MADURAI l sunday l september 08, 2024 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l LATE city EDITION Puja khedkar gets the final boot as Centre discharges her from IAS The Centre discharged Puja Khedkar from the IAS with immediate effect, weeks after the UPSC cancelled her recruitment Chucked invoking Rules for probationer An IAS officer is dismissed from service while a probationer is discharged. Rule 12 of IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954 provides for discharge on the grounds of being found to be ineligible for recruitment. Allegations against Puja included wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits. UPSC had on July 31 cancelled her candidature and debarred her from future exams Sept 6 Crossed the attempt cap in her category ■ A panel was formed to look into allegations against her. It found that  ■ she had availed more attempts at the exam than the maximum permissible limit of nine in the OBC and Persons with Benchmark Disability category. She exhausted her limit between 2012 and 2020 So, she became ineligible in 2022 when she was recruited for IAS was when she was discharged from the IAS with immediate effect CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Lost leg to insurgency, not Sema spirit NC-Congress will not form new J&K govt, claims Shah E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai Hokato Hotozhe Sema had fought many battles. But the battle he fought within himself was the toughest. Any impairment of the body can create havoc in the mind. The battle between creating doubts and remaining positive is more intense. For almost 20 years, until the Paris Paralympics, he was just another person trying to pick up the pieces of whatever was left of his life. It was sports that acted as a balm. On Friday late night, Sema won bronze in the shot put at the Paralympics in F57 category and propelled him from obscurity to stardom. For a man who did not know f aya z w a n i @ Srinagar KICK-starting the BJP’s election campaign for the assembly polls from Jammu, home minister Amit Shah on Saturday said J&K is heading for historic elections under the Indian national flag and Constitution after the abrogation of Article 370, adding the National Conference-Congress alliance will not be able to form the new government. “The assembly polls in J&K is historic as it is the first time since Independence that J&K residents will be casting vote under one Constitution and one flag after the reading down of Article 370,” said Shah while addressing a rally in Ploura, Jammu. He said J&K was deprived of rights and development due to Article 370. “Now there is d eve l o p m e n t , peace and prosperity in the region. For example, over 5.12 lakh devotees from different parts of the country performed Amarnath yatra without any fear.” BJP is fighting the election to win and form the government, he asserted. “There should be no doubt in it,” Shah said and urged party workers to reach out to the public and apprise them about changes that have taken place in J&K since Article 370 was hollowed out. “Every BJP worker alongwith his family and three more families should reach polling booths and cast their votes by 11.30 am. If every BJP worker does that, then nothing will defeat us in polls,” he said. Shah said, “NC and Congress want to bring back Article 370 and are again going to bring a separate flag for J&K. They are going to take away reservations of Gujjars, Bakerwals, Paharis and Dalits and want to release those involved in terrorism and stone pelting. However, people of J&K and BJP will not let it happen,” he said. about Paralympics a few years ago, the medal itself is a surreal journey. His 14.65m was his best effort in the sport. He finished behind Yasin Khosravi winning the gold with 15.96m throw and Thiago Paulino dos Santos from Brazil silver with 15.06m. Because of the disabilty, athletes are harnessed to a seat for throwing. Sema was two months shy of 19, about two years into the profession, when he lost his left leg during a counter-infiltration operation (mine blast) in Jammu and Kashmir in 2002. For a teenager who was dreaming of entering Special Forces, this was the last thing he would @ Chennai THE Chennai police arrested self-proclaimed motivational speaker Mahavishnu soon after he arrived at the Chennai inter national airport from Australia on Saturday. Mahavishnu, the founder of Paramporul Foundation, was arrested under five sections on the charges of provoking enmity between dif ferent groups of people and intentionally insulting a person with disability . Devotees offer prayers to Lord Ganesh at the Lalbaugcha Raja on Ganesh Chaturthi, in Mumbai on Saturday. The Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh mandal is said to be the biggest, most revered and oldest in the city | PTI Parandur airport: 1k families to be resettled on 245 acres C S h i v a k u m a r @ Chennai The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Limited (Tidco) has identified four sites, spanning a total of 245 acres in Kancheepuram and Sriperumbudur taluks of Kancheepuram district, for the resettlement of