East Bengal crowned champions of Super Cup
Bhubaneswar, Jan 29: Kolkata heavyweights East Bengal were on Sunday crowned champions of the Super Cup after emerging 3-2 winner in a thrilling final against Odisha FC with Cleiton Silva scoring the decisive goal here.
Despite both sides having multiple chances to score, neither could convert as the match ended 2-2 after regulation time and also after the end of the first half of extra-time.
Brazilian recruit Cleiton struck the winner for East Bengal in the 111th minute of the match, leaving his team in a state of frenzy and the opponents shocked.
Cleiton capitalised on a mistake from the Odisha FC goalkeeper and came up with a neat finish at a crucial juncture of the match, slotting the ball into the bottom-right corner with a left-footed shot.
Odisha FC tried desperately for an equaliser in the remaining minutes but the East Bengal defence was up to the task, marking their opponents.
East Bengal deserved credit for how they went about their task after they lost Shouvik following a second yellow card of the night.
Odisha, though, also had been playing with 10 men from the 69th minute after Mourtada Fall was given the marching order following his second offence of the night.
The victorious East Bengal team will be nominated to play in the prestigious Asian Champions League 2 preliminary stage of AFC 2023-24 season.
Trailing by a goal, Odisha FC equalised when Jahouh stepped up to take a penalty and converted it from the spot in the 98th minute.
Earlier, a penalty from Saul Crespo helped East Bengal take the lead in the 62nd minute.
In the 52nd minute, an excellent through pass from Mahesh led to a fine goal by Nandhakumar Sekar as East Bengal made it 1-1 in the second half.
This was after Mauricio put Odisha FC in lead with his 39th-minute strike.
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Allahabad HC orders probe into 'reinstatement' of teacher in UP's Barabanki
Lucknow (PTI): The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday ordered a probe by the special task force (STF) into alleged irregularities in the rejoining of a teacher at City Intermediate College in Barabanki, observing that the reinstatement appeared to be prima facie illegal.
The court also directed the recovery of the salary paid to the teacher during the disputed period.
A bench of Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order on a petition filed by the college management committee. The court expressed doubts over the roles of the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), Barabanki, the college principal and the teacher concerned and hence, directed a detailed inquiry into the matter.
Taking note of alleged manipulation of records and misleading submissions, the court ordered the immediate transfer of the Barabanki DIOS to ensure a fair probe. It also directed the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the then joint director of education of the Ayodhya division.
In its order, the court found that the teacher, Abhay Kumar, was initially appointed as an assistant teacher in 2018 but joined an Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhattisgarh as a lecturer in June 2024 without obtaining permission from the management. His subsequent request to retain the lien was rejected.
Despite this, he was allowed to rejoin the Barabanki College in September 2025 on the directions of the joint director of education and the DIOS, and was even paid the salary for October 2025. The court termed the rejoining "wholly illegal" and lacking any legal basis.
The bench also expressed concern over lapses in communication within the education department and directed the Uttar Pradesh chief secretary to ensure that official orders are communicated through email and WhatsApp as well, to prevent disputes.
The matter is next listed for hearing on May 28 when a compliance report is sought.
