1. Speaker Disallows Debate on Governor; DMK, Allies Walk Out
The bitter war of words between governor Banwarilal Purohit and DMK working president MK Stalin over the former’s field visits to the districts and interactions with collectors echoed in the state assembly on Monday, with speaker P Dhanapal refusing to allow the opposition leader to raise the issue in the House, citing assembly rules. DMK, its allies, Congress and IUML walked out in protest.
Stalin was strident in his criticism against governor’s “interaction” in districts. “Seven-year term or life imprisonment, the DMK is ready to make any sacrifice to fight for state’s autonomy,” the DMK leader said, a day after the governor’s office threatened imprisonment of up to seven years as the opposition party sought to lay siege to Raj Bhavan.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. Chidambaram’s Kin Appear Before Court
Former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram's wife Nalini, son Karti Chidambaram and daughter-in-law Srinidhi on Monday appeared before the chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM) court at Egmore, in cases booked against them by the Income Tax Department under the Black Money Act for allegedly not disclosing their foreign assets.
On 11 May, the Income Tax Department filed complaints/chargesheets against them before the CMM court, which is the designated special court for cases under Section 50 of the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. With Head Smashed, Cop Found Dead Near School
A 47-year-old police head constable was found murdered, his head smashed in, near a school building at Kandigai Pudur in Sunguvarchathiram on Monday. The reason behind the killing is yet to be ascertained. The body of Mohanraj, attached to the Sunguvarchathiram police station, was found by villagers near the school building on Monday morning, and the police were alerted.
A team from the Sunguvarchathiram police station rushed to the place and sent it to the government hospital in Kancheepuram for autopsy. The police suspect Mohanraj may have been murdered because he warned miscreants not to consume liquor in the secluded spot.
(Source: The Times of India)
4. Garbage Piles up as Staff Crunch Hits Sanitation Operations in Chennai's Manali Zone
While Zone-II of Greater Chennai Corporation, Manali, claims to have achieved 100 percent solid waste segregation at source, the situation at the ground level tells a different story. Lack of proper and adequate equipment to segregate garbage has resulted in piling up of waste for the last one week. The worst hit is ward 18.
On paper, each of the seven wards in Manali (from 15 to 21) has close to 50 workers to collect and segregate waste. However, the workers say, on the ground, only half their number are actually deployed. While it takes around five or more workers to manually segregate waste at the collection point in ward 18, only one or two workers are assigned with this task every day.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
5. 55-Year-Old Man Held in Tamil Nadu for Misbehaving with Minor Girl
A 55-year-old man has been arrested for misbehaving with a minor girl when she was playing near her house. Police said A Shajahan had spotted the seven-year-old playing near her house on Saturday evening. “The man called the girl into his house promising to give her chocolates. Believing this, the girl went to his house where he misbehaved with her. The victim who came home crying complained of stomach pain and narrated the entire incident,” said the police officer.
The parents of the victim lodged a complaint and Shajahan was arrested. Police also said that during investigation it was found the man had previously misbehaved with six other girls before but no complaint had been lodged.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
6. CB-CID to Take Nirmala Devi to Chennai for Voice Test
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday allowed the CB-CID to take Assistant Professor Nirmala Devi to Chennai for a voice test. The test was essential to scientifically prove that the voice heard in a leaked audio was indeed that of Nirmala Devi.
In the audio, she is heard trying to lure a group of college girls into fulfilling certain favours for top officials of Madurai Kamaraj University for academic and financial gains. Following the audio leak, she was suspended from the college and arrested on the charges of attempting to traffic college girls. She has been in judicial custody since her arrest on 16 April.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. Plea Challenges CRZ Clearance to Jaya Memorial
The Madras High Court on Monday granted two weeks to the Centre as well as the State government to file their counter-affidavits to a public interest litigation petition challenging the clearance granted by the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority for the construction of a memorial for former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on the Marina beach.
The estimated project cost was Rs 50.80 crore and the District Coastal Zone Management Authority had recommended grant of CRZ clearance for the project on the condition that there should not be any ground water extraction in the zone and proper arrangements should be made for the disposal of solid wastes and sewage generated in the project area.
(Source: The Hindu)
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