4-month-old baby recovered in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum within 14 hours of abduction
Jamshedpur (PTI): Police on Monday recovered a four-month-old baby boy stolen from a weekly market in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district within 14 hours of the incident following the arrest of the accused woman, a senior police officer said.
The infant was handed over to his mother, Pratima Sardar, a resident of Rangamatia village under Dumaria block, SP (Rural) Rishabha Garg said.
Addressing a press conference here, Garg said Pratima along with her three children, including the four-month-old infant Indradev Sardar, had come to sell chicken at Degam haat bazar in Kowali police station limits on Sunday afternoon.
As the market was crowded, Pratima handed over her infant to her six-year-old daughter Mamta Sardar.
Taking advantage of the crowd, the accused woman, identified as Jhumarani Mandal, a native of Bhelaidih village under Kowali police station jurisdiction, abducted the baby boy, the SP said.
On finding her baby missing, Pratima along with others started searching for him but in vain.
She had lodged a complaint with police on Sunday evening.
Acting swiftly, a police team headed by DSP (Musabani) Sandip Bhagat was formed on the directive of Garg to recover the boy.
The team swung into action and based on CCTV footage as well as with the help of the technical cell, the kid was recovered within 14 hours of the incident and handed over to his mother, he said.
Mandal, 40, was arrested and a case under Section 137(2) BNS (kidnapping) was registered. Police said raids are ongoing to apprehend her accomplices.
Garg said Mandal, whose daughter cannot bear children, abducted the baby with the intention of keeping him. She had offered Mamta Rs 20 to buy something to eat and assured her that she would take care of the infant before fleeing with him, police said.
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Parents fear uncertainty after Karnataka govt rules out age limit relaxation for Class 1 admission
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has ruled out any relaxation of the minimum age limit for admission to Class 1 beginning with the academic year 2026-27. Following the refusal, a group of parents continues to press for leniency.
Parents of children who fall under the age of six by a small margin on the cut-off date have met Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and senior officials from the Department of School Education and Literacy to request an exemption. School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa said that the government will not change its decision, as reported by Deccan Herald.
According to the minister, children must be six years old by June 1 to be eligible for admission to Class 1. beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. He noted that the previous relaxation was a one-time measure that was clearly confined to the 2025-26 academic year.
“If such requests are entertained every year, it will never end. While granting relaxation last year, it was explicitly stated that it applied only to one academic year. From 2026-27 onwards, the rule will be strictly implemented,” Bangarappa was quoted by DH.
Parents argue that the rigid cut-off is affecting children who are short by a few days. One parent was quoted by DH as saying that his daughter would be 12 days short of completing six years on June 1. Such parents would be forced to repeat a year despite being academically ready. Others pointed out that children promoted from LKG to UKG during the 2025-26 academic year are now facing uncertainty over their transition to Class 1.
Few parents also recalled that earlier, admissions were allowed for children aged between five years and 10 months and six years. Parents saw it as a more practical approach, with children born in November and December being disproportionately affected.
The issue of age criterion goes back to a government order issued in July 2022. The order mandated six years as the minimum age for Class 1 admission. Parents of children already enrolled in pre-primary classes, protested against the order and the state deferred implementation, announcing that the rule would come into force from the 2025-26 academic year.
After renewed pressure, the government granted a one-year relaxation for 2025-26, citing the large number of students affected and in consultation with the State Education Policy Commission. While announcing the exemption, the minister had stated that no further concessions would be allowed.
