Pakistan: Group flags ‘anti-education policies’, mistreatment of students in Balochistan

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Quetta, Nov 13 (IANS) The Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC) has expressed concern over what it described as growing bias in Balochistan’s education system, saying the situation had created uncertainty among students.

The group accused the administration of Makran Medical College in the Turbat region of displaying a deeply prejudiced attitude towards students, alleging that repeated failures in viva examinations were jeopardising the students’ academic futures.

“The education system in Balochistan is increasingly being run in a biased manner, creating an atmosphere of uncertainty. Following the same path, the Makran Medical College administration continues to adopt an extremely prejudiced attitude towards students. Students are repeatedly failed in viva examinations because of examiner bias, putting their academic careers at risk,” the BSAC posted on X.

“While the college administration does not require teachers to hold classes regularly, students are repeatedly failed in viva examinations, and then their annual results are withheld through vivas in supplementary examinations. Makran Medical College students have previously raised their voices and protested over this issue, but no satisfactory solution has been found to date. This shows that the Makran Medical College administration is not taking this issue seriously at all,” it added.

The BSAC described the threatening attitude and biased examination practices adopted by the Makran Medical College administration toward students as deeply troubling and contrary to the interests of education.

“Educational institutions in Balochistan are being run in a manner that would not be acceptable in any business. Balochistan’s educational institutions have always suffered from such problems, which are unbecoming of educational institutions. Rather than jeopardizing students’ academic careers, educational institutions should create opportunities and modern facilities for them so that students can take advantage of them,” it noted.

Condemning the “anti-education policies” such as the mistreatment of students, threatening behavior, and examination bias in Balochistan’s educational institutions, the group appealed to all educational institutions, including the Makran Medical College administration, to take these issues seriously so that students’ careers and academic years are not jeopardised.

“The demands of the Makran Medical College students, who have been sitting in a protest sit-in for the past six days, should be heard and addressed immediately, and their educational journey should be made easier by ensuring access to facilities,” it added.

Students of Makran Medical College staged protests over alleged irregularities in viva examinations, alleging that the unjustified failures had resulted in the loss of an academic year and taken a serious toll on their mental well-being, local media reported.

The protest entered its sixth consecutive day on Thursday, with students demanding a transparent and impartial examination system and an end to what they described as unjustified failures.

–IANS

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Chhattisgarh factory blast: Injured workers still critical, police awaiting safety report

Raipur, April 13 (IANS) The condition of the four workers, injured in the Chhattisgarh factory blast, is still critical, police said on Sunday.

The blast occurred in a sponge iron private factory in the Kota Dabri area of Champa town of Janjgir-Champa district on Saturday.

“The condition of four workers admitted to Raipur Hospital is still critical. We are awaiting the industrial safety report, after which we will take legal action, accordingly, against the person responsible for the explosion in the factory,” Vivek Shukla, District Superintendent of Police, told IANS.

At least 13 workers suffered more than 60 per cent burns due to the blast in the old furnace of the factory in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district.

“Out of these, the condition of four is critical, while three workers have been kept in ICU (intensive care unit) in Narayana Hospital, Raipur,” the Superintendent of Police further said.

“Most of them have received 60-70 per cent burns,” the senior police officer said, adding that, “A forensic team and an industrial safety inspector are going into the detail of the accident to ascertain the cause of the explosion, and further probe is underway.”

According to the information, all the labourers were working in the second shift when they came under the grip of hot lava during the blast.

The officer further said that the cause of the blast is not yet clear.

“Investigation is being done. We have sought an industrial safety report. Once the interim report comes, legal action will be taken against the responsible,” the Superintendent of Police said.

Police sources said dolomite stone was being melted in a 15-tonne old furnace at around 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Steel (sponge iron) is made by giving shape to the molten lava from the furnace.

“Some technical issue might have triggered a problem in the old furnace, which the responsible persons have ignored, however exact cause will be known only after the report. Also, maintenance work was going on in the same furnace when suddenly there was an explosion,” said the sources.

