UP: Gunmen open fire at patient inside Aligarh hospital, flee; victim critical
Aligarh (UP) (PTI): Two armed assailants allegedly walked into a hospital here and fired at a man who was undergoing treatment at the facility, injuring him severely, a senior police official said on Tuesday.
Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Neeraj Kumar Jadaun told reporters that the victim has been identified as Vedpal (32), a resident of a village in Khair police station area. He was rushed to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Hospital following the incident, and his condition remains critical.
One person has been arrested in this connection, while hunt is on to nab the two shooters, he added.
Citing information provided by Vedpal's family, the SSP said Vedpal had developed relationship with a girl from Mathura and was planning to marry her soon. However, the girl's family -- including her father, who is a police constable -- opposed this proposal and arranged her marriage elsewhere last month.
Despite this, Vedpal continued attempting to contact the girl. He even went to meet her family last month, where he was severely beaten up and warned with dire consequences if he kept pursuing the matter.
According to the family, Vedpal was admitted to a local hospital two days ago to undergo surgery for the injuries sustained during the earlier beating.
The SSP said based on CCTV footage, police have identified the attackers; one of them is the girl's brother, also a police constable posted in a neighbouring district.
He said the details of the incident have been forwarded to the police headquarters to facilitate departmental action against the police personnel involved in the crime.
The girl's father -- a police constable posted in Baghpat district -- has been arrested in the cae, while the police are searching for the two armed assailants.
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No proposal to shift control of PU officials to Zilla Panchayats, says Minister
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa on Tuesday asserted that there is no proposal to transfer administrative control of Pre-University education officials to Zilla Panchayats.
The minister's clarification comes in the wake of lecturers threatening to boycott evaluation work over this reported move to shift control.
Reacting to this issue during zero hour of the state's legislative council, the minister said that he had already discussed the subject with legislators and stakeholders and clarified the government's stand. He also warned against pressure tactics such as boycotting the evaluation, stressing that it would harm students' interests.
"I clearly stated that there is no such proposal and we will not do it under any circumstances," Bangarappa said, reiterating that no government order had been issued in this regard.
The government has not taken any decision to shift administrative control of Deputy Directors of PU education to Zilla Panchayats, he added.
On pending dues, the minister said financial clearances have been obtained, and payments would be credited to lecturers' accounts "by around the 20th." The minister further said that resorting to a boycott call after discussions "amounts to acting against the interests of children," and urged teachers to resolve issues through dialogue.
"The welfare of students is paramount... laws and decisions must ultimately benefit children," he said, appealing to lecturers to reconsider their stand.
Earlier, Congress MLC Puttanna raised the issue, citing media reports that lecturers were opposing the move to bring PU colleges under Zilla Panchayats and that they had threatened to boycott evaluation work. He cautioned that such a move would lead to "interference from multiple levels" and "a decline in quality of education," besides creating administrative confusion.
Puttanna also urged the government to continue to maintain PU education's control under the education department and to immediately revise the evaluation honorarium, which he said had not been updated for three years. He demanded clearance of pending dues and timely payments henceforth.
JD(S) MLC Bhojegowda echoed similar concerns and sought the withdrawal of a proposed file on the issue. He also called for revision of lecturer-student ratios as per NCERT norms, restoration of the examination division under the PU Directorate, and withdrawal of orders affecting aided college lecturers.
Bhojegowda warned that if demands were not met, lecturers and staff were considering a statewide boycott of PU-II answer script evaluation and an indefinite protest in Bengaluru.
Reiterating the government's position, Bangarappa said discussions remained open but emphasised that "in the interest of children, we will not proceed with this."
