DSS stages 'Tamate' protest against Bhagavad Gita seminar at Kuvempu University
Shivamogga: A seminar titled "Bhagavad Gita and Crime Control," organized at Kuvempu University, sparked controversy on Tuesday, leading to a protest by the Karnataka Dalit Sangharsha Samiti (KDSS).
The seminar was jointly organised by Kuvempu University, the Swarna Rashmi Trust, and the Sri Bhagavad Gita Abhiyan District Committee. Opposing the event, KDSS members staged a 'Tamate Chaluvali' (drum-beating agitation) in front of the university campus.
Allegations of right-wing agenda
Addressing the protesters, M. Gurumurthy, State Convener of the KDSS, alleged that the seminar was being used to promote a right-wing ideological agenda.
"This event is contrary to the ideals of Rashtrakavi Kuvempu and violates the spirit of the Constitution drafted by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar," Gurumurthy stated.
Call for boycott by Prof. Baraguru Ramachandrappa
The protesters directed sharp criticism at Vice-Chancellor Sharath Ananthamurthy, accusing him of harbouring fundamentalist views. With the university scheduled to celebrate Kannada Rajyotsava tomorrow, Gurumurthy appealed to the chief guest, noted writer Prof. Baraguru Ramachandrappa, to boycott the function.
"Prof. Baraguru Ramachandrappa, who has served as the conscience of this land for years, should not share the stage with a Vice-Chancellor who is communal, casteist, and fundamentalist. I appeal to him not to attend the program," Gurumurthy urged.
Gurumurthy demanded that the State Government recall Vice-Chancellor Sharath Ananthamurthy. He argued that Kuvempu advocated for 'Manava Jathi' (Universal Humanity) and believed that no single religious text should be revered above humanity.
"It is inappropriate to bring RSS ideologies to the forefront in a university named after Kuvempu. Why is the administration conducting this event secretly, without any university scholars, and under heavy police protection? By doing so, the Vice-Chancellor has stood against the very aspirations of Kuvempu," he added.
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NEET-UG: 2 more held, role of several NTA officers under scanner; CBI focussing on source of leak
New Delhi (PTI): The CBI has arrested two more persons in connection with the NEET (UG) paper-leak case, with the role of several officers of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other organisations, who had access to the printing press where the papers were printed, coming under the scanner, officials said on Thursday.
The agency has arrested Dhananjay Lokhanda from Ahilyanagar and Manisha Waghmare from Pune and conducted searches at 14 locations across the country in the last 24 hours, they said.
The CBI is focussing on identifying the source of the leak that has caused massive disappointment to lakhs of aspirants eyeing a seat in undergraduate medical courses, which are allotted after the highly-competitive examination, the officials said.
According to the CBI probe so far, the involvement of public servants in the leak cannot be ruled out.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three individuals from Jaipur -- Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal -- along with Yash Yadav from Gurugram and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik.
Khairnar was in touch with Yadav and informed him in April that Mangilal Biwal was ready to pay Rs 10-12 lakh for arranging leaked NEET (UG) 2026 questions for his younger son.
Khairnar allegedly provided 500 to 600 questions from the leaked paper to Yadav, the officials said, adding that the questions could have helped score enough marks to get a seat in a reputed medical college.
Mangilal Biwal allegedly procured the paper from Yadav, who was known to his elder son Vikas Biwal from an NEET coaching in Rajasthan's Sikar. The deal between Mangilal Biwal and Yadav was for Rs 10 lakh, if 150 questions from the question bank matched with those in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper, the officials said.
Mangilal Biwal shared the paper with his son and further distributed it among relatives.
Yadav also told Vikas Biwal to find additional candidates for the questions to recover some of the money that he had spent on getting those, the officials said.
An analysis of digital devices has given the agency incriminating chats, leaked question papers and other digital evidence. The CBI will subject the devices to a forensic examination to get the deleted data, the officials said.
The federal agency has registered an FIR and formed teams to probe the alleged NEET (UG) paper leak that resulted in the cancellation of the exam held on May 3.
The NEET (UG) 2026 was conducted across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA at centres across the country.
According to the NTA, information regarding alleged malpractice was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination was held. The NTA said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for "independent verification and necessary action".
The Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) has claimed that a "guess paper" for chemistry, allegedly circulated among students ahead of the examination, had approximately 410 questions, including roughly 120 that appeared in the test.
