HC may pronounce verdict on plea to trace Najeeb Ahmed

Agencies
October 7, 2018

New Delhi, Oct 7: The Delhi High Court is likely to pronounce Monday its verdict in a plea for tracing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, who went missing from the university nearly two years ago.

A bench of justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel had on September 4 reserved its decision on the petition filed by the student's mother after concluding hearing of arguments of her lawyer and that of the CBI, which took over the investigation on May 16 last year.

Ahmed had gone missing from the Mahi-Mandvi hostel of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on October 15, 2016, following a scuffle with some other students, allegedly affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the previous night.

The CBI, which took over the probe from the Delhi Police, told the court that it has decided to file a closure report in the case as it has investigated all the angles and does not think that any offence was committed against the missing person.

However, the lawyer for the student's mother, Fatima Nafees, contended in court that it was a "political case" and that the "CBI has succumbed to the pressure of its masters".

The CBI, on September 4, had told the high court that it has not yet filed the closure report before the trial court concerned as it wanted to first bring it to the knowledge of the high court.

The CBI had submitted that its investigation was complete as it has probed all the angles left by the Delhi Police and it did not think there was any offence committed against the missing person.

It had said the petition may be disposed of by the high court, after which it will file the closure report before the magistrate "and the petitioner may file a protest petition there, if they wish to".

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Ahmed's mother, had said neither the CBI has done its best in the case nor has it probed the matter in a fair manner.

The petitioner also sought setting up of an SIT comprising independent experts to enquire into the matter.

Ahmed's mother had moved the high court on November 25, 2016, seeking directions to the police to trace her son.

However, as the Delhi Police remained clueless about his whereabouts even seven months after he went missing, the probe was handed over to the CBI on May 16 last year.

The Delhi Police had not opposed the handing over of the investigation in the case, saying that it has done its bit in the matter.

Nafees's counsel had earlier said the nine suspected students were named in a complaint by 18 students who were eyewitnesses to the alleged assault on Ahmed, yet they were not interrogated.

The nine suspected students have denied all allegations against them.

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News Network
February 19,2020

London, Feb 19: Indian universities had a good performance year within the emerging economies of the world as a record 11 made it to the top 100 Times Higher Education's (THE) Emerging Economies University Rankings 2020.

Only China has more universities than India in the top 100 at 30 from a total of 47 countries and territories included in the analysis released in London on Tuesday evening.

A total of 56 Indian universities appear in the full ranking of a total of 533 universities across emerging economies of the world.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), ranked 16th, is India’s top-ranked institution followed by the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs).

"There has long been a debate about the success of Indian universities in world rankings, and for too long they have been seen as underperforming on the global stage," notes Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer for the THE.

"The Emerging Economies University Rankings 2020 suggests that real progress is being made by a number of institutions in a number of metrics across our robust methodology, and could mark an exciting turning point for Indian higher education, enabled in part by the Institutes of Eminence scheme," he said.

The Indian government’s Institutes of Eminence scheme was established in 2017 and one of its participating universities, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, has entered the top 100 for the first time, moving up a huge 51 places from joint 141st in 2019.

The other universities included in the Institutes of Eminence scheme that appear in the top 100 mark the biggest improvers in the ranking with IIT Kharagpur moving up 23 places to 32nd, IIT Delhi improving by 28 places to joint 38th and IIT Madras climbing 12 places to joint 63rd.

The Institutes of Eminence scheme provides participating universities with government funding and greater autonomy with the aim of moving them into the top 100 of the world university rankings, including Times Higher Education’s World University Ranking, over time.

The expectation is that this will be achieved through a number of changes including an increase in foreign students and staff, offering online courses and encouraging academic collaboration with other top universities around the world.

This year marks only the second time that 11 Indian institutions have held top 100 positions since the ranking began in 2014, when much fewer universities took part in the ranking globally.

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News Network
April 16,2020

Kochi, Apr 16: As many as 268 British citizens stranded in Kerala due to the nationwide lockdown were airlifted by British Airways on Wednesday from Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin International Airports.

The flight took off from Thiruvananthapuram to London's Heathrow Airport with 110 passengers at 7.30 pm. Later, 158 more passengers boarded the flight from Cochin airport at 10.07 pm.
A medical team, including four doctors, screened the passengers at the Thiruvananthapuram airport before they boarded the flight.

Earlier this month, the first charter flight from India reached London's Stansted with 317 British nationals on board from Goa.

The British government had earlier announced the operation of 19 chartered flights to evacuate its nationals who are stranded in India amid travel restrictions owing to the coronavirus crisis.

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News Network
July 1,2020

Sopore, Jul 1: Police rescued a three-year-old boy from getting hit by bullets during a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan and a civilian lost their lives after terrorists fired upon a CRPF patrolling party in Sopore.

Two of the injured CRPF jawans are known to be in critical condition. Three CRPF personnel were also injured in the attack, as per CRPF.

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