Latest news with #BDS
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Hindustan Times
Sharda University suspends classes after BDS student's death; protests called off amid pressure
All classes at Sharda University were suspended on Monday following the death of a 21-year-old Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) student, who allegedly died by suicide in her hostel room in Greater Noida's Knowledge Park on Friday night. A condolence meeting organised in memory of the deceased BDS student at the Sharda University campus in Greater Noida on Monday. (HT Photo) The woman, a second-year BDS student from Gurugram, was found unresponsive in her room on the 12th floor of Mandela Hostel around 8.45pm. A handwritten note recovered from the scene reportedly contained serious allegations against faculty members, police said. Two professors were arrested on Sunday in connection with the case. The university subsequently suspended dean Dr M. Siddharth, assistant professor Shairy Vashist, and associate professor Mahinder Singh Chouhan—all of whom were named in the FIR—pending the outcome of the police investigation. Greater Noida's additional deputy commissioner of police, Sudhir Kumar, confirmed that an inquiry is underway. Student protests, scheduled to begin outside the dental department around 8am on Monday, were called off after students were reportedly warned by the college management not to participate. 'On Monday morning, we were informed that if we went ahead with the protest, strict action would be taken against us. We were told that it would affect our future studies,' said a BDS student who requested anonymity. Following the warning, students cancelled the protest and sent an email to the college administration assuring them that 'no dental students will be seen in any protest'. In a message to students and staff, college registrar Dr Vivek Kumar Gupta announced the suspension of all classes on Monday 'as a mark of respect and to allow the student community to cope with the recent unfortunate incident'. Dr Ajit Kumar, director of public relations at Sharda University, said that classes would resume on Tuesday and that exams scheduled to start on July 23 would continue as planned. 'The suspension of classes on Monday was a tribute to the deceased student,' he said. He added that a five-member committee had been formed to review the incident and that it was working on two standard operating procedures (SOPs)—one for students, aimed at preventing such incidents in the future, and another for professors, outlining their responsibilities, rights, and code of conduct. Dr Kumar also said that the committee found the deceased student had only 30% attendance. 'This was one of the findings of the internal investigation,' he said. However, the student's father refuted the university's claim. Speaking to HT, he said, 'Now they can build any story. When I visited the college on June 14, no issue was raised about her attendance. The only issue was a signature that my daughter had firmly denied giving.' He alleged that his daughter had been targeted for speaking out against certain professors. 'Out of 96 students, my daughter had the courage to oppose the inappropriate behaviour of some faculty members. That didn't sit well with them. They assured me they would not trouble her, but they continued to target her.' He added that she had not told him about an incident earlier that day. 'Had she informed me that they threw a manual at her, refused to sign her record, and threatened her with a backlog, I would have spoken to her—and perhaps she would still be alive.' He clarified that her attendance was low only in one subject due to a medical condition. 'She used to reach college late every Monday. All the medical documents had been submitted to the university,' he said. When asked whether the university had contacted the family after the incident, the father said, 'We have had no communication since then.' According to police, it was the student in the adjoining room who discovered the body and raised the alarm. Investigators are also looking into the 90-minute delay between the time the student was taken to the hospital and when police were informed.
