 10 other places. His body was then transported approximately 12 km to Sumanahalli, in northwestern Bengaluru, and discarded in a drain. 

As the police dug deeper, a larger conspiracy surrounding the murder was uncovered, leading to suspicion falling on Darshan, the sources explained. 

"We have taken him (Darshan) into custody for the murder of a man named Renukaswamy. The case has been registered at the Kamakshipalya police station," S Girish, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), said.