Hyderabad, Jan 2: Police have picked up seven suspects for questioning after protests by female students of a private engineering college over alleged video recording in hostel bathrooms. The mobile phones of the hostel workers were seized and were being scanned on Thursday by the police to ascertain if they recorded the videos.

CMR Engineering College at Medchal on the outskirts of Hyderabad was rocked by protests late on Wednesday night.

Alleging privacy breach, the students staged a protest and demanded action against the accused.

They alleged that some hostel workers secretly recorded videos of female students in bathrooms.

Leaders of student unions including ABVP also joined the students in the protest which continued past midnight.

ABVP leaders demanded action against the management of the college. They alleged that female students were being blackmailed.

The protest began after some female students noticed hand imprints on the glass of ventilators in bathrooms.

The students also complained of inadequate security at the hostel and said though the issue was brought to the notice of the management, no action was taken.

They also alleged that when the warden was informed about the video recording, he made some objectionable remarks.

The student leaders warned that if videos recorded in bathrooms surfaced on social media, former minister and BRS MLA Malla Reddy, who owns the college, will have to take responsibility.

The protestors smashed the windows of the security room.

Police rushed to the college and tried to pacify the protestors with an assurance to take action.

The police officials said they would register a case based on the complaints and initiate a thorough investigation into the incident.

With no formal complaint being filed, police have not registered an First Information Report (FIR). However, they detained seven hostel workers for questioning.

The mobile phones of the workers were seized and were being scanned by the police to ascertain if they recorded the videos.

Ranchi, Dec 16: Tensions flared up in Ranchi as students protesting against alleged irregularities in the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) Combined Graduate Level (CGL) examination were dispersed by police near the JSSC office. The demonstration, organised by student groups including the Jharkhand Loktantrik Kranti Morcha (JLKM), wanted to gherao the JSSC office over claims of rigging in the CGL exam.

In anticipation of the protests, the state police had put in place tight security measures at key locations, including Raj Bhavan, the Chief Minister’s Residence, and the Secretariat.

Several barricades were set up in the area and a large number of police personnel were deployed around the JSSC premises as well, effectively turning it into a high-security zone.

Around 1.30 P.M. on Monday, a group of students assembled at Namkum Sadabahar Chowk in Ranchi and attempted to march toward the JSSC’s office. However, they were stopped by police, who resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the crowd. Student leader Devendra Nath Mahato and one associate were detained during the police action.

Despite the ongoing protests, the JSSC has gone ahead with the document verification process for candidates shortlisted in the CGL exam results. Starting Monday, the verification of certificates for 2,145 successful candidates is expected to conclude by December 20, after which the final list of selected candidates for various government positions will be released.

The CGL examination, held on September 21-22 across 823 centres in Jharkhand, was conducted to fill approximately 2,000 vacancies in state government departments.

Over 3.04 lakh candidates appeared for the test. However, allegations of paper leaks and the inclusion of repeated questions from previously cancelled exams sparked widespread outrage. Students have staged protests in multiple cities, including Ranchi and Hazaribagh, to demand justice.

On December 10, students in Hazaribagh blocked the highway for nearly four hours, prompting a police lathi-charge to clear the demonstration. The JSSC had earlier formed a committee to investigate the allegations, which later dismissed claims of irregularities.

Despite this, Chief Minister Hemant Soren recently announced that the allegations would now be probed by the CID.

Supreme Court in its judgement says the committee constituted by the Centre also consider framing SOP for technological advancements to identify potential weaknesses in the cyber security of the examination system, processes for enhanced identity checks, CCTV monitoring of exam centres.

The apex court stated that in it’s judgement it has highlighted all the deficiencies in the structural processes of the NTAs.

“We cannot afford this for the betterment of the students”, says Supreme Court.

Supreme Court stated that the Central government and the National Testing Agency (NTA) must ensure that the problems encountered with the NEET UG 2024 exam are not repeated in the future.

The three-judge bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra on July 23 ruled that there will be no retests for the NEET-UG examinations which were marred with serious allegations of widespread paper leak, aspirants find themselves in a state of uncertainty.

While pronouncing the detailed ruling, the CJI observed the need to utilise technological advancements for identifying potential weaknesses in the examination system’s cyber security.

CJI ordered the committee to submit its report to the Centre by September 30. The court asked the Education Ministry to report on the committee’s compliance and the decision to implement it within 2 weeks, as per Live Law.