Renowned hypnotist B.V. Pattabhiram passes away aged 75
Bhavaraju Venkata Pattabhiram born in East Godavari of Andhra Pradesh, one of the 15 children to his parents, overcame a childhood disability to become a renowned performer, academic and author of over 30 books.
Condolences poured in from different sections of the society after the sudden demise of the renowned personality development expert.
Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu in a post on X said, 'The demise of Pattabhiram, who influenced many people with his personality development teachings and writings, is a great loss. I pray to God that his soul may rest in peace. I express my deepest condolences to his family members.'
Former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy highlighted Pattabhiram's remarkable contributions, and noted that he gained widespread acclaim as a personality development expert, magician, and author. 'His books, written in Telugu, English, Kannada, and Tamil, achieved significant popularity and he conducted thousands of personality development classes, workshops, and seminars across the Telugu States, profoundly impacting the lives of countless students', he said.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy extended his deepest condolences to the bereaved family members.
Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party (JSP) Chief Pawan Kalyan said that hewas deeply saddened to learn about the passing of renowned magician, hypnotist, and personality development expert. 'I pray to the Almighty for his soul to rest in peace,' he said
Dr. Pattabhiram was not only an entertainer through his mesmerizing magic shows, but also a social reformer who conducted programmes aimed at dispelling superstitions. He made significant contributions in the fields of personality development and psychology through his writings and teachings. 'I extend my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family members,' he added.
Minister for Human Resources Development Nara Lokesh said that the death of renowned personality development expert and magician has come as a great shock. 'B.V. Pattabhiram provided invaluable services as a magician, hypnotist, and soft skills trainer. I express my deepest condolences to her family members,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Print
3 hours ago
- The Print
Does Nikhil Gupta have a son in Pakistan? Court papers add fresh twist to Pannun assassination plot
This, however, is contested by Gupta's family, who describe it as a 'deliberate error' introduced during translation by a Hindi-speaking interpreter from Pakistan, assisting the Czech authorities. They allege that Gupta was 'misquoted' and it is 'defamatory'. Gupta's statement—'I request the court inform my son in India and my son in Pakistan and the Indian Embassy in Prague about my remand in custody'—is part of Exhibit 19B from his detention hearings at the Municipal Court in Prague on 30 June and 1 July 2023, prior to his extradition. The document has now been unsealed and has been accessed by ThePrint. New Delhi: In a surprising revelation, Nikhil Gupta—the Indian citizen at the centre of the foiled plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US—had asked Czech authorities to inform his 'son in Pakistan' about his detention in Prague during his extradition proceedings to the US. 'This isn't just a mistake. It was intentional. He has been misquoted. The interpreter was a Hindi-speaking individual from Pakistan. While a typographical error is possible, in this case, it appears to have been deliberate. He was misquoted. Moreover, Gupta has never visited Pakistan in his entire life. We even submitted his full travel history to the Czech authorities, but no one listened to us,' a source close to the family told ThePrint over the phone. The said document 'minutes of the detention hearing', submitted in the United States Southern district New York court, by his government-appointed counsel Nolla B Heller, a partner at Milbank LLP, includes the Czech police's petition for remand for custody of Gupta after his detention in Prague and the subsequent hearing of the detention session in the Municipal Court. Exhibit 19B is the English translation of Exhibit 19A. Gupta is also quoted as mentioning that he had a stomach problem and didn't have medicines for it. This session on 1 July 2023 ended at 2:36 pm with a custody order and this was signed by the Presiding Judge of the Senate, Jana Miklova. The document with the reference to Pakistan, is part of the exhibit attachments filed by Heller, in support of Gupta's motion to suppress certain statements and evidence, and to dismiss Count Three of the second Superseding Indictment, which refers to the conspiracy of money laundering allegedly committed by Gupta. Gupta's family has in the past argued that his arrest was a case of 'mistaken identity'. In a habeas corpus petition filed in the Supreme Court in December 2023, Gupta's family said he is 'aggrieved by the blatant negligence and omission' by Indian Embassy officials as he had received a 'cold response' from Indian embassy officials in the Czech Republic. The family alleged that he was under duress to confess to the allegations and the defence attorney provided to him by the Czech authorities pressured him to give his consent to extradition. According to the petition, the allegation mentioned in the indictment, based on which he was detained, is against 'Nick', which was not Gupta's name and hence it was a 'case of mistaken identity'. But Nikhil Gupta is also referred to as 'Nick' in the US DOJ indictments. He was arrested in Prague on 30 June, 2023, and extradited to the US on June 14, 2024. He is currently awaiting trial in a Brooklyn prison. Both Gupta and former R&AW officer Vikash Yadav have been accused of being part of a conspiracy to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who enjoys dual citizenship of the US and