Hyderabad, Sep 22: The dance by a woman with a python around her neck during the Ganesh immersion procession in Hyderabad has created a stir.

A dance group from Visakhapatnam used an Indian Rock Python during a Ganesh immersion procession in Jawhar Nagar.

The Greater Hyderabad Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GHSPCA) and police rescued the python and a hen used in the dance performance on Sunday night.

Members of GHSPCA, along with the police officers from Madhura Nagar Police Station, took action when the group from Visakhapatnam was performing during the Ganesh immersion procession.

According to GHSPCA, the python was found with an oral infection. It is now under veterinary care.

The rescue operation was conducted after the group was tracked for nearly five days by the GHSPCA with the help of police.

The python is a protected species under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

GHSPCA members had been tracking the group following information that a live snake was allegedly being used in public shows.

The group, including women, had been performing at various places in Hyderabad as part of the ongoing Ganesh Chaturthi festivities.

The group from Visakhapatnam had performed at Kondapur on September 19. However, the snake handler fled before the GHSPCA team could apprehend him. The next day, the team, in coordination with the police, managed to catch him. A python and a hen were found in his possession.

On a complaint by the animal activists, police registered a case and took up further investigation.

Last year, the GHSPCA rescued eight cobras from snake charmers in Hyderabad. The snake charmers were displaying cobras by keeping them in crates at Sri Yellamma Thali Devalayam, Suramgutta, under the limits of Adibatla Police Station.

The organisation has been appealing to people to inform them if they spot snake charmers. Its volunteers work actively during Naga Panchami to rescue snakes.

Lucknow, Sep 22: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday distributed appointment letters to 3,567 selected teachers and principals appointed through Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission for various posts in secondary schools.

The appointments include principals, headmasters, lecturers (PGT) and assistant teachers (TGT). The appointment letters were distributed at the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow.

Addressing the gathering, Yogi Adityanath congratulated the newly appointed teachers and principals and their families on the occasion.

“I wholeheartedly congratulate all of you on becoming a part of the Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Department. I also congratulate your teachers, parents and all your family members on this occasion,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that the newly appointed teachers would have a significant role in shaping the future of students through guidance and mentorship.

“As I told you, if each teacher among you interacts with 100 students every year, then 3,567 teachers means you will interact with more than 3.5 lakh children in a year. This means you have the ability to guide them. Your guidance and mentorship will lay the foundation for a new India,” he said.

Recalling India’s historical educational legacy, Yogi Adityanath said the country was considered a “Vishwaguru” when it was home to prestigious centres of learning such as Takshashila and Nalanda.

“India has this heritage from a very long time. There is a need to identify it and understand it,” he said.

He said the government could create an environment for setting up industries and facilitate their establishment, but innovation and employment would ultimately depend on the students trained by teachers.

“The government can build laboratories, but whether those laboratories conduct excellent research and prepare students for it will be decided by the students trained by you,” he said.

The Chief Minister also stressed the importance of specialised training for those entering the teaching profession. He said an administrative officer might discharge administrative responsibilities effectively but would not necessarily be a good teacher without appropriate training. Similarly, police officers would also need training to become teachers.

Referring to reforms in recruitment examinations, CM Yogi said that Prashant Kumar has been appointed Chairman with the responsibility of tackling the “cheating mafia” and ensuring that talented students were not deprived of opportunities.

He said the appointment was linked to Kumar’s track record in the Uttar Pradesh Police and aimed at reforming the functioning of commissions and boards.

According to the Chief Minister, more than 5,297 youths had received appointment letters from him during the previous week.

“In the last nine years, we have distributed appointment letters to 9.5 lakh people,” he said.

Taking a jibe at the opposition, he also referred to the “Saifai Syndicate” and said they should count the number of appointments made by the government, adding that if they did not know how to count, they could learn it from Samajwadi Party leader Shivpal Yadav.

Kolkata, Sep 22: Four persons were arrested in two separate cases registered by the Kolkata Police on Tuesday morning, in connection with the major violence that broke out recently, in two phases within a college campus at Bhangar in the southern outskirts of Kolkata.

The four arrested persons have been identified as Rabiul Zama Sheikh, Akhtar Ali Molla, Rabiul Mistry and Aslam Habib. Although originally, Bhangar, being under the administrative jurisdiction of the South 24 Parganas district, was under the jurisdiction of the West Bengal Police, towards the closing quarters of the previous Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress regime, it was brought under the law & order jurisdiction of Kolkata Police.

The root of the tension at Bhangar College, which is located at a thoroughly minority-dominated area in South 24 Parganas district, broke out after the state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman, Sayantan Basu, who is the president of the managing committee of Bhangar College, reached the college campus for administrative functioning.

The activists of the CPI(M)’s students’ wing, Students’ Federation of India (SFI), started protesting over Basu’s visit to the campus. Soon the activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) also reached the spot, following which massive altercations broke out between the two students’ groups, which ultimately led to two rounds of clashes between the two groups.

A huge contingent reached the spot and somehow brought the situation under control. Now, on Tuesday morning, the cops have arrested four individuals in connection with the clashes.

Its is learnt that that the police registered a suo motu case in the mater at Bhangar Police station in relation to which Rabiul Mistry and Rabiul Zaman Sheikh were arrested

There are multiple charges against them including illegal assembly, illegal entry into the college, and obstructing the president of the management committee, said a city police insider.

On the other hand, a section of ABVP activists also filed a written complaint with Bhangar police station. On the basis of that complaint, another case was registered by the police in connection to which the other two persons were arrested.

All four of them will be presented at a district court in South 24 Parganas district on Saturday and the public prosecutor will seek their police custody.

Following Monday’s violence, a police picket has been set up in front of the Bhangar College premises since Tuesday morning. The police are also keeping an eye on the situation to ensure that no new unrest breaks out.