Girl with fake Snapchat account suggests sexual assault plan to boy to test character: Police
New Delhi: In its investigation into the 'Bois Locker Room' case, the Delhi police has stumbled upon a conversation on Snapchat where a girl, posing as a male, suggested a "sexual assault plan" to a boy just to test his "values and character".
The last month's conversation was not in any way related to the 'Bois Locker Room' Instagram group in which obscene messages and morphed pictures of underage girls were shared, the Delhi police said on Sunday.
However, devices of the two juveniles involved in the Snapchat conversation have been seized and sent for forensic analysis, they said.
When the 'Bois Locker Room' case became known, screenshots of multiple chats were shared on social media. Among those was a one-to-one Snapchat conversation, with one 'Siddharth' suggesting an "aggravated sexual assault plan" of a girl, said Anyesh Roy, deputy commissioner of police (cyber crime unit).
Investigation revealed that the Snapchat conversation was actually between a girl and a boy. The girl created a fake profile in the name 'Siddharth' and suggested the sexual assault plan to check the boy's reaction and test his character, he said.
The boy declined to participate in any such plan and stopped further communication. He, however, took a screenshot of the chat and reported it to his friends, including the girl about whom the conversation took place, Roy said.
One of the other recipients of the screenshot posted it as an Instagram story, from where it started circulating in various social media accounts along with screenshots from 'Bois Locker Room' Instagram group, he said.
Police said that no case will be registered against either the girl or the boy. "Although, creating a fake id is wrong, her intent was not malicious so we are not filing any complaint," an official said.
Information about the group came to light after a girl shared screenshots of its activities. Following this, the group started being called out on social media.
The police said during social media monitoring, it was noticed that the group was being used by the participants to share obscene messages and morphed pictures.
So far, 24 members of the Instagram group have been identified and police are still waiting for details sought by them from the social media platform and the Forensic Science Laboratory where they have sent the devices for examination.
The group admin was arrested and a juvenile have been apprehended, police said, adding a case under relevant sections of the IT Act and the IPC have been registered.
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.
SC stays CBI probe into West Bengal govt officials' role in teacher recruitment scam
New Delhi, Apr 29: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Calcutta High Court order directing the CBI to probe the role of West Bengal government officials in a teacher recruitment scam. It, however, refused to stay for now the cancellation of the appointment of over 25,000 teachers and non-teaching staff.
The top court was hearing a plea by the West Bengal government against a high court order invalidating the appointment of 25,753 teachers and non-teaching staff made by the School Service Commission (SSC) in state-run and state-aided schools.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, however, refused to stay the high court order cancelling the appointments and said it will hear the matter on May 6.
Observing that taking away the jobs of about 25,000 persons is a serious matter, the top court asked if it is possible to segregate the valid and invalid appointments on the basis of the material available and who the beneficiaries of the fraud are.
"We will stay the direction which says the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) will undertake further investigation against officials in the state government," the bench said.
Calcutta High Court had said the CBI would undertake further investigations with regard to the persons in the state government involved in approving the creation of supernumerary posts to accommodate illegal appointments.
If necessary, the CBI will undertake custodial interrogation of such persons involved, it had said.
Challenging the order, the state government, in its appeal filed before the top court, said the high court cancelled the appointments "arbitrarily".
"The high court failed to appreciate the ramification of cancelling the entire selection process, leading to straightaway termination of teaching and non-teaching staff from service with immediate effect, without giving sufficient time to the petitioner state to deal with such an exigency, rendering the education system at a standstill," the plea said.
Calcutta High Court last week declared the selection process as "null and void" and directed the CBI to probe the appointment process. It also asked the central agency to submit a report within three months.
"All appointments granted in the selection processes involved being violative of articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India, are declared null and void and cancelled," the high court said in its April 22 order.
The high court said those appointed outside the officially available 24,640 vacancies, appointed after the expiry of the official date of recruitment, and those who submitted blank Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets but obtained appointment to return all remunerations and benefits received by them with 12 per cent interest per annum within four weeks.
Observing that it had given "anxious consideration to the passionate plea" that persons who obtained the appointments legally would be prejudiced if the entire selection process was cancelled, the bench said it hardly had any choice left.
The high court held that all appointments involved were violative of articles 14 (equality before law) and 16 (prohibiting discrimination in employment in any government office) of the Constitution.
"It is shocking that, at the level of the cabinet of the state government, a decision is taken to protect employment obtained fraudulently in a selection process conducted by SSC for state-funded schools, knowing fully well that, such appointments were obtained beyond the panel and after expiry of the panel, at the bare minimum," the high court had said.
It said unless "there is a deep connection between the persons perpetuating the fraud and the beneficiaries" with persons involved in the decision-making process, such action to create supernumerary posts to protect illegal appointments is "inconceivable".
The division bench had also rejected a prayer by some appellants, including the SSC, for a stay on the order and asked the commission to initiate a fresh appointment process within a fortnight from the date of the results of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
The bench, constituted by the high court chief justice on a direction of the Supreme Court, had heard 350 petitions and appeals relating to the selection of candidates for appointment by the SSC in the categories of teachers of classes 9, 10, 11 and 12 and group-C and D staffers through the SLST-2016.
In its 282-page judgment, the high court had said retaining appointees selected through "such a dubious process" would be contrary to public interest.
