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New Indian Express
5 days ago
- New Indian Express
Employee at President's Estate, friend held for defrauding colleague
NEW DELHI: A 27-year-old government employee engaged at the President's Estate, along with his associate, were arrested for allegedly transferring over Rs 24 lakh from a colleague's bank accounts over a period of three months, police said on Tuesday. The accused have been identified as Prakash Singh, resident of Delhi, and Sanjay Chakraborty, resident of Kolkata. Singh allegedly transferred Rs 1 lakh every three to four days without the victim's knowledge. He used the stolen money to purchase two iPhones, a motorcycle, a laptop, household items, spent Rs 2.25 lakh in online games, paid debts, and financed travels. The complainant, a 59-year-old government employee working as Chief Household Assistant, said Rs 24.40 lakh had been dishonestly withdrawn from his and his wife's bank accounts without their knowledgeDuring a routine visit to the bank for passbook printing, he discovered the fraud through UPI transactions. The victim clarified that neither he nor his wife had ever installed UPI apps or had any understanding of digital banking systems.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Time of India
Employee arrested for defrauding colleague through unauthorized upi transactions
New Delhi: An employee of the President's Estate and his associate were arrested for scamming a colleague of over Rs 20 lakh through unauthorised UPI transactions. The accused was identified as Prakash Singh, a resident of Brahmaputra Apartment within the Estate. The complainant, a 59-year-old chief household assistant at the Estate, reported that the money was fraudulently withdrawn from his and his wife's bank accounts without their knowledge. He discovered the scam during a routine bank visit to get his passbook updated. Neither he nor his wife had ever installed UPI applications or had any familiarity with digital banking. A case was registered, and investigation revealed that more than Rs 16 lakh had been transferred from the wife's account to an account held by Sanjay Chakraborty, a resident of Hathkola, Kolkata, who worked by Singh. An additional sum of more than Rs 6 lakh was funnelled to another account operated by Chakraborty. Police raided and arrested Chakraborty in Kolkata. He admitted to receiving the money on behalf of Prakash Singh in exchange for a 2–3% commission. Based on his confession and technical surveillance, Singh was identified and arrested.
Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Govt employee in President's Estate held for duping colleague of ₹24.4 lakh
New Delhi, A government employee posted in the President's Estate has been arrested for siphoning ₹24.4 lakh from his colleague's bank accounts by exploiting the latter's lack of familiarity with mobile banking apps, an official said on Tuesday. The accused, Prakash Singh , was working in the same department as the 59-year-old victim, Surender Kumar, a chief household assistant in the household section of the President's Estate. "Prakash used his proximity to the victim, who worked in the same section, to frequently access his mobile phone under various pretexts. Taking advantage of the victim's unfamiliarity with digital apps, Singh installed a mobile payment application on his phone and quietly linked it to his bank accounts," Deputy Commissioner of Police Devesh Mahla said. Over three months, Singh allegedly transferred ₹1 lakh at a time every few days, accumulating a total of ₹24.40 lakh. To remain undetected, he would delete all transaction-related messages and uninstall the app before handing the phone back, the officer added. The other accused, identified as Sanjay Chakraborty, was apprehended from Kolkata for aiding the fraud by receiving and laundering the stolen funds. "The incident came to light when the victim discovered during a routine bank visit that ₹24.40 lakh had been withdrawn from his and his wife's bank accounts through unauthorised UPI transactions. Neither Kumar nor his wife had ever used mobile payment apps," the DCP added. The siphoned money was routed through multiple accounts, including that of Chakraborty, who received over ₹20 lakh and retained a small commission before passing on the rest to Singh. A case was registered under Section 318 of the BNS and an investigation was launched. Chakraborty was first apprehended in Kolkata and his interrogation led to the arrest of Singh in Delhi. "Prakash Singh used the cheated money to fund a lavish lifestyle. He purchased two smartphones, a motorcycle and a laptop, spent ₹2.25 lakh on mobile gaming and cleared personal debts. He also went on vacations and shopping sprees using the stolen funds," the officer added. He said about ₹2.25 lakh was recovered from Singh's bank account. Efforts are ongoing to trace the remaining siphoned amount and identify any additional co-conspirators involved in the laundering, he added.