nearly 1,000 families who may be affected by the development of Chennai Greenfield Airport at Parandur. Tidco has issued a tender for appointing a management consultant for developing a master plan for the resettlement project. The consultant will integrate the resettlement action plan (RAP) – including land allocation and housing layout identification, infrastructure networks, community amenities that address socio-economic, environmental, and cultural concerns – with the master plan. The consultant will be responsible for developing two to three concepts or models and a detailed master plan adhering to the state government’s development guidelines. The final plan will include roads and drainage, water and power supply, sewerage system, sewage treatment plant, houses, and common and social amenities. P5 P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati On a day six persons were killed in Manipur’s Jiribam district on Saturday morning as there is no letup in the ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo tribals, there were rumours that Chief Minister N Biren Singh had suggested all NDA legislators should quit. At a snap meeting called by Singh, 24 MLAs, including six ministers, turned up. What transpired could not be independently verified. Shortly thereafter, Singh went to Raj Bhawan and held discussions with Gover nor Lakshman Prasad Acharya for 40 minutes. As for the continuing violence, official sources said a 63year-old Meitei civilian was shot dead in his sleep at Nungchappi village around 5.30 am. In the retaliatory gunfight, five insurgents — four Kukis and one Meitei — were killed. Later, the violence escalated to a nearby village where intermittent firing continued till 9.50 am, the sources said. Hotspot Jiribam district was unaffected last year. It is now a hotspot for violence Jiribam MANIPUR Party positions Manipur assembly strength: 60 Ruling NDA (53) BJP (37) JD(U) (1) NPP (7) NPF (5) Independent (3) Opposition (7) Congress (5) KPA (2) In the wake of the violence, district magistrate Krishna Kumar imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of BNSS. Located in Manipur’s westernmost periphery bordering Assam’s Cachar district, Jirib- During a programme at the Saidapet government school on August 28, Mahavishnu had made controversial remarks about karma, past life, and disability He allegedly insulted a . visually impaired teacher who questioned him for the speech. The video of the incident went viral on social media, s p a rk i n g o u t r a g e among rationalists and disability rights activists. In a video statement on Friday night, Mahavishnu said he would talk to reporters at the airport regarding the allega- tions, however, the police picked him up before that. Sources said he was questioned at an undisclosed location. Based on N Vijayaraj’s complaint, Saidapet inspector K Settu registered an FIR under Sections 192, 196 (1) (a), 352, and 353 (2) of the BNSS as well as Section 92 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Vijayaraj said Mahavishnu insulted a visually impaired teacher, and contended that students would lose respect for teachers if they were addressed in such a disparaging language in front of the students. P5 R K i r u b a k a r a n @ Coimbatore mission accomplished Cadet Usha Rani with her twin sons after the Passing out Parade at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai on Saturday. Her husband Captain Jagtar Singh had died in a rail accident in 2020 | Ashwin prasath Jailbird mahant in pursuit of spirituality in Almora Crime wears a veneer of mass acceptance when it is combined with elements of spirituality . Take PP (moniker for Prakash Pandey), currently serving life sentence in Almora jail for multiple crimes, including killing senior Delhi Police officer ACP Rajbir Singh in 2008. He was recently anointed a saint—within the four walls of prison—by the management of the Shri Panchdashnam Juna Akhara based in Haridwar. PP (52) now has a new name — Prakashanand Giri. The akhara is a prominent sect within the Kumbh Mela. “We have initiated an inquiry into the matter,” said Shri Mahant Hari Giri, international patron of Juna Akhara. “We deny that PP was made the mahamandaleshwar or mathadheesh of our akhara.” That came with a rider. “Everyone has the right to voluntarily embrace Sanatana Dharma in their life. Therefore, we cannot abandon mafia don PP who , am has a mixed population of Meiteis, Kuki-Zo tribals, Nagas and various other communities. It was unaffected by the ethnic conflict in the past year until trouble broke out in the first week of June when the mutilated body of a Meitei farmer was found. Saturday’s attack came a day after a 70-year-old priest was killed when suspected militants fired a rocket that landed at the residential compound of former chief minister Mairembam Koireng Singh in Moirang area of Bishnupur district. Another rocket fired by the suspected militants on Friday morning at Terakhongshangbi in the same district damaged two buildings. The range of such rockets is over 3 km. Meanwhile, all schools in the state remained closed on Saturday to