Karnataka govt may lift age bar for jobs to SC/ST atrocity victims' children: Report
Bengaluru: The state government is reportedly considering replacing a clause in the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, which mandates that the children of SC/ST individuals who died in an atrocity case must complete 18 years of age within three years the death to qualify for government jobs on Compassionate Grounds (CG).
Since the implementation of this rule in 2018, at least 60 applicants have missed out on government employment opportunities because they did not meet the age criteria, as reported by the Deccan Herald on Tuesday. In light of this, the State Vigilance and Monitoring Committee, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, recently held a meeting to discuss possible reforms to address the issue.
Under the existing provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the family of a deceased individual who died in an atrocity case receives a compensation of Rs 8.25 lakh. This is paid in two installments: 50 percent after the post-mortem and the remaining amount once the chargesheet is sent to the court. Additionally, the deceased’s widow is provided with a monthly pension of Rs 5,000, while an eligible family member is offered a government job under CG
However, the current law prevents children between the ages of 5 and 14 from benefiting from the job scheme. Sources suggest that the Social Welfare Department is in favour of removing this age restriction, but the final decision is still pending, the report mentioned.
Former MP L. Hanumanthaiah told DH that this will be a good decision as age should not restrict these children from becoming government employees. “Thus, those children who were denied job opportunities will now get them. This move is a progressive step for the development of these communities,” he said.
A senior official from the Social Welfare Department mentioned that prior to 2022, family members of deceased with independent annual incomes exceeding Rs 40,000 were disqualified from applying for CG jobs. Although this restriction has since been removed, the official added that the meeting discussed offering a one-time opportunity for individuals who missed out on jobs due to this clause.
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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.