Canada. Additionally, the US prosecutors have also accused Gupta of money laundering in the superseding indictment. ThePrint reached out to Gupta's counsels Heller and Matthew Laroche through email to ask about his statement mentioning a son in Pakistan, but no response was received. ThePrint has also reached out to his former Czech counsel Petr Slevicka via emails, calls and emails. Also read: Pannun murder plot: Govt panel recommends legal action against 'individual with criminal links' 'A Pakistani passport, an error' One of the newly unsealed documents also mentions a 'Pakistani passport' for Gupta. However, in subsequent documents, he is referred to as a citizen of the Republic of India, with his Delhi address mentioned in the details. In the now unsealed documents, Exhibit 1, which contains a copy of the provisional arrest warrant for Gupta issued by the United States and sent to the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic, Gupta's place of birth and citizenship are listed as 'India'. However, under passport numbers, two entries appear: One for India and another, but it is illegible. In subsequent exhibits it is noted that the Prague court questioned the US about discrepancies in the passport number provided for Gupta and the US responded saying it was an 'unintentional error'. This too was described by the family source quoted above as having been 'done deliberately'. 'We cited this while fighting his extradition in the Czech Republic. The US had no details about him except for one photo from 2017, when he had visited the US. They didn't have any concrete information. All the details were gathered after his arrest. They mentioned two passports. In fact, they even got the Indian passport number wrong. His passport, newly issued at the time, was from March 2023. The US has been contradicting its own claims since the beginning,' the family source said. 'That was the first time he traveled using that passport. So initially, they submitted incorrect passport numbers, and even the date of issuance was wrong. But whenever we raised concerns, the US claimed everything was just a mistake, and the Czech authorities accepted it all, likely due to external pressure. How can he have a Pakistani passport when he is an Indian national? And this inconsistency has been there from the very beginning. There were numerous errors, all of which were overlooked. This is also why we have repeatedly stated that it is a case of mistaken identity,' the source added. The documents state that the letter 'B' at the end of the passport number was changed to an '8', and that the US had provided a different passport issue date than the one found on Gupta during his detention. The court document mentions that the United States had informed the Czech court that it was an 'unintentional error'. However, it doesn't specify which passport this 'error' pertains to. The Czech court noted that it was aware that the US had provided a 'wrong ending and date of issue corresponding to the different personal document' of Gupta, but the error was clarified with additional information and explanation. 'The US party unambiguously confirmed by which passport the requested (Gupta) provided his identity when crossing the border in the US in 2017,' the unsealed document mentions. The court further adds that the information about his alleged Pakistani passport was provided by the US only in the 'very beginning of the process' and was not mentioned during the further course of proceedings in the extradition materials and that the US has addressed him as a citizen of India. 'The court doesn't exclude that in the past the requested (Gupta) could be a holder of Pakistani passport. Nevertheless, with regard to the above facts and unambiguous identification of the requested, the court doesn't consider this information relevant for evaluation of the identity of the requested (Gupta) or even as the information implying doubts about his identity,' the court document mentions. (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: Pressured to plead guilty in Pannun case, says Nikhil Gupta from US prison, recalls '20 days in cage'
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Teacher shortage looms as 96 schools upgraded to senior secondary level
Jaipur: School education department has upgraded 96 upper primary schools to senior secondary level without provisoning for additional number of teachers required to teach the higher grades. School education minister Madan Dilawar also said Wednesday that orders have been issued to introduce Humanities, Science and Commerce for Class 11 in 99 Hindi medium schools. "This is the first time orders have been issued to upgrade schools and add subjects at the start of the session," Dilawar said. Govt school teachers pointed out the difficulty in implementing the govt order considering that govt schools are sitting on 1.25 lakh teacher vacancies. As per an earlier order regarding the upgrade of schools, this year new admissions will be taken for class 9 and 10 and classes 11 and 12 will be started respectively in the coming sessions. Teachers said that new admissions will start but approved teaching posts will remain the same, leading to a shortage. President of Rajasthan Primary and Secondary Teachers Association, Vipin Prakash Sharma, said, "If schools are upgraded, then it should be done with advance planning regarding the posting of teachers, because new admissions will start, and without teachers, students are the ones who will suffer." Meanwhile, officials from the education directorate said that orders will be issued for the posting of teachers in these upgraded schools within a week. Director of secondary education Sitaram Jat, said that after the posting of teachers in Mahatma Gandhi Govt English medium schools, many teachers from Hindi medium schools who were posted in English medium schools have now become surplus and will be redirected to these upgraded schools.
