Mangaluru varsity: Stranger behaves indecently before girls
Students resort to protest demanding action
Ullala, August 30: A stranger behaved indecently before four girls when they were walking on the Mangaluru university campus on Wednesday evening. Condemning this sudden development, the students resorted to protest boycotting the classes in front of the Administrative Block of the university and demanded his immediate arrest.
When the four students were going towards their hostel after the class on Mangala Gangothri campus, the stranger who came on a motorbike, stopped in front of the Kannada department and signaled the girls by opening the zip of his trouser. When the students complained to the security officers, the stranger fled the scene with the motorbike. Later, the students lodged a complaint to the university officers. Since there was no clue over the accused till Thursday morning, the students boycotted the classes and resorted to protest demanding immediate arrest.
The students also demanded the authorities to verify the CCTV footage. On Thursday morning, the authorities showed the footage to the students, but there was no record. Students also demanded to check other CCTV cameras to know the identity of the stranger and take action.
VC promises
However, the students who staged a protest demanded the Vice Chancellor to visit the spot. But Vice Chancellor (Acting) Dr. Kishor who has been to Udupi on a government programme, reached the campus in the afternoon and visited the spot and promised of taking the action. As soon as the complaint was lodged, the university authority has taken the issue seriously. All CCTV footage were collected. Based on the details of footage, preparation was made to lodge a complaint to Konaje police station, he said and also advised the girl students to take main roads instead of short-cuts.
ACP A Ramarao also visited the spot and promised of arresting the accused. Later, the students withdrew their protest.
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Supreme Court rejects plea for reverting to ballots in elections
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition seeking to revert to ballot paper voting in elections in the country.
"What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs (electronic voting machine) are not tampered. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered (with)," remarked a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and P B Varale.
Apart from ballot paper voting, the plea sought several directions including a directive to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for a minimum of five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor or other material inducement to the voters during polls.
When petitioner-in-person K A Paul said he filed the PIL, the bench said, "You have interesting PILs. How do you get these brilliant ideas?".
The petitioner said he is the president of an organisation which has rescued over three lakh orphans and 40 lakh widows.
"Why are you getting into this political arena? Your area of work is very different," the bench retorted.
After Paul revealed he had been to over 150 countries, the bench asked him whether each of the nations had ballot paper voting or used electronic voting.
The petitioner said foreign countries had adopted ballot paper voting and India should follow suit.
"Why you don't want to be different from the rest of the world?" asked the bench.
There was corruption and this year (2024) in June, the Election Commission announced they had seized Rs 9,000 crore, Paul responded.
"But how does that make your relief which you are claiming here relevant?" asked the bench, adding "if you shift back to physical ballot, will there be no corruption?".
Paul claimed CEO and co-founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, stated that EVMs could be tampered with and added TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, the current chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, and former state chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had claimed EVMs could be tampered with.
"When Chandrababu Naidu lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with. Now this time, Jagan Mohan Reddy lost, he said EVMs can be tampered with," noted the bench.
When the petitioner said everybody knew money was distributed in elections, the bench remarked, "We never received any money for any elections."
The petitioner said another prayer in his plea was the formulation of a comprehensive framework to regulate the use of money and liquor during election campaigns and ensuring such practices were prohibited and punishable under the law.
The plea further sought a direction to mandate an extensive voter education campaign to raise awareness and importance of informed decision making.
"Today, 32 per cent educated people are not casting their votes. What a tragedy. If democracy will be dying like this and we will not be able to do anything then what will happen in the years to come in future," the petitioner said.