Scoop
a day ago
- Politics
- Scoop
We Have Turned The Nagasaki 80th Into A Celebration Of Israeli Genocide
Israel's key enablers, the G7, plus Australia and New Zealand, have succeeded in muscling Israel back onto the invite list for the commemorations in Nagasaki on 9 August. Last year Israel was excluded, triggering a refusal by these countries to attend in 2024. Does the 'personal' invitation that Nagasaki has just sent to Israel represent a triumph of Western diplomacy or a sick joke? You know who your mates are when you're committing genocide As I wrote at the time, the boycott by the powerful white-dominated Western nations was a stunning 'Fuck you' to the Hibakusha, the last few survivors of the US's 1945 nuclear attack. More importantly it was as clear a statement of collective commitment to Israel's war on Palestine as you could possibly wish for. You really find out who your true mates are when you're committing genocide. At the time, Shigemitsu Tanaka, the 83-year-old head of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council, said he supported the move to keep the Israelis away from the commemorations, saying it was inappropriate to invite representatives from countries waging armed conflicts in defiance of calls from the international community. Israel's invitation is a triumph of Western pressure A year later, the City buckled under pressure and has personally invited the Israelis. 'After Israel was excluded last year over the Gaza war, Nagasaki's mayor is avoiding renewed diplomatic tensions – especially following a clear message from the US,' Israel's most popular news site, Ynet reported this month. It is a triumph for Netanyahu and his government, cause for celebration in Tel Aviv, but diminishes the nobility of an event that was created with the explicit intention to say Never Again and to remind the world of the indefensible criminality of attacks on defenceless civilian populations. Nagasaki and the Boycott Israel campaign Israel goes to incredible lengths to break efforts to impose BDS (Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions) and so Nagasaki had to be brought to heel. July 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of the founding of BDS, a non-violent campaign designed to hold Israel accountable for its crimes and apply real-world pressure for the state to change course. BDS is potentially a game-changer which is why Israeli government ministers routinely make threats of physical violence against leading BDS activists. Israel Katz, currently the Israeli Defence Minister is on record as calling for Israel to engage in 'targeted civil eliminations' of BDS leaders with the help of Israeli intelligence. 70,000 tons of bombs on Gaza – and Israel is invited to a peace ceremony Think for a moment what the presence of Israel at this year's event represents as an astonishing piece of semiology. A state that is actively committing the crime of crimes, genocide, sitting alongside the Hibakusha. They won't be the only war criminals in attendance. American, German, and British bombs have levelled the tiny enclave of Gaza. More of their bombs – 70,000 tons and climbing – have been used to massacre Palestinians in Gaza than were used in the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (36,000 tons), the fire bombings of Tokyo (1,665 tons) and Dresden (3,900 tons), and the London Blitz (19,000 tons) combined. And it is happening on our watch. Another piece of astonishing optics: less than two months ago the US and Israel bombed Iran's nuclear facilities, doing so with no UN mandate but only their position as powerful, lawless states. Their actions dramatically raise the prospect of Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and others deciding they need nuclear weapons as deterrence. What look will the US and Israeli ambassadors cast over their faces as the Mayor of Nagasaki delivers the message of "Nagasaki's wish for the establishment of lasting world peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons?' Is the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize the next to be trashed? Talking of tone deaf and morally repellent, Donald Trump has been openly lobbying to receive the Nobel Peace Prize despite having killed thousands of people and bombed multiple countries this year. Interestingly, the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize winner was Nihon Hidankyo (Japan's Atomic Bomb Survivors Organization). In his acceptance speech last year, Terumi Tanaka, one of the Co-Chairpersons of Nihon Hidankyo, said that the organisation was created in 1956 'to demand the immediate abolition of nuclear weapons, as extremely inhumane weapons of mass killing, which must not be allowed to coexist with humanity.' New Zealand is a genocide enabler. What happened to our soft power? As a New Zealander I am deeply ashamed of my country for having refused to attend last year's ceremony and for its criminal complicity with Israel today. New Zealand's tragic trajectory from humanitarian champions and nuclear-free pioneers to racist genocide enablers is captured in all its horror in this month's Nagasaki