Hindustan Times
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Lesson from stampedes: Communication key to crowd control, say experts
This year, stampedes at a major railway station in Delhi, at the Maha Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh, and during a cricket match victory celebration in Karnataka have led to at least 72 deaths and a few hundred injuries so far — a grim statistic which exposes the glaring gaps in crowd regulation rules, official apathy and tokenistic governance. Action taken following these tragic, largely preventable deaths does little to avert such incidents in the future — after the June 4 stampede in Bengaluru, the state leadership, replicating the action of its counterparts in other parts of the country, suspending the city's top cop and other police staff, and ordered a magisterial inquiry. Later, the Karnataka high court also took suo motu notice. In light of these developments, HT spoke with veteran police officers, planners, urban designers, and academics to dissect the anatomy of stampedes and how to prevent them. Prakash Singh, a retired IPS officer who was the state police chief of Assam and Uttar Pradesh and the director-general of the Border Security Force, said the Bengaluru tragedy appears to be a case of overriding political desire overruling reservations from the police. Multiple reports, including by HT, suggest that the police had initially dismissed the idea of a parade due to paucity of time. But as some players from the overseas were scheduled to return home, there was a rush to hold the celebrations on June 4 itself, according to people aware of the matter. 'But this should have never been made part of the consideration. No event can be organised without the clearance from the police,' Singh said. The second issue, he pointed out, was the inconsistent messaging. 'There were multiple versions of when and where the parade will be held.' The most significant lapse, however, was the police's alleged failure to react when the crowd started trickling, Singh said. 'Around 200,000-300,000 people tried to make their way towards the stadium when the capacity was only 36,000. It was a policing failure, given that there are enough surveillance measures that would have indicated swelling of crowds.' Police should have, through existing intelligence and surveillance measures, prevented the crowd from converge from all directions. Another lapse was the inadequate deployment of forces, he added. 'Ideally, civic volunteers, armed battalions, and the fire brigade should have been mobilised. If there was fatigue, police from outside the commissionerate should have been engaged, he said. While Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara has announced that the government will formulate a new SOP for crowd control, these mechanisms are not alien to India, where heavy footfall events such as the Maha Kumbh are held regularly. They have been part of the police manual since colonial times, and even the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) has issued guidelines to manage crowds at events. To prevent stampedes, the administration — be it government, private organisers or temple trusts— should actively control the 'hype' through constant messaging, said Monika Vij, a geography professor at Delhi's Miranda House, who has researched extensively on crowd management at religious events. Referring to the Kumbh tragedy in January, where the official death toll was 30, she said, while the authorities made 'excellent arrangements', the hype of a historical event overshadowed everything. Authorities could not effectively communicate with the crowd when the stampede took place, she said. 'There has to be greater control and responsibility over disseminating information.' On the Bengaluru stampede, she said it was the 'lack of clarity over the venue and ticketing' which led to the tragedy. Similar confusion was seen at the February 15 stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station over train departures, Vij said. Another retired IPS officer Nazrul Islam, who was the ADGP in West Bengal, said a crowd, by default, is fuelled by frenzy and not rationality — be it a religious procession or a sports event. 'Visible, prompt policing is important to keep the crowd disciplined. Staggered movement of crowds is essential, and for that, checkpoints are installed in all directions from approaches to the event venue,' he said. KT Ravindran, founder of the Institute of Urban Designers India, said, for any kind of gathering, authorities must ensure that designing standards, such as entry and exit points and emergency exit, are followed. 'At any point in time, the potential to disperse should be higher than the potential to gather.' Ujan Ghosh, the former president of the institute, said the combined action of authorities, including police, along with the architecture, either prevents or causes a stampede. He also questioned if the Bengaluru stadium was the right choice as the venue for the cricket felicitation event. Spaces, such as streets and pavements, are often designed for specific purposes, he said, suggesting that stadiums are usually for ticketed events.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
DU nod to course revisions, updates psychology syllabus
New Delhi: The executive council (EC) of Delhi University (DU)—its highest decision-making body—on Friday approved the syllabi for various undergraduate programmes for the fourth year under the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP). The syllabus for BA Psychology has also been revised, with topics such as the Israel-Palestine conflict, Kashmir crisis, and suicides related to dating apps removed. The council has approved the launch of a new BSc (Nuclear Medicine Technology) course at Army Hospital, Delhi Cantt, under the Faculty of Medical Sciences. The three-year course, with an optional one-year internship, is meant for Armed Forces Medical Services personnel and will be conducted by the Department of Radiology. For admission to this course, the candidate should be serving in the Indian Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) and should have completed 6 years of service. Candidates should have passed the Higher Secondary Examination (Academic) conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE), Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), or any other recognised equivalent State Board examination with a minimum of 50% marks (in aggregate) in Physics, Chemistry, and Biology/Botany and Zoology subjects, with English as one of the subjects. In case seats remain vacant due to insufficient candidates from the Army failing to fulfil the above criteria, appointments will be offered to medical assistants of the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy based on equivalent criteria in the respective medical services. Additionally, committees have been formed to launch new postgraduate programmes in Hindi and English Journalism. The MA Journalism course will now be offered by both the Hindi and English departments. An expert committee, led by Prakash Singh, director, south campus, has been tasked with launching the PG Hindi Journalism course. Approval has also been granted to form a committee for a PG programme in English Journalism. The EC passed a proposal expressing full support for "Operation Sindoor". It also approved the revised curricula and examination schemes under the Undergraduate Course Framework-2022 and Postgraduate Course Framework-2024, as recommended by the Academic Council on May 10. Furthermore, the EC passed new rules for determining the seniority of assistant professors/lecturers in DU colleges. If qualifications are equal, seniority will be decided based on age. If age is also the same, the API score will be considered. These rules follow the recommendations of a committee headed by dean of colleges Balram Pani, addressing concerns and ambiguity among colleges regarding teacher seniority. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