keep the students and teachers safe. Minister L Susindro blamed the recent spurt in violence on role of foreigners. “‘Old Kukis’ are being controlled by ‘new Kukis’ who came from Myanmar,” he said. express read CM holds talks with BNY Mellon on investment, AI Chennai: Chief Minister MK Stalin and the TN delegation held discussions with the executives of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation in Chicago on potential collaborations, including AI in banking services and setting up an exploration centre in Chennai. The company has chosen the city as one of its six key global hubs | P4 TN introduces policy for pumped storage projects Chennai: The state on Saturday introduced a new policy for pumped storage projects. The policy, which will help store excess renewable energy during low-demand periods for use during peak times, will reduce investment risk and will be in force for five years | P4 WITH THIS ISSUE Game of Thrones PLUS 12 PAGES Some TN dists face acute shortage of DPT vaccines, PHCs turn away patients L i f e c o n v ict N a r en d r a Se t h i @ Dehradun — Coach Rakesh Rawat Unconfirmed rumours suggest CM wants all NDA legislators to quit Jai Ganesh had to go through. Sometimes, according to reports, his wife would go without food to provide him with a proper diet. He dedicated the medal to her. Sema, who is in 9th Assam Regiment, first tried his hand in discus (standing) but since the event got scrapped from the Paralympics, he started training in shot put. “He has been at the Army Para Node in Pune and is working with me for more than two years,” said coach Rakesh Rawat, who trained able bodied throwers in Army Sports Institute in Pune.  P11 He (Sema) has been training with me for more than two years now. Since then he won Asian Para Games bronze... He will win bigger medal next time 6 more dead in Manipur violence, CM meets guv Mahavishnu held under five sections E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e have dreamt about. Yet, he was there shattered physically and emotionally Forget about lead. ing a normal life, he did not know how life would take a turn. Yet he remained stoic. He wanted to make a mark in his life and sports gave him the opportunity and also a platform to serve the country . It was not easy for the paraathlete after losing his leg. The mental scars remained. Yet, in this hour of extreme joy he remembered the hardship his family has come into the fold of Sanatana Dharma, and leave him alone,” the Mahant said. “Akhara will support Prakash Pandey’s spiritual pursuits, it will not interfere with the legal consequences of his past crimes,” said Mahant Hari Giri. “We will cooperate in his spiritual journey Law will han. dle his criminal actions.” Mahant Hari Giri denied that money was involved in PP’s anointment. He has formed a seven-member inquiry commit- tee to investigate the matter. DIG (Prisons) Dadhiram Maurya said the Almora jail administration had no knowledge about the anointment. PP who hails from Haldwani, , began his criminal career in 1994, associating with Chhota Rajan’s henchmen Farid Tanasha and Vicky Malhotra. He committed his first murder in 1995, bumping off a local leader. PP even traveled to Karachi in 1998 and 2000 to attack Dawood Ibrahim. Several districts in Tamil Nadu are in the grip of an acute shortage of DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus) vaccine as Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in these districts have run out of stock of the vaccine that is part of the children’s immunisation schedule. A senior health official in Coimbatore said, “We need 380 doses per week for Coimbatore district and we usually have a buffer stock for three months. But the situation now is at ‘just sufficient’ level and there is nil buffer stock in the district. The shortage is reflecting in the field, but the situation is being managed as children who suffer from cold would not be administered the vaccine until they recover. Since cold is common among children, we are able to manage the vaccine shortage. We have made a request to the state health depart- ment to give us enough vaccine doses to manage the demand.” A doctor attached to the health department in Madurai said, “There is a huge shortage of DPT vaccine in almost all PHCs in Madurai district. The second booster dose for children in the age group of five to six years is unavailable in every PHC in Madurai for the past one month. Officials have promised to send us vaccine stocks in the next few weeks,” he said. Speaking to TNIE, Health Minister Ma Subramanian said that he would look into the issue and would ask the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine about the demand and availability of the vaccine. “We are procuring the vaccine from the central government,” the minister said. However, Director of Public Health T S Selvavinayagam said the state has sufficient vaccine stock. P5 There is a huge shortage of DPT vaccine in almost all PHCs in Madurai district. The second booster dose for children, aged five to six, is not available in Madurai PHCs for a month —Doctor, Health Dept (Madurai)