commemorations. New Zealand, the country that went to the brink of civil war in 1981 to stop sporting contact with Apartheid South Africa is now a fully-paid up member of Apartheid Israel's war on Palestine. Everywhere our government is tearing down the pillars built by decades of struggle in New Zealand. The anti-nuclear policy, the anti-apartheid victories, the non-aligned foreign policies, the sacred principles of partnership between indigenous Maori and the Pakeha (those who settled from Europe and elsewhere) are all being shredded. We refuse to recognize Palestine, we refuse to join South Africa's case against Israel at the ICJ, we refuse to join the Hague Group which is mobilising countries to make those responsible for the genocide accountable and to shoulder state-level responsibility for forcing the end to it. But we mobilise to get Israel invited to the Nagasaki peace events. From Auschwitz to Nagasaki to Gaza: whatever happened to Never Again? Whatever happened to our decency? The Australian journalist Caitlin Johnstone wrote this month 'If you're still supporting Israel in the year 2025, there's something seriously wrong with you as a person.' That goes triple for governments. Eugene Doyle
The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Four die in separate accidents across Kannur district
In a series of separate incidents across Kannur, four people lost their lives over the past two days. In Pallikunnu, 19-year-old Asthik Raghav, a native of Sullia, Karnataka, drowned while swimming in a pond near Thayyil on Sunday afternoon (July 20). A first-year BDS student, he had gone to swim with friends. His body was recovered and shifted to the district hospital for postmortem before being taken to his hometown by relatives. In another drowning incident in the same area, Sudhakaran, 72, a native of Kisan Road near Marakkulam Pannenapara, drowned while bathing in the Kunnavu pond around 7 a.m. A search operation led by Senior Fire and Rescue Officer Afzal from Kannur recovered his body. Though rushed to the hospital, he was declared dead on arrival. The Town police conducted the inquest. In Muzhappilangad, M. Sarang, 26, succumbed to injuries following a motorbike accident on the Muzhappilangad bypass road late Saturday night (July 19). He was on his way to his aunt's house in Dharmadam. He died at the hospital. Meanwhile, in Thana, 18-year-old Devanandi, son of Sreeju and a resident of Kannothumchal, died after being run over by a private bus. The accident occurred near the Thana water tank on Sunday afternoon. Devanandi, who had recently completed his Plus Two, had gone out to buy household items when his scooter was hit from behind by a bus operating on the Kannur–Koothuparamba route. Though he was rushed to a private hospital, his life could not be saved. The police have taken the bus into custody.
News18
2 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Two institutes to be converted into varsities, says Tripura CM
Agartala, Jul 21 (PTI) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Monday said the government is contemplating converting Women's College, Agartala and Tripura Institute of Technology (TIT) into two universities to expand higher education scope in the northeastern state. Founded in 1965 at the heart of the city, the college is the first institute for women, and offers two streams- Science and Arts. The erstwhile Tripura Polytechnic Institute (TPI) was elevated to Tripura Institute of Technology (TIT) a few years back. While speaking at a government programme, the chief minister said, 'The government is contemplating converting Women's College and Tripura Institute of Technology (TIT) into full-fledged universities to expand the scope for higher education in the state." Saha said the higher education department has already begun to implement the government's plan to turn the two institutes into separate universities. Asserting that the northeastern state is gradually becoming an educational hub, the chief minister said the state used to get only a few MBBS seats earlier, but now the number has gone up to 400. At present, the state has one government medical college, one society-managed medical facility and a privately run institute. 'Now, Tripura Government Dental College has 63 BDS seats. The council of ministers has approved proposals for new universities in the state," he said, without elaborating how many proposals were given the green signal. Currently, the northeastern state has Tripura University, a central varsity, one state government-run MBB University, apart from some private universities. The state also has National Law University (NLU), National Forensic Science University (NFSU), Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and National Institute of Technology (NIT). PTI PS BDC (This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - PTI) view comments First Published: July 21, 2025, 16:00 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Economic Times
2 days ago
- Economic Times
Jyoti Jhangra Suicide: Timeline reveals how signature dispute and project file pressure could have led to tragic end at Sharda University
