5

TIMES CITY

THE TIMES OF INDIA, PUNE

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

Cops to touch base with Mumbai polices social media lab

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: After Chinchwad emerged

among the top five cities following Islamic State (IS) activities on
the internet, the Pune police have
decided to seek help from the
Mumbai polices social media laboratory to identify such people especially youths browsing the
website.
The Mumbai police started
the laboratory two years ago to
keep an eye on issues discussed
among youths on the internet and
to bridge the gap between the expectations of the pubic and deliv-

ery of police services. A senior officer from the Pune police crime
branch said the Union government also takes help from the lab.
The
state
anti-terrorism
squad (ATS), Pune has decided to
trace persons following IS on the
internet from various sources. If
we come across such persons, we
will keep a watch on their activities. We will also counsel them
and try to prevent them from falling prey to the ideology of such
organizations, said Bhanupratap Barge, assistant commissioner of police (ATS, Pune).
A senior officer from the

ME, 'ANTI-TERRORIST' INITIATIVE

ssistant commissioner of police

(ATS, Pune) Bhanupratap Barge
told TOI that to prevent youths from
being attracted to terrorism and to
create a network of informers, the
ATS has initiated a programme
called Me, Anti-Terrorist.
Barge said the ATS has circulated
a form in schools, colleges, hostels
and madarasas. Persons willing to
crime branch told TOI that visiting the IS website is not a crime

help us can fill the forms with

their name, address,
cellphone, email and
occupation and contact us
with any information about
terrorist activities in their
areas, Barge said. In the last
six days, about 3,500 people
have completed the forms.
The ATS team also visits schools

and colleges and alerts the students.

We will meet students residing in
hostels, Barge added.

since people want to know about

it. It is not possible for police or

any other agency to prevent people from visiting such sites. We

TOI Report on September 1, 2015

are not technically competent to

identify such persons, the officer added.
The Pune police do not have
any input about the persons following IS on the internet. We
have not received any complaints, the officer added.
Additional commissioner of
police (crime) C H Wakade told
TOI that the crime branch of the
Pune police will seek help from
the Mumbai polices social media
laboratory to identify people from
the city and Pimpri Chinchwad
who are using the internet to follow the IS.

Times of India, Pune, September 2, 2015. Pp.5

IUCAA to set
up ASTROSAT
data centre

Why grant parole after

reason becomes invalid?

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: The Inter University

Centre for Astronomy and
Astrophysics
(IUCAA) has
proposed to
set up an ASTROSAT data
centre where the details collected shall be made available in the public domain for
analysis and research by students. A proposal in this regard has been sent to the Indian
Space
Research
Organisation.
Somak Raychaudhury,
the new director of IUCAA,
made the announcement
while addressing a news conference on Tuesday. He took
over the charge after Ajit
Kembhavis
retirement.
Raychaudhury was a faculty
member of IUCAA in the
late 90s.
These are very exciting
times to be an astronomer,
mainly because of innovations in observation facilities such as Indias ASTROSAT and the upcoming
Thirty Meter Telescope at
Hawaii,
Raychaudhury
said, adding, We shall take
every effort to encourage
our associates in universities across India to popularise astronomy among students and catch them
young.
Raychaudhury was particularly upbeat about the
impending
ASTROSAT
launch this month, where
the IUCAA has taken a lead
in designing a number of
payloads.
The Mangalyaan obviously captured the public
imagination because it was a
mission to Mars, a constant
source of curiosity for humans. But ASTROSAT is
one-of-a-kind mission, as
never before has India
launched so many payloads
for such a wide variety of
purposes. I think this is a bigger mission than the Mangalyaan, he said. On his association with Kembhavi, he
said, I have been very fortunate to have been associated
with Kembhavi from the inception of IUCAA in the late
80s. I know that I can count
on him for any help I want
about this institute.
Raychaudhury previously served as the head of the
physics department and the
dean of faculty at the department of natural and mathematical sciences at Kolkatas
century-old Presidency University.

