"Delhi University Is Not Hogwarts": Row Over Rs 5 Lakh Magic Show

The Delhi University's move to spend Rs 5 lakh on a magic show as part of its centenary celebration has run into rough weather with a section of teachers questioning the rationale behind organising such a programme amid a "severe crunch of funds".

According to a poster of the event, famous Jadugar Samrat Shankar will present the show on May 3 at the multipurpose sports complex at the varsity. It also said that the programme is being organised by the University of Delhi's Culture Council.

The entry is strictly through registration, reads the poster.

A varsity official said the show is being organised to develop scientific temperament among the students.

Opposing the move, a section of teachers alleged that the magic show was a "sheer wastage of public money" and pointed out that various R&D grants and innovation projects have been discontinued due to paucity of funds.

"One should not forget that the Delhi University (DU) is not Hogwarts. When the official committee itself has acknowledged severe crunch of funds for library, laboratory, infrastructure development and research, spending public money on magic shows is sheer wastage," Rajesh Jha, a former Executive Council member of DU, rued.

Jha, who teaches at the varsity's Rajdhani College, noted that DU should be a centre to promote excellence in research to disseminate scientific temper.

"The R&D grant and innovation projects have been discontinued. The development fund collected from students was increased by 150 per cent. In such a scenario of fund crisis, organising a magic show is putting unnecessary pressure on the finance of the university," he emphasised.

The magic show also comes in the backdrop of alleged non-payment of pensions and salaries to pensioners and ad hoc teachers of several colleges under the varsity.

Meanwhile, the Delhi University defended the step and said the amount (of Rs 5 lakh) was not big as "singers usually charge Rs 40 lakh to 60 lakh for a single performance".

"Nobody has to pay for the magic show. But the entry is through registration. We are taking out money from the centenary celebration fund. The amount is not big. For big shows, colleges pay in lakhs. This amount is nothing," the varsity official said.

"We are organising this show to build scientific temperament among the students. Around 3,000 people are expected to attend the show. The magician is renowned across India and he is charging us a very less amount," he added.

Assistant Professor Abha Dev Habib from Miranda House suggested that the university could have organised a seminar where researchers could have imparted some kind of knowledge instead of the magic show.

"At a time when the university is facing various issues, money is being wasted on such programmes. It could have been a seminar organised by the alumna, former students and researchers that the university has produced," she argued.

An Academic Council member of the varsity said, "On one hand, they (DU) are seeking Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) loans citing fund crunch, and on the other hand, they are hosting a magic show." "This is utter nonsense in the name of centenary celebration. Complete waste of money. The money could have been spent somewhere else," Associate Professor Naveen Gaur said.

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Anti-Terror Agency NIA's Fresh Raids In 4 States Linked To PFI Module Probe

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday conducted searches at 16 locations in Bihar, Goa, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab as part of its investigation against a suspected module of the banned Islamist organisation PFI in Bihar's Phulwari Sharif, officials said.

A spokesperson for the federal anti-terror agency said "a hoard of digital devices, along with bank transaction details, were seized during the searches conducted at the premises of PFI suspects...incriminating documents related to PFI and Indian currency of the face value of Rs 1 lakh were also seized."

Locations in Siwan, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Katihar, Araria, Purnea and East Champaran districts of Bihar, South Goa district of Goa, Rampur and Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh and Ludhiana in Punjab were searched by the NIA officials.

A total of 13 persons were arrested in this case in July last year and the investigation relates to the training of Popular Front of India (PFI) cadre in Phulwari Sharif in Bihar. The NIA filed a charge sheet in this case in January against four accused, the spokesperson said.

"The accused, along with other suspects, were operating from rented premises in Phulwari Sharif for carrying out criminal activities on behalf of the PFI. They had also worked as physical education trainers for the recruited cadres of PFI." "It is also suspected that even after the ban on the Popular Front of India by the government (in September, 2022), its cadres continued to be involved in promoting the outfit's ideology and its nefarious, unlawful and anti-national activities," the NIA alleged.

In Bihar, one of the raids took place in Muzaffarpur where an NIA team, assisted by the local police, raided the house of one Mohammad Saquib in Ankhauli village of Katra block.

Saquib's father, Neyaz Ahmed, told reporters, "They had come to enquire about my son. We told them that we have had no contact with him for about a year." "They also obtained the mobile number of my son, who is aged 30 years. They tried to call his number but got no reply. They took away two of his bank passbooks that were kept at home, along with some other documents," Ahmed said.

In adjoining East Champaran district, where suspected PFI operative Irshad was arrested last month, the agency team raided the house of one Sajjad Ansari in Kunava village of Chakia sub-division.

Sajjad's brother Saddam, who ekes out a living in Dubai and was at home on vacation, told reporters, "The team came to our home around 5 am. Sajjad was not around and no incriminating material was found during the search operation. They took away my brother's ID." In Darbhanga district, raids were conducted at two places, including the house of a local dentist.

Searches at the house of Dr Shariq Raza in Urdu Bazar locality of Laheria Sarai began at 4 am and continued for several hours.

