Udupi college fiasco: Such incidents should not be linked to any religion, says college committee
Committee further stated that there was no communal angle to the issue
Udupi: Udupi's Netra Jyoti Paramedical College found itself embroiled in controversy recently when an incident involving the filming of a female student in the college washroom surfaced.
The incident, which took place on July 18, led to the immediate suspension of three female students allegedly involved in the act. The college authorities handed over the mobile phone, believed to be used in the incident, to the police as evidence.
However, upon investigation, the police found that the mobile phone did not contain any video related to the incident, as clarified by the District Police Superintendent, Akshay Hakay Machhindra, during a press conference in Udupi.
Following an online outrage and series of attempts to give communal angle to the matter, the college director, Rashmi Krishna Prasad, addressed the media and revealed that the three students involved had voluntarily confessed to their actions. The students claimed that they made the video recording as a prank and engaged in the act for amusement. The victim also stated that she would not be filing any complaint against the three students.
Rashmi further disclosed that the students attempted to place a hidden camera inside the restroom but were unsuccessful, leading them to record the video using their mobile phones while standing outside the restroom. Another female student who was inside the restroom witnessed the incident and reported it to the college authorities.
The college's principal and academic coordinator, Balakrishna, emphasized that incidents like these should not be associated with any religion, as students from different religious backgrounds study at the institution. He clarified that the college had prohibited the use of mobile phones, and these students violated the rule, leading to their involvement in the video recording.
Both Rashmi and Balakrishna urged against spreading false information about the incident on social media and emphasized the need to maintain harmony within the student community.
Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna reacted to the incident, expressing disapproval of such misconduct and calling for appropriate action against the three students involved. He also speculated about potential hidden motives behind the incident and pledged to bring the matter to the attention of the Chief Minister and the Home Minister.
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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.
