You will see my govt’s vision in 3 months: Kumaraswamy

Wayanad, Jul 6: DM Education and Research Foundation (DMERF), headed by Dr Azad Moopen, has come forward to handover DM WIMS Medical College, Nursing and Pharmacy Colleges and its associated institutions in Wayanad to the Kerala Government. 

According to Azad Moopen, Managing Trustee, DMERF, the Kerala Government has been deliberating to set up a medical college in the area over the last 7-8 years to address the challenges being faced by the local population due to lack of local availability of advanced healthcare facilities under the government sector. 

The handover by DMERF would address the Government's need. DM WIMS is one of the few NABH accredited medical colleges in the country, he said.

The DM WIMS Medical College and its associated institutions were established by the DMERF Trust 10 years ago to help the backward community of the district. 

Run in a charitable manner, the medical college has a capacity of 150 seats and has seen two batches of doctors graduate from the institution. With a total built up area of 14 lakh sq feet, it also has a 700-bed super-specialty hospital catering to the local community and helping in training healthcare professionals, a 100-bed specialty hospital, a pharmacy college, and a nursing college.

A new medical college by the government will require substantial investments and minimum of 5 years to become functional. “We think that DM WIMS can cater to the requirement of the government and setting up another medical college might not be required to cater to the existing population,” he said.

Moopen also announced a donation of Rs 250 crore out of the total investment in the institutions to the government to provide treatment to the needy population in the backward, landlocked district and to train good quality doctors from the State.

Dubai, Jul 5: Three Indians, who were repatriated on a chartered flight from the UAE on Friday, have been held in the state of Rajasthan after officials seized gold worth Dh2.2million from them, the government announced on Saturday.

They are likely to be placed under arrest along with 11 others, who were repatriated from Saudi Arabia, from whom gold worth Dh5.5million was seized, a statement from the government tweeted by Press Information Bureau in Rajasthan said.

The gold bars were hidden in emergency lamps, photos attached to the tweets showed.

The 14 passengers had arrived at the Jaipur International Airport by two chartered flights.

They were intercepted by the Customs team at the airport and 31.9kg of gold valued at Rs156,759,820 (Dh7.7million) concealed in the baggage was recovered from these passengers.

Three passengers arrived from Ras Al Khaimah by Spice Jet Flight SG9055 and 12 gold bars/bricks weighing 9.3kg valued at Rs.45,761,100 (Dh2.2million) were recovered from them, the statement said.

The Indian Consulate in Dubai confirmed to Gulf News that the flight was chartered by a private company for repatriating its employees.

It is suspected that the passengers were used as carriers to smuggle gold.

The other 11 accused had arrived from Riyadh and 22.65kg of gold bars, predominantly with Suisse markings, valued at Rs110,998,720 (Dh5.5million) were recovered from them.

“The said recovered gold bars have been seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962. The said passengers are being interrogated and are likely to be placed under arrest in terms of section 104 of the Customs Act, 1962,” the statement added.

Indian media had earlier reported similar cases in which stranded Indians were apparently lured to be carriers for smuggling gold on repatriation flights from various countries.

A spike in gold smuggling attempts using Indians getting repatriated after losing jobs was also reported from the Indian state of Kerala.

Bantwal, Feb 7: A 31-year-old man has been arrested on charge of sexual assault on a minor boy at Kanyana under the limits of Vittla police station in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada.

The police have identified accused as Suresh Prabhu, a resident of Kanyana village. He is said to be an activist of a saffron outfit.

The alleged sexual assault took place on February 1, when the victim, a schoolboy, was on his way home from the school. 

According to police, Prabhu called the boy saying he wanted to tell a secret. He then took him to the school toilet and sexually assaulted him there. 

After returning home, the boy narrated the incident to his mother, who approached the jurisdictional Vittla police station and lodged a complaint. 

After taking the minor boy’s statement, the police registered a case under section 341, 377, 506 IPC and POCSO Act against Prabhu. He was arrested on February 5.