Kanpur:

An FIR was registered on Thursday against eight final-year engineering students of Harcourt Butler Technical University (HBTU) on the charge of attempt to murder for allegedly beating their juniors when they did not adhere to their instructions to “remove clothes”.

The FIR has been registered against the seniors by a third-year student of BTech Electronics at Nawabganj police station, under BNS sections 109 (attempt to murder), 115 (2) voluntarily causes hurt, 125 (an act so rashly as to endanger human life), 191 (2) rioting, 351 (3) criminal intimidation and 352 (intentionally insults) apart from ragging charges in this connection, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Dinesh Tripathi said.

All those named in the FIR are fourth-year students.

In his FIR, the student alleged that his classmate got a call from seniors to come with him and another classmate to Abdul Kalam Hostel to enjoy a ‘birthday party” which is a “code language” for ragging.

The situation escalated when the seniors asked them to take off their clothes, which they refused. “We told them that they should be spared as they had already faced ragging in the first year of their admission. Angry over the refusal, the seniors came with sticks, belts, and iron rods and started beating them,” the FIR said.

Instructions have been issued to call the accused students. They will be questioned to work out the case, the DCP said.

The HBTU administration has also started the inquiry into the matter to ascertain whether it was a ragging case or not, said an official.

In ragging, generally, first-year students are victims but in this case, the FIR was lodged by the third-year student against final-year students, he said. 

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

Residents of a housing society in an Uttar Pradesh city were in for a shock when a crocodile found its way to their habitat, prompting an unusual call to police and forest officials.

The incident was reported Saturday afternoon from Surya Vihar Society in Makdikheda.

Tied in ropes, mouth wide open, mobile cameras were seen thrashing the air to click pictures of the prized catch, show videos from the scene.

After the initial panic, the scene quickly transformed into one of curiosity and amazement, with people thronging the area to get a glimpse of the unusual visitor.

“What is that? A crocodile,” a young child can be heard on the video. 

A group of children, playing cricket, noticed the reptile emerging out of a drain and informed people, who in turn relayed the information to authorities.

Soon, the forest officials were also informed about the visitor.

After an effort of a few hours, the locals managed to catch the reptile using a rope.

The forest officials have transferred the animal to the local zoo.

The area where the crocodile was found is situated near the Ganga river. During rainy season, the animal often find its way to residential societies.

Earlier, on September 16, residents of Sambharpur village near Kanpur discovered a 7-foot crocodile on Singhpur-Mainawati Road. The shocked residents alerted the police and the reptile was secured using a rope.

(With inputs from Arun Agarwal)

Kanpur:

A couple in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur has duped dozens of elderly people of Rs 35 crore by promising to make them young through an “Israel-made time machine”. 

Rajeev Kumar Dubey and his wife, Rashmi Dubey, opened a therapy center – Revival World – in Kanpur’s Kidwai Nagar area, saying that a machine will be brought from Israel that would transform a 60-year-old into a 25-year-old.

They promised their customers that they could restore the youth of the elderly through “oxygen therapy”, police said.

The couple, who lived on rent in Kidwai Nagar, deceived people by telling them that due to polluted air, they were rapidly becoming old and that the “oxygen therapy” would make them young in a few months.

“They offered packages for Rs 6,000 for 10 sessions and Rs 90,000 for a three-year reward system,” senior police official Anjali Vishwakarma said.

Renu Singh, who was one of the victims of the massive scam, filed a police complaint, alleging that she was cheated of Rs 10.75 lakh. She also alleged that hundreds of people were duped of about Rs 35 crore.

Based on her complaint, the police registered a case against the accused under section 318(4)(cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and are on the hunt for the couple. 

It is suspected that they have now fled abroad.

Perhaps they should have given the Person of the Match Award to Rohit Sharma. And he could have been asked to share it with Gautam Gambhir. Captains and coaches cop flak when a team does badly, but seldom get enough credit when a team plans a win with such elan.

India shook a dying game alive with an attitude that has been the hallmark of their cricket in recent times. Like modern captains, Rohit is allergic to draws. More importantly, India are keen on booking their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final before they arrive in Australia later in the year for a five-Test series. They need to win three more Tests, the number they play at home next against New Zealand.

From the time the captain came out and struck his first two deliveries for six, it was clear India were attempting to force a win. Yashasvi Jaiswal was brilliant, and every batter played unselfishly. The Test lasted fewer than 180 overs, or under two days; India needed just 52 overs.

Mere political talk

And yet, they nearly found themselves in a mess thanks to the inefficiency of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA). Green Park Kanpur is a few decades behind India’s best stadiums. Surely there has to be some minimum requirements before a centre is allotted a Test match? To say that Kanpur is a “heritage centre,” has been around as a venue for 80 years and therefore deserves a Test, as Rajiv Shukla, Vice President, Board of Control for Cricket in India, has said is merely political talk. Convenient, no more.

Two days were lost even with minimal rain because the drying facilities were primitive. Had India lost WTC points, would the BCCI — the richest cricket body in the world — have taken the blame for it? Not for the first time, the players saved the governing body’s bacon. Victory dissipates ineptitude. It would be interesting to see how the UPCA spends the huge amounts of money it receives from the BCCI. A new stadium is being built in Varanasi which means the “heritage centre” might have seen its last Test anyway.

It was here that India beat Australia for the first time in a Test in 1959-60. Off spinner Jasu Patel claimed 14 wickets then. A decade later, Gundappa Viswanath made his debut here with a century. If “heritage” is the argument, we’d still be watching Tests at the Bombay Gymkhana, where India played their first-ever home Test 90 years ago!

Positive attitude

But in the end, the official failures are likely to be forgotten, thanks to the players whose positive attitude has brought lustre to Test cricket. There will be a temptation to speak of such nonsense as the “Gamball” style of cricket, after England’s “Bazball” named after their coach. But it must be resisted. No team in history has scored as quickly as India did — at over eight runs an over — to set up the game. Their philosophy was brilliantly summed up by Jasprit Bumrah who said after the match, “Do your best, and then accept whatever happens.” India’s best was good enough.

It is one thing for the skipper to say, “Go for it,” but quite another to have ten colleagues who have both the skill and the temperament to pull it off. That is India’s strength. Jaiswal, at 22, has emerged as a special talent; his first innings 72 ensured that Rohit falling didn’t matter.

The confidence with which India bowled meant that a close finish — one that might have seen the match end, say, minutes before the close — was never on the cards. Had the game stretched for that long, it might have been one of the finest played.

Think as one, play as one

This is an Indian team that thinks as one, and plays as one. Amazingly, it has five men who have led in various formats — a recipe for disaster in the old days when the unstated job of an ex-captain (and a future captain too) was to undermine the current one! No captain has ever been a hero to his vice-captain in the past, and although there is no designated vice-captain in this team, it has made no difference.

India’s cricket has been amazing. Their attitude even more so.