WEATHER
Max

Min

30.3C 21.6C
(+2.7) (+0.6)
Sunset: Wednesday 1849
Sunrise: Thursday 0620
Moonrise: Wednesday 2148
Moonset: Wednesday 0945
Forecast: One or two spells of rain
would occur. Maximum and minimum
temperatures will be around 30 and 21
degrees Celsius resp.
Humidity: Max: 82% Min: 65%

Experts: Prison Officials May Not Be Applying Mind

Swati.Deshpande
@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: A 30-day parole for

actor Sanjay Dutt, granted
months after the purpose for
which it was sought ceased to
be relevant, and coming days
after furlough-jumping terrorists from Nashik jail were
re-arrested, have left legal experts questioning whether
prison authorities are applying their mind and keeping decisions time-bound as required by law.
Dutt, in Punes Yerawada
jail, had applied for parole on
March 26 for his daughters
surgery in April, but finally
got out of prison on parole on
August 26 (the surgery had
taken place as scheduled).
On August 17, news reports said that a terror-financing convict, who was absconding after securing furlough
from Nashik Central Jail, was
arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Furlough is not allowed in terror cases (tried in Tada courts)
and for hardcore convicts. The
convict concerned was granted furlough seven months after his associate absconded.
Furlough is discretionary
leave that convicts are allowed
to enable re-integration with
society upon their final release.
It requires no specific reason and is meant to allow convicts to be in touch with their
family and society. But parole
is leave granted to a convict for
a specific reason. It is not
counted towards days served

DUTTS PAROLE
PROCESS DATES

Application
for parole

March 26

Surgery on daughter April 24/25

Grant of parole

August
third week

Release on
parole

August 26

Parole duration 30 days

TIMES VIEW: The time has
come to take a closer look at how
parole and furlough are given. A
dad asks for parole so that he can
be with his daughter when she is
undergoing a medical procedure
but his parole is granted after his
daughter is back home! Two
questions arise. One, why was the
permission delayed? And, two,
should it have been given at all
when incidents have overtaken
the reason for the application?
This case, coming so soon after
the controversial furlough grant
to two convicts, demands an
immediate overhaul of the
procedures and the system.
in prison, unlike furlough.
The jail manual requires a
plea for parole to be processed
within 45 days after it is made.
The convict files and sends a

parole plea to the jail superintendent, who forwards it to the

divisional
commissioner
(Punes divisional commissioner is S Chockalingam).
The decision includes seeking
a police report and communicating approval or rejection to
the convict.
Delay in decision-making
raises pertinent questions
about whether prison authorities apply their mind, said a
lawyer. Many lawyers say that
while in Dutts case, the delay
has come to light, many applications remain pending for
months, unnoticed and forgotten. The rule book must be
followed strictly as even the
high court has ruled in several
cases, said advocate Farhana
Shah, who has represented
many convicts whose parole
pleas were not decided for
months.
She said that while Dutts
leave was rightly granted,
though delayed, the same
consideration should be for
other inmates whose pleas are
later rejected on the grounds
that the reasons no longer survive. If a parole plea is decided, for instance, after the marriage of the child of a
convicted prisoner (for which
leave was sought), it would defeat the very purpose of
leave, she said. If a parole
plea is not decided in time, an
extension plea would be rendered meaningless, said another lawyer, adding that even
for furlough, the authorities
are expected to verify the convicts conduct and record and
only then grant leave.

Allopaths should be open to

other medications, says Nadda
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: Union minister of

health and family welfare J P
Nadda has called the allopathic doctors community to
be more open to other forms
of medication like ayurveda
and homoeopathy.
Nadda was speaking at a
symposium organised by the
Vaidyakeeya Vikas Manch in
the city on Monday.
We have to be broadminded. The allopathic community needs to be accommodating so that other systems
(of medicine) can be included, said Nadda at the symposium titled Vision Arogyam
2020, which aims to prepare a
roadmap for the next five
years to develop medical education and healthcare system
in the country.
Minister of state (health)
Ram Shinde, city MP Anil
Shirole, executive committee
member of Dental Council of
India Rahul Hegde, vicechancellor of the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) Arun Jamkar

