Odisha: Students of Sambalpur varsity face action over threat message to juniors
The Higher Education department directed vice-chancellor Prof Bidhu Bhusan Mishra to submit a detailed report on the incident immediately. Following the directive, the university convened an emergency meeting of the anti-ragging committee and formed a fact-finding team to inquire into the matter. Subsequently, several senior postgraduate students were made to submit written undertakings, declaring not to repeat such behaviour in the future.
Sources said on Sunday, a WhatsApp message reportedly sent by a second-year student was circulated in the hostel group. In the message, all first-year students were instructed to attend a meeting at 10.15 pm with a warning that those who fail to comply would be forcibly removed from their rooms. Intimidated by the tone of the message, the juniors showed up at the study hall in the night. They were reportedly forced to surrender their mobile phones and made to stand for nearly two hours. The meeting, which continued till midnight, allegedly involved humiliating instructions.
In-charge registrar Ashok Behera said the students who had sent the message clarified that they had no intention of ragging. However, the tone of the message and the time at which it was sent to first-year students was not appropriate. Though the second-year students have already submitted undertakings, the fact-finding team is continuing its investigation. The students holding posts in the hostel committees have been stripped of their responsibilities as a direct consequence of their involvement, Behera added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Bizman duped of 1.77cr in online trading scam
Lucknow: A Lucknow-based businessman was duped of Rs 1.77 crore in an online trading scam that began with a WhatsApp message and ended with his investment account being blocked. The case was registered at the cyber crime police station on Tuesday. The victim, Vivek Verma, originally from Safedabad in Barabanki and currently residing in Indiranagar Sector-16, alleged that the fraud began when he received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number a few weeks ago. The sender, identifying herself as Shruti Jaiswal, introduced him to a trading platform that allegedly offered high returns. She gained his trust by showing attractive profits on initial small investments and later sent him a website link, urging him to register and begin trading through the platform. Verma initially invested a small sum and soon saw a credited profit of Rs 1 lakh in his account, a tactic often used by cyber fraudsters to lure victims into deeper investments. Encouraged by these returns, he invested a total of Rs 1.77 crore across 22 transactions between May 27 and July 16. However, when he attempted to withdraw the profits, his account was suddenly blocked, and the so-called trading platform went silent. Realising he was duped, Verma approached the Cyber Crime police station and lodged a complaint. "We are tracking the IP address and the payment gateway used in the transactions to trace the accused," said cyber crime inspector Brajesh Yadav.
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
Disrespect to Mahatma's statue: HC quashes criminal proceedings against law student
The Kerala High Court on Tuesday quashed the criminal proceedings initiated against a law student who had been charged with disrespecting a statue of Mahatma Gandhi on his college campus in Aluva in 2023. He had allegedly placed a pair of sunglasses and a Christmas wreath on the statue and added that 'Gandhi is long dead'. A video recording of this was also posted in WhatsApp groups of students, following which a complaint was lodged with the Principal. Subsequently, a criminal case was registered, and he was suspended from college for five days and directed to remit ₹5,000 as fine. Allowing the student's petition to quash the case, a Bench of Justice V.G. Arun said that the alleged act was undoubtedly immoral. But it cannot be termed as illegal in the absence of any law that prohibited such conduct or prescribed punishment for such conduct. The court said that every Indian citizen had the moral duty to respect freedom fighters who played a crucial role in liberating the country from colonial rule. It hastened to add that 'Our transition from 'native Indian subjects' to 'proud Indian citizens' wouldn't have been possible, but for the untiring and selfless crusade led by Mahatma Gandhi and other national leaders. To borrow the words of Will Durant, an American historian, not since Buddha has India so revered any man. Not since St. Francis of Assissi has any life known to history been so marked by gentleness, disinterestedness, simplicity of soul, and forgiveness of enemies. The preface became essential as this case is about a youngster, then a law student, who is facing prosecution on the allegation of having denigrated the image of Mahatma Gandhi,' the court said.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Four held for duping Sambalpur family of Rs 88L
1 2 Sambalpur: Four persons were arrested on Tuesday for duping a family from Ainthapali here of Rs 88 lakh in an online investment scam. Police said the complainant, Ramesh Chandra Biswal (56), and his family were lured into investing in stocks through a fake website which redirected him to an instant messaging group led by a fraudster posing as Rohan Shah. They were convinced to invest via a platform, falsely claimed to be SEBI-registered. After repeated deposits, the family were unable to withdraw their returns and realised they had been duped. Biswal then registered a case at the cyber crime & economic offence police station in Sambalpur. "Acting swiftly, we launched a technical investigation which led to the identification and arrest of four men linked to the scam network," said Sambalpur SP Mukesh Bhamoo. The accused were identified as Prasanta Meher, 37, and Krushna Sahu, 38, hailing from Sambalpur, Subrat Pradhan, 32, from Deogarh, and Biswajit Nayak, 36, from Bhubaneswar. Police also recovered Rs 2.5 lakh in cash, froze Rs 12.55 lakh in bank accounts, and identified 13 mule accounts linked to the scam, besides seizing 21 ATM cards, 5 smartphones, multiple SIM cards, bank passbooks, cheque books and an SUV. "We urge the public to exercise extreme caution while dealing with online investment offers. Fraudsters are increasingly using social media platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook and Instagram to mislead the public with false promises of high returns. We have also issued a public advisory to prevent such cases in future." Bhamoo added.
