Tiruchirappalli:

A medical doctor has been arrested for the sexual assault of girl students of a school, who were also inmates of a hostel that functioned from within the school premises, police said on Wednesday.

The information on sexual abuse, over a period of a few months allegedly by the doctor, came to light after an interaction with students by officials including the District Child Protection Officer, who acted on the basis of a phone call to Child Helpline, alerting authorities of the crime.

A complaint was filed with the Fort All Women Police Station and the accused, identified as 31-year-old Samson, who was working at a government healthcare facility, was arrested under the POCSO Act and remanded to judicial custody on September 3.

Asked about the antecedents of the accused, Fort AWPS said he has no past history of crimes. Since the doctor’s mother was the headmistress of the school, he misused his influence to often visit the hostel and perpetrate the crime. The school is privately administered and government-aided.

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S. Gajraj, chairman, Marketing Committee, Tamilnadu Small and Tiny Industries Association, and his family.

Annual Income: ₹25 lakh

Number of members in the family: 3

The Budget is pro-poor and pro-women, who are the most vulnerable. It rightly addresses their concerns, and has allocated money for their uplift. But the tax rebate could have been much higher for persons belonging to the lower income group. The increase in the standard deduction is a welcome move, but the slabs can be changed further for the lower income group. The Budget has left the common man with mixed feelings. On the one hand, the standard deduction has been increased for the salaried class, but on the other, long-term capital gains tax has been increased from 10% to 12.5% and short-term capital gains tax has been increased from 15% to 20%, which is unacceptable.

The middle class expected some relaxation on tax incidence that has not been addressed in this Budget. The industry sector was concerned that we may miss fiscal targets. By sticking to less than 5% (fiscal deficit target), the government has given an assurance that it will not announce populist measures, which is good. Higher capital expenditure spending is a positive feature of the Budget. Importantly, inflation needs to be controlled. With a reduced mandate for the BJP in the 2024 election, I did not have big expectations on bold reforms. In my opinion, the Budget was not bold.

D. Kumar, a fruit vendor.
| Photo Credit: M. Vedhan

Annual income: ₹1.2 lakh per annum

No. of family members: 4

D. Kumar and Santhi, a couple, find little solace in the Union Budget being presented every year, and this year is no different. 

While Mr. Kumar runs a fruit shop in Parry’s, his wife works as a domestic help. With limited funds, they find it difficult to educate their two girl children. Adding to their burden are the high rent and electricity charges.

Mr. Kumar said that daily earnings are being used to run the family, and his wife’s salary is spent exclusively on their children’s education. After the COVID-19 lockdowns, the banks disbursed loans of ₹10,000, which helped in purchasing stock, but the initiative has since been stopped, he points out. He wants the Central government to provide loans to vendors like him. Except certain social welfare benefits provided by the State government in the form of free bus travel for women and the monthly aid of ₹1,000, which his wife benefits from, the Central government has no such measures for the economically weaker sections of society, he said.

Mr. Kumar said that the Centre should also announce social welfare benefits for those with a family income of less than ₹2 lakh per annum.