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Indian Express
‘Against interest of citizens': BJP MLCs find faults in PCMC's draft DP, demand its scrapping
AFTER Shiv Sena MP Shrirang Barne, BJP MLCs Amit Gorkhe and Uma Khapre on Wednesday demanded scrapping of the draft Development Plan (DP) of the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. Both the MLCs, who hail from Pimpri-Chinchwad, alleged that the draft DP was against the interest of the citizens and was heavily in favour of builders. In response, the state government said it will ensure that no injustice is done to any citizen while approving the DP. The demand came during the Attention Motion moved by Gorkhe in the State Legislative Council on Wednesday. 'The draft Development Plan of the PCMC is a well-planned conspiracy against the people of Pimpri-Chinchwad. It seems like the DP has been prepared to favour of the builders' lobby,' said Gorkhe who demanded a probe against the officials and consultants who prepared the draft DP. Gorkhe said the DP should not have been prepared when an elected body is present and there is scope for discussions. 'There are several deficiencies in the preparation of the draft DP. For instance, there is a vast difference between the floodline marked in the DP and the floodline marked by the irrigation department vis-a-vis marking of reservation. It is shocking that a slaughterhouse has been marked near the temple town of Alandi. In buildings which have been permitted by PCMC, parking reservation has been made…In one km area, four police stations have been reserved. Near Dr Ambedkar statue in Pimpri, the land has been reserved for Ramabai Ambedkar but reservation has been made for police station. Green hills have been reserved for construction purpose,' he said. Gorkhe said the DP, which was prepared in 1997, has not been fully implemented yet. 'Only 50 per cent of the DP has been implemented. Yet a new DP was prepared,' he said, adding that the DP was in English, which the common man can't understand. The BJP MLC added that the draft DP has been prepared without taking the former mayors and former corporators or other people's representatives into confidence. 'What is shocking is that the green zone reservations have been converted into residential zones. This is detrimental from the environment point of view,' he said. Gorkhe also alleged that plots owned by builders have been kept out of the purview of reservations. 'The land and homes belonging to the poor and middle-class have been earmarked for reservation,' he said demanding the state government to immediately scrap the draft DP. Uma Khapre alleged that it seems the draft DP has been prepared without application of any mind. 'Over 5,000 citizens in Thergaon last week held a protest as the ring road is passing through their residential area,' she said. Khapre said in Pimpri assembly segment, reservation has been made for a burial ground near a school and residential societies. 'The PCMC has received over 30,000 objections to the draft DP, indicating that citizens are not happy with what has been prepared,' she said. Congress MLC Satej Patil however said the draft DP should not be scrapped. 'Instead, all the objections raised in the DP should be addressed and then it should be approved by the government,' he said. 'Pimpri-Chinchwad has lot of floating population. At least 20 lakh people come here for the purpose of employment. Pimpri-Chinchwad has been a well-planned city, therefore we should not scrap the draft city, keeping the floating population in mind.' Patil said provisions should also be made for power sub-stations, EV charging stations and petrol pumps in the draft DP. 'We witness huge lines at petrol pumps which spill onto the roads…We should make proper reservation for petrol pumps and CNG EV charging stations have become compulsory in civic DPs,' he said. Patil said the number of gig workers was also increasing. 'The draft DP should also allocate space for sheds and reserve parking space for gig workers,' he said. Responding to the demand from the MLCs, Minister of State Madhuri Misal said, 'It is the responsibility of the government to approve a DP. I assure the House no injustice will be done to any citizen…If required, the Chief Minister will cancel the DP.'
