Latest news with #Krishnakumar
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
Spellbinding stripes
Surgeon with tiger tattoos It was the call of the tigers that made Dr Krishnakumar Mechoor, an orthopaedic surgeon, fall in love with the wild. His fascination with the enigmatic cat began after watching Nat Geo documentaries. 'And I bought my first camera just to photograph tigers,' he says. It was after completing his studies and starting work that Krishnakumar first ventured into Bandipur to see a tiger for real. 'They are really shy, solitary beings. That's why spotting a tiger in the wild — even from a distance — gives such a high,' says Dr Krishnakumar. 'Tiger is the apex predator. The entire forest comes alive when a tiger is on the prowl. Birds and monkeys start warning calls, other animals flee as soon as possible. Even the trees and wind seem to react.' Photographs are secondary to him, says the Thrissur-based doctor. 'It's that moment of seeing a tiger with bare eyes that gives me a kick,' he adds. Dr Krishnakumar recalls seeing a tigress, Maya, the dominant female from Tadoba Tiger Reserve. 'She was training her cubs. I got to just sit and watch her cubs hunt a piglet. I will never forget that moment,' he says. Jim Corbett remains his favourite wildlife sanctuary. 'You can see tigers crossing the Ram Ganga River. In winter, they grow a fur coat, which makes them appear even larger. It's where Parwali and Pedwali rule,' he smiles. Interestingly, the surgeon has tattoos of Parwali and her paw print on his arm. Their lives are very difficult, he says. 'Territorial wars and attacks from other tigers make it hard for them to nurture their cubs,' he says. According to him, Parwali has had four litters, but only one cub, Pedwali, has made it to adulthood. 'Only by watching them can you understand the challenges they face. Tourism both helps and harms. While it promotes tiger conservation, it also disturbs their natural habitat, especially during hunting,' says Dr Krishnakumar. That's one reason why Kerala isn't ideal for tiger sightings. 'Only 15 percent of our forests are open to the public. Tigers rarely appear there. Otherwise, you must travel with researchers,' he says Dr Krishnakumar says Wayanad, like Bandipur and Kabini, should have been a tiger reserve. 'The lack of it is why we see so many conflicts. A good chunk of forest has been encroached upon by humans,' he laments.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Supreme Court stays HC order pausing West Bengal govt's OBC quota notification
The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Calcutta high court order, pausing the West Bengal government's notification extending reservation benefits to 140 communities under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, terming it 'erroneous'. The Supreme Court called high court's reasoning surprising. (AFP) A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan R Gavai and justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria expressed surprise over the June 17 order staying a June 10 classification notification in the absence of legislation. It said that a nine-judge Supreme Court bench in the Indira Sawhney case (1992) allowed the executive to identify socially and educationally backward classes for reservation through executive notification. The observation came in the context of the high court observation that the state acted with 'undue haste' through an 'executive fiat' without placing the matter before the legislature. 'We will stay the order…It is very surprising to read the reasoning given by the high court. Prima facie, we feel the order is erroneous,' the bench said. The bench, which was initially inclined to return the matter to the high court by ordering status quo, posted the matter for hearing after two weeks. The lawyers, appearing in the case, insisted that the Supreme Court hear and decide the matter. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the West Bengal government that challenged the June 17 order, said the state is facing contempt proceedings as it has to fill 900,000 posts based on the June 10 notification. Three individuals and an organisation challenged the notification, arguing that the state had not ascertained the economic conditions for extending the reservation and that it was not backed by law. A high court bench of justices Rajasekhar Mantha and Tapabrata Chakraborty passed an interim direction staying the June 10 notification until July 31. Senior advocates Ranjit Kumar and Guru Krishnakumar, who appeared for the petitioners in the high court, told the Supreme Court about a similar exercise to classify 77 castes as OBCs, mostly Muslims, since 2010. The high court struck down that exercise in May last year. The state appealed, but the Supreme Court refused to interfere. In March, the state government withdrew its appeal, saying a revised exercise was being conducted. Kumar and Krishnakumar argued that one and a half months is too short for ascertaining the eligibility of the communities to be added as OBCs on the state list. Krishnakumar pointed out that the law mandates the state to consult the backward class panel and carry out an extensive survey of the communities intended to be added to the OBC list. Sibal cited the Constitution's Article 342A(3) and said states are entitled to prepare and maintain the OBC list. The high court order said prima facie it appears the government was proceeding in hot haste and attempting to bring in the self-same classes and re-introduce the percentage of reservation, which had been struck down, by executive orders and not in exercise of the state's legislative functions. The May 2024 high court order struck down the state's decision, relating to 77 communities, citing the same reasoning that the legislature, and not the executive, can carry out this exercise.
