Hinduja College ask Parents to Bring Identity Cards

Charni Road-based KPB Hinduja College asked defaulting students to bring their parents, along with identity proof, to a parent-teacher meet, to curb instances of students hiring actors to pass off as mommy and dad 

College students may no longer be able to pass off older friends, lenient relatives, and rented actors as parents when brought to book over low attendance in front of teachers, if the move made by authorities at KPB Hinduja College at Charni Road is any precedent.

On September 21, the college authorities surprised students of second year, junior college, by displaying a notice that asked 51 defaulters to show up with parents who were carrying identity proof, at the parents meet yesterday, failing which they would not be allowed to fill the HSC examination form. 

Naturally, the students were all at sea. Suraj Shah (name changed), one of the defaulters, said, "I haven't heard of this happening anywhere else." 

Bhavin Mehta (name changed), another defaulter, added, "Even if parents bring identity proof for verification, the college will ask them further questions about the child's personal life to ensure that they are in fact, the real parents."

Parents, however, are positive about the move. Rupal Jha, (name changed) a parent of an SYJC student, said, "It's a good initiative. We don't mind bringing identity proof along." 

Smita Parekh, (name changed) another parent, agreed, adding, however, that the identity proof wasn't checked all that thoroughly at the meeting. "We just signed on a muster and left the college. Students who are defaulters usually bring along fake parents." 

Dr T.A. Shiware, principal of KPB Hinduja College explained the reason behind the decision. "Students are smart, and believe they can hoodwink college authorities. They hire 'parents' when asked to attend meetings after their names appear on the defaulters' list. This year, we decided to demand ID proof from the parents."

Source: Mid-day

Molestor Organizes Feast Instead of Getting Arrested

Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh), March 15 (IANS) Defying the law, a village panchayat here dealt in its own way with a molester -- it ordered him to organise a feast for the villagers as his punishment, police said Tuesday.

But the accused was later arrested as the disappointed victim approached the police to seek justice.

The order was pronounced March 13 by the panchayat of Kapsa village on a complaint by a 45-year-old widow, who had accused one Ram Bahadur, a native of the same village, of molesting her.

'The incident clearly reflects how some people just don't care about the law and pronounce their own judgment in criminal cases,' police inspector Nand Kishore told reporters in Allahabad, some 200 km from Lucknow.

'After an initial enquiry on the complaint by the woman, we have arrested Ram Bahadur,' police inspector Nand Kishore told reporters Tuesday in Allahabad, around 200 km from Lucknow.

'The probe is still on. On the completion of the enquiry, we may initiate legal action against those who ignored the law and gave their own judgment on such a sensitive issue,' Kishore said.

According to police, Bahadur, who was arrested Monday, molested the woman March 9 when she was returning from the fields.

'The woman approached the panchayat the same day, seeking action against Ram Bahadur,' Sewak Ram, a local, told reporters.

'However, the panchayat took four days to pronounce the judgment. As a punitive action it ordered that Ram Bahadur organise a feast for the entire village,' he said.

'The panchayat's order proved to be a major disappointment for the woman, who later publicly announced that she would approach the police to get justice,' he added.

source: MSN News

Bhagwan Ram Protects People's Fixed Deposits

In a bank with no security gates, guards or locks, deposits from thousands of customers from across India are stacked on shelves, protected from theft by the grace of God.

In a cramped room in a small house in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Ram Ram Bank offers no interest or loans, but has around 5,000 customers who flock to deposit documents bearing God's name.

"There is no need for security as there is no fear of any theft," said Lovelesh Tewari, who founded the bank 25 years ago.

"People feel better by writing God's name as it becomes a medium to release their pent up frustrations and eventually the faith makes them work toward their goals."

The bank's customers scribble "Ram," the protagonist in the Indian mythological epic Ramayana, on pieces of paper as many as 100,000 times and deposit them in the bank. Ram is also known as Rama.

Ram Ram used to accept scribbles on cigarette packs or on pieces of old newspaper. But now Tewari provides proper notebooks for the purpose, courtesy of one of his customers.

"My daughter got admission in the engineering college after I deposited Ram's name in the bank," says Shahikala, one of many happy depositors.

The bank's list of depositors includes bureaucrats, politics and members of the judiciary. Even the father of superstar cricketer Gautam Gambhir is a customer.

Religion is no barrier. Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims write the name of Ram in their native languages.

Every six months the stacks of "deposits" are sent to be displayed in a temple in Ayodhya, the birth place of Ram.

Ram Ram's growing popularity has seen two new branches open in other cities, while Ram Ramapati Bank, a similar bank in the tourist city Varanasi, boasts customers from across the world.

Source: Reuters