A spiritual orator’s controversial statement at a government school in Chennai that disabilities and deformities are the result of misdeeds committed in past lives has sparked a controversy and led to him being detained by the police.

‘Maha Vishnu’, the founder of NGO Paramporul Foundation, had made the comment at a government school, where he was invited to deliver a motivational speech recently. A video also shows him arguing with a specially abled teacher who objected to his remark on disabilities.

The spiritual orator was detained on Saturday upon his arrival from Australia.

After the video – whose authenticity has not been established by NDTV – went viral, several groups working for the specially abled filed police complaints against Maha Vishnu and demanded strict action.

The Tamil Nadu government ordered an inquiry and the principals of two government schools where Maha Vishnu had spoken have been transferred.

State Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamoyzhi said a school ought to be a place where scientific temper is nurtured, not superstition. “We will take strict action after we get reports from the local authorities on how this happened”.

To a specific question on the orator misbehaving with the teacher, Mr Poyyamoyzhi said action would be taken against Maha Vishnu.

On Friday, Maha Vishnu had said he was not hiding and had done no wrong, adding that he would respond to all allegations at the Chennai airport after he returned from Australia.

After the city police detained Maha Vishnu for investigation, a member of his team apologised on his behalf and said the orator could never intend to hurt the sentiments of the specially abled.

Mission Rhumi 2024 launch in East Coast Road, Chennai
| Photo Credit: Johan Sathyadas

Satrajit Samy clapped and cheered as Mission Rhumi 2024 took off in Thiruvidanthai in Chennai’s scenic East Coast Road.

Satrajit had come all the way from Dubai for this momentous occasion. It might have lasted just a few seconds or so, but the event was, in this 13-year-old’s words, “exhilarating”.

He was part of the ‘Edutech for Space’ programme that worked on Mission Rhumi for more than a year. So were many other space-crazy children; for, Mission Rhumi – launched in Chennai on August 24 – is India’s first reusable hybrid rocket on a mobile launchpad.

An initiative of Space Zone India and Martin Group, Rhumi-1 carried three cube satellites designed to monitor and collect data on atmospheric conditions. The rocket also deployed 50 different Pico satellites, each dedicated to studying various aspects of atmospheric conditions.

At the helm of things was mission mentor Mylswamy Annadurai, former ISRO scientist and affectionately called the ‘moon man of India’, who said, “Till now, only Elon Musk was doing a reusable launch vehicle but today, we have demonstrated it right here in Chennai. What we witnessed today is almost like the rocket launches at Sriharikota. Rocket science can be taught in schools too because there are many opportunities here. Like how Chennai’s schools throw up champions in sports, music and arts, rocket scientists can be honed too.”

Weighing about 80 kilograms and 3.5 metres tall, the single-piece Rhumi-1 rocket combines the advantages of both liquid oxidiser and solid fuel propellant systems, making it a milestone in aerospace technology, he added. The mobile launch system allows scientists to adapt to various launch scenarios with ease from any location. Explained Anand Megalingam, Founder and CEO of Space Zone India, “By introducing a reusable hybrid rocket, we are not only reducing the financial burden of space exploration but minimising its environmental impact.”

Mission Rhumi has another goal: awareness about rocket science among students. Satrajit, for instance, underwent online classes on orbits and planets, before heading to BITS Pilani for a hands-on session with satellites. He says, “It was amazing to know that whatever I had in my hand was probably going to be in space somewhere. With this rocket being made in such a cost-effective manner, who knows, the day that children can build rockets with our own allowance is not far away.”

The general secretary of AIADMK and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami speaks to media persons at Katpadi in Vellore on July 14, 2024
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The general secretary of AIADMK and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Sunday, July 14, 2024 said that the killing of K. Thiruvengadam, one of the 11 persons involved in the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader K. Armstrong, in a police firing incident looks suspicious as the police team seems to have not taken adequate security measures before taking a murder accused to his possible hideout.

While speaking to journalists at Katpadi here, Mr. Palaniswami said that there are certain standard procedures that need to be followed while taking accused out of custody. Handcuffs of the accused and an adequate police team in such an operation are among them. “Based on media reports, it seems the police firing incident shows that standard procedures were not adhered to by the police. Also, the slain accused had himself surrendered to the police after the murder. With all these events in the backdrop, the incident (police firing) looks suspicious,” he said.

Mr. Palaniswami’s response comes hours after murder accused Thiruvengadam, who is involved in three murders, was taken to a hideout where he claimed he had stashed the weapons used for the Armstrong murder near Madhavaram (Chennai) at around 5.30 a.m. on Sunday. “In fact, family members of Armstrong and his BSP cadres were demanding the State government to arrest people who are truly behind the murder. Also, what was the urgency of the police to take the murder accused early in the day to his hideout without proper security measures in place?,” he asked.

Cauvery water

On Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s assertion that the State was not in a position to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, the AIADMK general secretary said that the Supreme Court has clearly said in its orders earlier that a certain quantum of water from Cauvery river should be released by Karnataka to lower riparian States like Tamil Nadu every month. However, Karnataka never did it. “Being a member of the INDIA bloc, DMK should pressurize the ruling Congress government in Karnataka to release Tamil Nadu share of Cauvery water,” he said.

Accompanied by former AIADMK Minister K.C. Veeramani, Mr. Palaniswami was here to condole industrialist A.J. Sekar Reddy on the demise of his father at his residence in Katpadi in Vellore.

