Academics express concern over new selection criteria for prestigious science prize
New Delhi: Nearly 200 academics wrote to the principal scientific advisor to the Government of India on Tuesday, raising concerns about the new selection criteria for the Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award.
This letter follows a previous communication from 26 eminent scientists on August 30, who sought clarification on the award selection process after media reports suggested that “unfair non-scientific considerations” had influenced this year's list of awardees.
The Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award is a revamped version of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, which has been regarded as one of India’s most prestigious science award for over six decades. It is now part of a larger group of science prizes known as the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar.
This year, at least two potential awardees recommended by an expert panel were omitted from the final list of winners, including one individual who has been a vocal critic of the Narendra Modi-led government, as reported by Scroll.
The letter, as cited by the publication, stated, “We are in agreement with the spirit, intent and the text of the letter sent by 26 of our colleagues." It added, “We agree with them that the procedures and criteria for determining Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskars should be, and seen to be fully fair, transparent and free of extraneous considerations.”
The 176 academics expressed concern that “the list of names declared as the award winners is not the same as the list recommended by RVPC”.
They emphasised that the expert panel can only recommend names to the president or prime minister, noting that this aspect of the process is not new. However, they pointed out that the recent practice of dropping names at the “discretion of the minister (science and technology) is something that has been unheard of for all these years.”
Furthermore, the letter mentioned that this could set a troubling precedent, allowing the minister “to use unrestricted vetoes” to overrule the expert committee’s recommendations. They cautioned that academics viewed unfavourably by the government could be sidelined not only from awards but also from scientific grants, recruitments, promotions, and more.
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Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