–IANS

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2 nabbed for stock market fraud, aiding cyber syndicates in duping victims of Rs 6 crore 

New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) In a major crackdown on cyber-enabled financial fraud, the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police Crime Branch on Friday apprehended two key accused in a multi-crore stock market scam.

The victims were cheated of nearly Rs 6 crore through fake IPO funding and stock market schemes. The two accused named Kulwant Singh and Devender Singh were arrested by the cyber cell for acting as “account holders” for organised cyber fraud syndicates.

They provided victims’ bank accounts to interstate cyber syndicates, enabling diversion and laundering of victims’ funds through multiple channels.

The syndicates lured the investors with false promises of IPO funding and high-return stock market schemes.

The accused facilitated fraudulent transactions of ₹20 lakh (part of ₹6 crore) via their Bank of Baroda account in the name of Akhil Bhartiya Gareeb Jan Seva Trust. The Trust was registered before the Sub-Registrar as an NGO/Trust and a Current Account was opened in the Trust’s name for banking operations. This account was found to be linked with 10 complaints on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.

Their modus operandi involved enticing investors with fake trading applications and persuading them to join these groups in hope of monetary gains. The investors were contacted by the syndicates via social media and WhatsApp.

When victims wanted to withdraw, they were coerced and threatened that if they left the group they would have to forgo their money. Also, funds were layered through multiple bank accounts to conceal the source.

Upon interrogation, the Crime Branch found 30 first-layer bank accounts, including the Akhil Bhartiya Gareeb Jan Seva Trust (Bank of Baroda). The Trust account was being used as a primary laundering conduit and ₹20 lakh was traced into this account so far.

Both accused repeatedly provided Trust/Current Accounts and full banking access to handlers for commissions despite being linked to multiple NCRP complaints.

The accused provided the registered Trust’s Current Account to the fraud syndicate in exchange for monetary consideration — ₹30,000 per month for the account’s availability and 5 per cent commission on each transaction routed through the account.

These arrests expose the deep nexus of organised cyber fraud and disrupt crucial financial pipelines, misused to cheat citizens across the country.

–IANS

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NASA’s Artemis II astronauts return to earth after historic moon mission

Washington, April 11 (IANS) The NASA’s Artemis II mission has successfully concluded, marking a major milestone in humanity’s return to deep space exploration with the four-member crew, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen, safely splashed down after completing a historic 10-day journey around the Moon aboard the Orion spacecraft.

NASA posted on X, “Welcome home Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy! The Artemis II astronauts have splashed down at 8:07pm ET (0007 UTC April 11), bringing their historic 10-day mission around the Moon to an end.”

In another post earlier, the agency highlighted the spacecraft’s descent, stating, “Orion’s main parachute has deployed. The spacecraft has a system of 11 chutes that will slow it down from around 300 mph to 20 mph for splashdown.”

Prior to their arrival, NASA noted that after a journey of more than 690,000 miles, the crew was nearing Earth.

The mission has garnered global attention, as it marks humanity’s return to deep space exploration beyond low Earth orbit for the first time in over five decades. NASA described the journey as one that carried astronauts farther than any human has ever travelled, underscoring its significance in paving the way for future lunar missions.

During the mission, the crew set a new distance record by travelling 248,655 miles from Earth and eventually reaching approximately 252,756 miles at the farthest point. This surpasses the previous record set during the Apollo 13 mission, establishing a new benchmark in human spaceflight.

Officials said the mission was designed to rigorously test the Space Launch System rocket and the Orion spacecraft in a deep-space environment with astronauts on board. The lunar flyby was a critical step in validating systems that will support future missions aimed at returning humans to the Moon.

Dr Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said the achievement reflects the agency’s commitment to pushing boundaries. From orbit, Hansen noted that the milestone honours the legacy of earlier space pioneers while opening a new chapter in exploration.

Artemis II is widely seen as a crucial step toward NASA’s long-term goal of establishing a sustained human presence on the Moon, setting the stage for even more ambitious missions in the years ahead.

–IANS

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