Time of India
27-06-2025
- Time of India
Coimbatore police pick up cyber fraudster from Chennai
1 2 Coimbatore: The Coimbatore cybercrime police picked up a 34-year-old man from Royapuram in Chennai on Thursday and brought him to the city in connection with a Rs 1.14 crore cheating case. Krishnakumar, 56, from Kuniyamuthur in Coimbatore city, had saved Rs 1.14 crore in his bank account. A retired employee, Krishnakumar was approached by online fraudsters last year and was asked to download a mobile application by clicking a link sent by them. When Krishnakumar downloaded a fake online trading mobile application, the cyberfraudsters swindled Rs 1.14 crore from his account in several instalments. Based on Krishnakumar's complaint, police registered a case. Police tracked the bank transactions and discovered that the amount was transferred to the bank account owned by G Rajkumar, 34, from Royapuram in Chennai. Police picked him up from Chennai and brought him to Coimbatore city on Friday morning. Rajkumar was not aware that his bank account was misused by the cyberfraudsters. "Around Rs 7 crore worth of transactions were reported in his account. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top Game Deals – Up to 90% Off! Shop Now Undo However, police let him off on Friday evening," a police source said. In a similar case, a cyber fraudster was arrested for cheating a Coimbatore-based man to the tune of Rs 4.19 lakh. The arrested person was identified as N Pradeev, from Vattakadu at Sankarapalayam in Erode district. The police seized two mobile phones, two SIM cards, one bank passbook, and three debit cards from him.
New Indian Express
27-06-2025
- New Indian Express
Anticipatory bail granted for actor Krishnakumar, daughter
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: BJP leader and actor Krishnakumar and his daughter Diya Krishna were granted anticipatory bail by Thiruvananthapuram principal sessions court in connection with a case for abduction that was filed by three former employees of a shop owned by Diya. The complaint of abduction was filed by Vinitha, Divya and Radhakumari, who were former employees of 'Oh by Ozy', a store owned by Diya. The police had filed a report with the court which said they could not find any evidence to substantiate the allegation of abduction. The CCTV visuals reportedly show the women leaving Diya's flat in two separate cars, weakening their claim. Meanwhile, the court turned down the anticipatory bail plea of the three women staff in the case pertaining to alleged financial fraud. Diya had complained that the women swindled Rs 69 lakh from the shop using their QR code instead of the one provided by the owners. The police informed the court that the investigation is yet to be completed and if anticipatory bail plea was granted, it would affect further investigation.
Time of India
26-06-2025
- Time of India
Court grants anticipatory bail to Krishnakumar, Diya; rejects pleas of accused in QR code fraud
Thiruvananthapuram: District sessions court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to actor-turned-politician Krishnakumar and his daughter Diya Krishnan. The case pertains to the alleged kidnapping and assault case filed against the duo by the staff members of 'Oh by Ozy', a shop owned by Diya near Christ Nagar School, Kowdiar. The court also rejected the pleas for pre-arrest bail of the staff members Vineetha, Divya and Radhakumar, who are accused in a QR code swapping case filed by Krishnakumar. According to the complaint, the staff members are accused of replacing the QR code scanner at the shop with their personal QR codes and embezzling Rs 69 lakh. The fraud came to light during the audit. Vineetha's husband Adarsh was also added as the fourth accused in the case for threatening Diya to withdraw the complaint. However, the staff alleged that Krishnakumar and Diya abducted them, extorted money and physically assaulted them. Following this, Museum police registered a case on the complaint of the staff against Krishnakumar and Diya as well. Both parties approached the court seeking anticipatory bails a few days ago. The court then sought the report from the police. Police informed the court that they examined the CCTV visuals and no evidence was found to prove the allegations raised by the staff. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trending in in 2025: Local network access control [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo However, in some visuals, the accused were seen even admitting that they committed the crime, police said. Police also produced evidence before the court to prove the role of the accused in the QR code fraud. Police also informed the court that the accused were not willing to cooperate with the probe and granting them bail would affect the case negatively. Accepting the police report, the court granted bail to Krishnakumar and Diya and denied bail to the three staff members. Adarsh was granted bail a few days ago by the same court.
