Two arrested for asking candidate to remove sacred thread at NEET exam centre in Karnataka
Kalaburagi (Karnataka), May 5 (PTI): Two people were arrested in connection with an incident where a candidate was allegedly asked to remove "janivara" (sacred thread worn by Brahmins) before entering the exam hall to appear for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) on May 4, police said on Monday.
Based on the complaint of the candidate, an FIR was registered against the two staff deployed at the centre who allegedly asked him to remove the scared thread, they said.
"In connection with the Janivara incident at a private examination centre during yesterday's NEET exam, the candidate has lodged a complaint against two people. We have taken the case. The staff were questioned and legal action has been taken against them. Arrest format is also done," Sharanappa S D, Kalaburagi City Police Commissioner said.
The two men mentioned in the FIR are staff who work for an agency and were deputed by National Testing Agency (NTA) for frisking duty, he said.
"Both were arrested on Sunday evening and later released on station bail since it was a bailable offence," he added.
"Further investigation is going on to find out any role of others and also the staff were properly briefed regarding their duties," he added.
On Sunday, members of the Brahmin community staged a protest outside the NEET exam centre here, demanding accountability after some students of the community were asked to remove their "sacred thread" before entering the exam hall.
The candidates were either asked to remove the sacred thread or had it cut before entering the exam hall.
This incident comes close on the heels of a similar one during the Common Entrance Test held for engineering and other vocational courses on April 16, where the sacred threads of Brahmin boys were also removed.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