The tragic death by suicide of Jyoti Jhangra, a second-year BDS student at Sharda University, on July 18 has triggered an intensive investigation, with her project files central to understanding the circumstances. The 21-year-old's final week was marked by accusations of forging a professor's signature, a controversy that deeply affected her, according to Jyoti appeared to be recovering, even sporting a new haircut and attending all her classes. However, just hours before she was found dead in her hostel room, a visit to the staff room allegedly triggered a severe meltdown. Based on accounts from her close friends and batchmates, a clearer timeline of the events leading to her demise has 10The ordeal began on July 10 when Jyoti attempted to submit a denture sample for her dental material course, a submission requiring a professor's signature. An assistant professor, upon reviewing the file, accused Jyoti of forging a previous signature and refused to sign her current submission. "Jyoti was in tears after this," recounted a close friend. "The professor scolded Jyoti and asked her not to show her face in class again. Jyoti said she had not forged any sign. I told her to let it go but she was in distress."July 14The signature controversy prompted the university to summon Jyoti's father, Ramesh, to campus on July 14. While the university has not provided an official statement, Ramesh's account to the police, corroborated by Jyoti's friends, suggests an amicable discussion with the Head of the Department (HOD). They were reportedly "assured by the HOD that there will be no issues henceforth with her samples and obtaining signatures," a version echoed by Ramesh. This seemingly reassured both Jyoti and her father, who had also raised concerns about alleged harassment by teachers. However, Jyoti's friend revealed that despite the HOD's assurances, "Jyoti told me though the HOD spoke nicely to her father, the professors were still hostile to her. She was, however, coping and looked better after that day." This meeting led to the arrest of two faculty members, whom Jyoti specifically accused of mental harassment in her suicide note. Both are now in judicial 16The challenges continued on July 16. According to Ramesh's police complaint, an assistant professor in a preclinical prosthodontics (PCP) class allegedly reprimanded Jyoti, telling her she would be punished for "complaining too much." The nature of these complaints and their connection to Ramesh's meeting with the HOD remain 18On July 18, the day of her death, Jyoti seemed "alright" just 15 minutes before her 11 AM class, according to her close friend. With exams approaching, she used suspended class time to complete her lab samples. This led her to the staff room to seek a signature from a senior faculty was here that the accusations of July 10 allegedly resurfaced. "Jyoti was in anguish when she returned from the staff room. She told me the professor had told her, 'tum toh apna sign khud hi kar leti ho' (you sign your own projects) and made fun of her," shared her friend. She was told to rework her dental sample. Despite this, Jyoti attempted to get her PCP samples signed by another professor, only to face similar accusations of forging signatures. "She went back crying to the lab to redo her samples. Around 4pm, she said that she was going to her room," her friend was last seen by a fellow hosteller at Mandela between 5:30 PM and 7:00 PM, where she "cried a lot." She advised her friend "to take both theory and practical seriously" before returning to her room. Around 9 PM, Jyoti was found dead. Unanswered questions and ongoing investigations The FIR, based on Ramesh's complaint, names the Dean of the School of Dental Studies, the HOD, and two additional faculty members, alongside the two arrested professors. Sharda University has initiated its own committee-led probe. Key questions remain unanswered. Why were Jyoti's project signatures repeatedly questioned? Was she indeed being targeted, or was there a previous instance of a "dodgy sign" as implied by the faculty? Her classmates deny any knowledge of such an instance, and the university has yet to comment.A faculty member, speaking generally, stated that "She was doing BDS, and to get a license, an audit takes place by a govt official. If her practicals were not up to the mark and the professors asked her to redo it, she should have taken things positively as it was for her betterment. If an audit finds practicals not up to the mark, even a college's license can be suspended and the affiliation can go for a toss." However, a classmate countered this, stating Jyoti's scores were not poor, having scored "368 out of 600 in the first year." The classmate added, "It is necessary to submit the project file before appearing in the written exam. Jyoti was under stress because she did not have a sign."The investigations by both the police and the university are expected to shed light on these critical uncertainties surrounding Jyoti Jhangra's tragic death.[With TOI inputs] Disclaimer: If you or someone you know is having thoughts of self-harm, please seek help immediately. You can find resources in India
