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WBSSC’s notification for fresh teachers’ recruitment challenged at Calcutta HC

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Kolkata, June 3: The notification issued by the West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) to fill vacant posts of teachers in state-run schools has been challenged at the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday.

The single-judge vacation bench of Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury admitted the petition. The matter is likely to come up for a hearing at his bench on June 5.

The petitioner claimed that certain points in the notification, especially those as regards to changed weightage criteria in the distribution of total marks in the recruitment process, violated the Supreme Court’s directives on fresh recruitments.

The main ground on which the notification was challenged was that the weightage criteria in the distribution of total marks had changed from those in 2016.

As per the new notification issued last week, the written examination in the fresh recruitment process will carry 60 marks, as against 55 for the 2016 panel.

Secondly, the weightage criterion for educational qualification in the fresh recruitment process is just 10 as against 35 for the 2016 panel.

Most importantly, two new weightage criteria, each carrying 10 marks, “past teaching experience” and “lecture demonstration”, have been introduced.

Soon after the notification was issued, several legal minds apprehended that the notification may face legal hurdles because of the changes in weightage criteria in total marks distribution.

Legal minds felt that while two new weightage criteria were introduced to give an advantage to the teachers from the 2016 panel who lost their jobs. They opined that the changed criteria would be disadvantageous for fresher candidates.

Bringing about changes in the weightage criteria was grossly illegal since the same weightage criteria, which applied to the 2016 panel, should also be there in the fresh recruitment process, they said.

Now their apprehensions have come true after a petition challenging the notification was filed at the Calcutta High Court, exactly on the points highlighted.

On April 3 this year, the Supreme Court’s division bench of erstwhile Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar upheld a previous order by the Calcutta High Court’s division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Shabbar Rashidi cancelling 25,753 school jobs in West Bengal.

The Apex Court also accepted the observation of the Calcutta High Court that the entire panel of 25,753 candidates had to be cancelled because of the failure of the state government and the commission to segregate the “untainted” candidates from the “tainted” ones.

The state government and West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) had already filed review petitions at the Apex Court on this issue.

Crime

Mumbai: St Xavier’s College Receives Bomb Threat; No Explosives Found

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Mumbai: St Xavier’s College in Mahim, Mumbai, received a bomb threat on Tuesday, said the official.

According to the Mumbai police, St Xavier’s College in Mahim, Mumbai, received a bomb threat. Nothing suspicious was found by the police, and they believe this is primarily a hoax threat.

The police are taking appropriate action and investigating.

More details awaited.

This comes after a series of bomb threats earlier this week caused panic across the city.

On Wednesday, threat emails were received at multiple locations, including the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Vidhan Bhawan, and the High Court.

Police, including the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) team, are present on the scene, officials said on Wednesday.

According to the Mumbai police, threat mail has been received at BSE, Vidhan Bhawan and the High Court this morning.

“Adequate security measures have been taken and are in place. Necessary legal action is being taken at the respective police stations,” Mumbai Police said.

On March 8, a hospital in Mumbai received a bomb threat via email, claiming that an “LED blast” would be carried out on the premises.

The email sparked significant panic among patients and staff.

In response, the Mumbai Police’s Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) conducted a thorough inspection of the hospital.

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Crime

Mumbai Shocker: Husband Pushes Wife To Death In Front Of Running Local Train At Mulund Station; Arrested

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Mumbai: A 42-year-old man, who was captured on CCTV, while pushing his wife before a running local train owing to marital discord, has been arrested in Surat. The accused, Rajukumar Gupta, an electrician, went absconding with his younger son after pushing Pushpa, 36, to her death on the morning of March 14. Hours before the incident, the victim had even lodged a police complaint.

According to victim’s brother Kamlesh Kumar Gupta, 30, who is a soldier, the couple had frequent quarrels and hence he had come to take his sister and his elder nephew, 15, back to their UP native. In his complaint to the Kurla GRP, Kamlesh, who lives in UP, said that on March 14, when they were set to go to UP, Rajukumar and Pushpa again had an argument, prompting the latter to approach the police. Kamlesh said that subsequently, he, Pushpa and her 15-year-old son reached the Mulund station.

However, he realised that he had forgotten his Army ID card at Rajukumar’s house. Hence, he along with his nephew went back, however, an enraged Rajukumar locked the duo inside the house. The accused then arrived at the Mulund station, where he saw his wife standing on platform 1. He pushed her in front of a running local train and fled, said the FIR.

Commuters alerted the station master, following which the railway authorities rushed Pushpa to a government hospital, where she was declared dead. Kamlesh said that he somehow managed to alert neighbours, who helped open the door.

Police said the CCTV footage from the station has captured the incident. Based on the complaint, the Kurla GRP has registered an FIR against Rajukumar under section 103 (punishment for murder) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

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Crime

Mira Bhayandar Hospital Shocker: 89-Year-Old Patient On Ventilator Bitten By Rat, Sparking Outrage Over Safety Lapses

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Mira Bhayandar: A shocking and infuriating incident has come to light at the Pandit Bhimsen Joshi Hospital in Mira Bhayandar, where an elderly woman in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) was reportedly bitten by a rat. The incident has raised serious questions regarding the lack of hygiene and security within the hospital’s most critical department.

The victim, 89-year-old Suhasini Mathekar, was admitted to the hospital on March 12 following health complaints. Due to her critical condition, she was placed on a ventilator in the ICU located on the fourth floor of the facility.

On the morning of March 13, family members visiting the ICU were horrified to discover that a rat had bitten the elderly woman’s hand. According to the family, the rodent scurried away only after they intervened.

The victim’s family has leveled serious allegations against the hospital staff. They have questioned how the doctors and nurses on night duty failed to notice the presence of a rat or the distress of a patient in such a sensitive environment.

“It is shocking that such an incident could occur in a supposedly sterile and highly monitored zone like the ICU,” a family member stated. Public outrage is mounting over the perceived administrative apathy, with many calling for a high-level inquiry into the hospital’s management.

The presence of rodents in an ICU points to a complete breakdown of sanitation and safety protocols. Such lapses not only affect individual patients but also pose a significant infection risk to everyone in the ward.

The family has officially demanded A thorough investigation into the conduct of the staff on duty. An immediate audit of the hospital’s cleanliness and pest control measures. And Strict action against those responsible for the lapse to ensure such a traumatic event never recurs.

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