3% increase in
immunisation
Mission Indradhanush, the
national-level immunization
programme launched for
vaccinating newborn babies
and infants, has been a huge
success, said Nadda. In the
last eight months since
Indradhanush was launched,
there has been a 3% increase
in the total immunisation
cover. From October, we are
increasing the types of
immunisation to 12, he said.

were among others present at

the one-day symposium.
Deans of medical colleges, medical practitioners and
academicians from across
the state gave suggestions on
how to improve rural healthcare and how to better the
quality and quantity of doctors. Like the University
Grants Commission (UGC),
there should be a special body
for medical education. Besides, the Medical Council of

India needs to be restructured completely. Instead of

infrastructural norms, the
emphasis should be on quality of education. The system of
part-time teachers should be
encouraged with flexible
hours, said Arun Jamkar.
Nadda listened to all the
suggestions but did not make
any specific announcement.
While allopathic treatment
is important, a follow up of
homeopathic or ayurvedic
treatment can also help patients. We need to discuss how
to increase the number of institutes, seats among others
without compromising on
speed, scale and skill. We
need to strike the right balance between primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare, said the minister.
He stressed on the need to
improve rural healthcare.
Certain benchmarks should
be set for how a primary or
secondary healthcare system
should be. We need to discuss
how to make rural postings
more lucrative for young doctors, Nadda said.

Mumbai bizman takes lift

from strangers, robbed
Sixth Robbery Of Its Kind In City Since April This Year
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pune: Highway robberies continue unabated in the city. On

August 28, a 35-year-old man
from Mumbai fell prey to
strangers who offered him a lift
on Navale bridge on the KatrajDehu Road bypass and robbed
him midway before dumping
him near Chandani chowk late
in the night.
Yogesh Khaire, a businessman from Byculla in Mumbai,
got down from a bus near the
Navale bridge around 8.30 pm
and was waiting for a transport
to reach Satara. As he was talking on his cellphone, a black car
stopped in front of him. He told
the driver that he wanted to go
to Satara. Khaire hopped in.
Besides, the driver, there were
two men in the car seated behind. The car headed towards
Khed-Shivapur. On the way,
they threatened Khaire with a
pistol and knife. They
snatched his gold ring, Rs 1,000
and a cellphone. They also took
his ATM card and asked for the

PUNE DIGEST

Conference on
learning disabilities
The Pune Learning with
Disabilities Forum will hold a
two-day conference on Living
with learning disabilities:
Finding solutions between
October 24 and 25 at the
Yashwantrao Chavan Academy
of Development
Administration in Baner. The
main aim of the conference is
to create awareness about
learning disabilities and focus
on solutions to help children
achieve a definite structure to
make their lives academically
and socially functional. In
India, around 13-14% of all
school children suffer from
learning disorders/disabilities.
The conference will also
advocate a private-state
partnership to strengthen the
infrastructure needed to deal
with the challenges of learning
disabilities.
Course in astronomy
Aastronomica Club will
organize a certificate course in
practical astronomy at NMV
Girls High School, near SP
College, from September 7 to
11. The course will be
conducted between 6pm and
8pm. For further details call
Amit Purandare on
9822393872.
MSEDCL pays interest: The
Maharashtra State Electricity
Distribution Company Ltd
(MSEDCL) has paid Rs 34.47
crore as interest on the
security deposit paid by 21.63
lakh consumers in Pune zone.
The interest amount has been
adjusted in installments. The
company pays 9.5% interest on
the deposit which is adjusted
against the monthly bills.