Chennai:

In a brazen attack, the Tamil Nadu chief of the Bahujan Samaj Party was hacked to death by six bike-borne men near his house in Chennai on Friday. 

The six men attacked Armstrong when he was having a discussion with a few party functionaries near his house in the city’s Sembium area and then fled. The family rushed him to a hospital, but he was declared brought dead.

Police officials said this could be a revenge murder, linked to the killing of a gangster, Arcot Suresh, last year. A senior police officer told NDTV, “We are conducting an investigation. The murder seems to be linked to an earlier killing.” 

Some reports said the attackers posed as food delivery agents, but police are yet to confirm this.

The Sembium inspector of police has been tasked with cracking the case. 

The opposition has hit out at the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu and said the killing is evidence of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state. 

Leader of Opposition Edappadi Palaniswamy said, “What do I say when the state chief of a national party is murdered? The law and order is shameful. There is no fear of law or the police”.

A lawyer, Armstrong was elected to the Chennai Corporation Council in 2006. He shot to fame after he organised a mega rally in Chennai two years ago and invited BSP chief Mayawati.

Chennai:

In a big seizure, the Narcotics Control Bureau in Chennai has recovered 1.8 kg of cocaine and 1.4 kg of MDMA (ecstasy), busting a pan-India network. The consignment, authorities said, is worth Rs 22 crore in the international market. 

A statement by NCB Chennai Zonal Director P Aravindhan said the cocaine was seized from a Bolivian woman passenger when she landed in Chennai on May 9. The drug was found “concealed inside her woollen jacket”. Further investigation led to the arrest of two women – an Indian and a Brazilian – in Mumbai and the recovery of an additional 15 gm of cocaine from the house of the accused.

As part of another joint operation with the Customs Department, the NCB intercepted a parcel from the Netherlands with 1.4 kg of MDMA. Investigators also tracked down and arrested two Nigerians, in Puducherry and Bengaluru, who they suspect were supposed to receive the contraband. 

In March, a film producer and former DMK functionary, Jaffer Sadiq, had been arrested after a four-month manhunt, for allegedly smuggling drugs worth over Rs 2,000 crore out of the country.  The DMK, which is the ruling party in Chennai, had expelled Sadiq and distanced itself from him. 

Vladivostok:

Russia has shown interest in sending a business delegation to Chennai to explore business opportunities, including developing an alternative maritime route between Vladivostok and the southern metropolis.

This was conveyed to Union Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal during a meeting in Vladivostok with a Russian delegation led by Sergey Mochalnikov, Deputy Minister of Energy Minister, Russian Federation, and Maxim Reshetnikov from the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, an official statement said.

Mr Sonowal also extended an invitation for an Indo-Russian workshop on the Eastern Maritime Corridor in Chennai to provide a common meeting ground among the port authorities of Russia Far East and India, Russian railways, logistics and shipping companies of both countries, coking coal trade transporters of India and Russia among others.

The Russian government expressed their desire to visit the Chennai port with a large business delegation to explore opportunities and possibilities through bilateral discussions, the statement said.

Speaking on the occasion, the union minister said the operationalisation of Eastern the Maritime Corridor (EMC) will usher in a new era of trade relationship between India and Russia.

“Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India remains firmly committed to making innovative solutions that will enhance and further foster the strong bilateral relationship between our two great nations.

“As our teams hedged their effort for early operationalisation of EMC, the visit to Vladivostok, Vostochny, Nakhodka, and Kozmino was particularly helpful. Taking this forward, I propose a workshop of all stakeholders at Chennai in India and extend our invitation to this workshop where we can meet, interact and discuss for smooth and swift operationalisation of EMC,” he said.

Sonowal was addressing the session aimed at forging possibilities for early operationalisation of EMC as an alternative trade route between the Russian port city of Vladivostok and Chennai.

The workshop is proposed to take place from October 30 to November 1, 2023, in Chennai.

Referring to India’s maritime programme and its flagship programme Sagarmala, Sonowal said in 2015, the transformative flagship initiative of Sagarmala was launched with the objective of boosting India’s logistics sector performance, by unlocking the full potential of India’s coastline and waterways.

The vision of Sagarmala is to reduce logistics costs for both domestic and EXIM cargo with optimised infrastructure investment through port-led development, he said.

Currently, there are 802 projects worth investment of more than $65 billion for implementation under the Sagarmala project by 2035. Out of which, 228 projects worth $14.6 billion have been completed and 260 projects worth $27 billion are under implementation.

Further, 314 projects worth $24 billion are under various stages of development. Further, under the holistic development of coastal districts, a total of 567 projects with an estimated cost of around $7 billion have been identified.

The Eastern Maritime Corridor is estimated to reduce the time required to transport cargo between Indian and Russian Ports of the Far East region by up to 16 days, i.e., 24 days in comparison to over 40 days currently taken to transport goods from India to Far East Russia via Europe.

The present trade route between Mumbai in India and St. Petersburg in Russia covers a distance of 8,675 nautical miles which takes approximately 35 to 40 days. The Chennai-Vladivostok sea route (EMC) will cover a distance of about 5,600 nautical miles. A large container ship that travels at the normal cruising speed of 20-25 knots (37-46 km/hour), will be able to cover this distance in approximately 10 to 12 days.

This corridor holds immense potential to unlock new opportunities for trade and cooperation, the statement said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)