RTI query on states CET decision

Vishwas.Kothari
@timesgroup.com

Pune: The state governments decision to extend full

weightage to scores in the
MHT-CET, a common entrance test to be re-introduced from 2016 for admissions
to
first-year
engineering, pharmacy and
health science courses in the
state, has been questioned by
RTI activist Vivek Velankar.
In an email to the additional chief secretary of the
department of higher and
technical education in Mumbai, Velankar has sought the
publication of reasons for
such a decision since the new
policy does not give any
weightage to the standard XII
state board exam scores in
the physics, chemistry and
mathematics (PCM) group.
The Right to Information
(RTI) Act, 2005 makes it man-

GOING BY THE ACT

ections 4 (1) (c) and (d)

provide for proactive
disclosure by a public authority
about decisions that affect the
people at large. They provide
that every public authority shall
publish all relevant facts while
formulating important policies
or announcing decisions that
affect the public. Every public
authority shall provide reasons
for is administrative or quasijudicial decisions to the
affected persons.
datory for every public authority to publish all relevant
reasons while formulating
important policies or announcing decisions that affect public at large, Velankar told TOI while citing
Sections 4 (1) (c) and 4 (1) (d) of
the Act. Every public authority shall also provide rea-

FROM THE NEXT YEAR

A single common entrance test
conducted by the
state government
for engineering,
pharmacy and
medical admissions

ONE ADMISSION FORM

A 100-mark paper each for
physics/chemistry (combined);
mathematics and biology

Admissions will be based on

the merit list drawn from the
CET score
Independent merits lists for
engineering, pharmacy and
health science courses
Engineering merit list will be
based on physics, chemistry
and mathematics score in CET
Health science merit list will
consider physics, chemistry
and biology scores in CET

Paper will be set on the

state boards standard XII
syllabus

(Source: Notification issued by the state

department of higher and technical
education on August 28, 2015)

sons for its administrative or

quasi-judicial decisions to
the affected persons, he said.
Three years ago, the Congress-led state government
had decided to join the HRD
ministrys scheme of a single
national entrance test called
the Joint Entrance Exam
(JEE) for admissions to engi-

neering courses.
The state government
then decided to give 50%
weightage each to the JEE
score and the PCM score in
the state board exam while
admitting students to engineering courses.
However, the new BJP-led
government decided to revert

to the earlier scheme of MHTCET from 2016-17 and issued a

detailed notification on August 28. The government has
justified the move on the basis of popular demand from
people who felt the JEE was
much too difficult to crack
and was affecting the interests of students from the
state.
However, there is a counter view that frequent changes in the governments admission policy for professional
courses affects students who
prepare for these exams.
The governments notification announcing the MHTCET scheme from 2016-17 onwards makes no mention
about the reasons for this
sudden change in admission
policy, nor does it speak about
the decision not to give
weightage to the standard XII
state board exam score in the
PCM group, Velankar said.

POLICE GUIDELINES
Do not accept
lift from strangers
Always travel
by public transport
or vehicles hired
by companies
Always note
down the vehicle
number before
getting in
Send the
number to
relatives and
friends for safety
PIN, said Shriniwas Mundhe,
senior inspector of the Sinhagad Road police station.
When Khaire refused to reveal the PIN, they beat him and
got the three-digit number by
force. The suspects then stopped at an ATM in Khed-Shivapur and withdrew Rs 95,000,
Mundhe said. They drove
Khaire for about an hour and
dumped him near Chandni

chowk around 10pm. Before

leaving, they threatened him
not to inform the police. A terrified Khaire got himself admitted to a private hospital in
Warje with the help of local
people and called up his relative in Pune. After taking firstaid, Khaire and his relative
went to the ATM at Khed-Shivapur and found that Rs 95,000
had been withdrawn from his

bank account, said a policeman. Khaire first went to the

Pune rural police but they told
him to approach the city police.
On August 29, Khaire reached
the Sinhagad Road police station and narrated the incident.
But he did not lodge a complaint that day. Taking serious
note of the robbery, we immediately began probe. Khaire
lodged a complaint on Monday, said Mundhe.
Mundhe said the police
have formed teams to trace the
suspects. We have got some
clues and we are working on
it, he said. This is the sixth
such robbery in the city since
April this year and second in
last 15 days in the jurisdiction
of the Sinhagad Road police
station in the city.
On August 13, Chandan
Sharma, an MBA student was
robbed in the same way. He was
offered lift near Vadgaon and
then dumped at Dighi after taking away his two cellphones
and withdrawing cash from
three different ATM kiosks.