In Shankarpur village of Singhvada police station area, an NIA team raided the house of one Mohammad Mahboob, a local politician who is in his forties. Notably, the houses of two other suspected PFI operatives, Mohammad Mustaqim and Mohammad Sanaullah, had been raided by the agency in the past.

According to police sources, Mahboob was not at his home at the time of the raid and the NIA sleuths were interrogating his mother, who is said to be mentally unstable, and two brothers.

Darbhanga is also home to another suspected PFI operative, Nuruddin Jangi, a resident of Urdu Mohalla in Town police station area, who was arrested from Lucknow in July last year.

In Madhubani district, the NIA raided the house of Mohammad Shahabuddin in Barhara village under Mishraulia panchayat of Babubarhi police station.

Shahabuddin, who is in his mid-twenties, was not found at home, and the NIA team interrogated his ailing mother Shakila Khatoon, younger brother Kalimuddin, sister Shahnaz Khatun and sister-in-law Anjum Parveen.

Raids also took place at the houses of Mohammad Nazeem in Rajbara village and Mohammad Hassan in Chaanpi village.

The NIA said the investigation in the case is continuing "to expose the links between the 13 arrested accused and the 16 persons linked to the premises involved in today's searches."

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Outrage Over Suspected Rape, Murder Of Tamil Nadu Teenager

A 14-year-old tribal girl student was kidnapped and was suspected to be raped and then killed, police said on Tuesday.

As the girl who went to school on Monday morning did not return home, her worried parents began a search for her and with the help of relatives and local people, they found her lying dead in a nearby wooded area. Immediately, they alerted police.

Following preliminary probe, police said they have identified a suspect and were on the look out for him, a young man. He is suspected to have kidnapped the girl in a car, sexually assaulted and killed her.

The suspected rape and killing of the teenager has led to outrage and tense moments in Udhagamandalam.

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Zeenat Aman Reveals How She Was Cast In Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Bonus - Throwback Gold With Dev Anand

Zeenat Aman has shared another interesting anecdote on her Instagram handle, and this time she revealed how she got her role in Hare Rama Hare Krishna. In her long note, the veteran star credited Dev Anand for her role in the film and called the superstar her "starmaker". In the note, she recalled how she and her family were packing bags to leave India when Dev Anand persuaded her mother to delay their relocation plans. Along with the note, she shared a monochrome picture with Dev Anand. She started her note with these words, "When entering an industry like Bollywood, every actor hopes for a starmaker. Someone who sees the glimmer of potential and ambition that has perhaps only been visible to the self thus far. Very few are so lucky as to find this person, but I was. My starmaker was Dev saab." 

Zeenat Aman continued, "It was 1970, and I think O P Ralhan was feeling quite sorry for me. He had given me a bit part in Hulchul, it had made little impact, and I was already packing my bags to relocate to Malta with my mother and stepfather." 

Recalling the day she met Dev Anand and his Navketan team for the film Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Zeenat Aman wrote, "Dev Saab and his Navketan team were casting for Hare Rama Hare Krishna at the time. In his largesse, O P Ralhan suggested that they meet me. I vividly remember what I wore that day. A fitted yellow top, a fawn-coloured skirt and glasses with yellow frames. My mother was at the meeting (remember, I was still in my teens). So she held forth, while I spoke when spoken to, and packed tobacco into my pipe. The meeting concluded, and a few days later the landline jangled. I was asked to come for a screen test, and that is how I came to be cast as Jasbir/Janice."

"Oh, but the saga doesn't end here. My family was ready to depart the country, but Dev saab persuaded my mother and I to delay our travels. So instead we flew to Kathmandu, stayed at the famous Soaltee Hotel, and waited long days to be called to set to shoot! I was frothing at the bit by the time it was finally time for my scenes. The first of which was a bus sequence. It makes me laugh to watch it now because I know I'm practically spitting out my lines in my impatience to prove myself!" Zeenat Aman continued.

Zeenat Aman added, "In those days it took much longer to make a film from start to finish. Two or three years even. My mother and I once again prepared to leave Mumbai, and yet again Dev Saab persuaded us to stay. He promised to edit quickly and get the movie into the cinemas. Sure enough, the film released, it became a huge hit, and I became a star."

Zeenat Aman concluded with these words, "My immigration plans were now indefinitely postponed, and Dev Saab started writing another script with me in mind... (More tomorrow.)" 

Soon after Zeenat Aman shared the post, the celebs flooded the comment section. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap commented, "Love this story .. and thanks to Dev Saab for a lot of people he brought into this industry, and for you." Tanuja Chandra wrote, "Legend - Dev sab. Such a pretty picture, filled with warmth."

Take a look at the post here: 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Zeenat Aman (@thezeenataman)

Zeenat Aman rose to fame with her performance in Hare Rama Hare Krishna and won the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.

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Sudan Rivals Agree To 72 Hours Ceasefire After Hundreds Killed: US

Sudan's battling generals have agreed to a three-day ceasefire, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, after 10 days of urban combat killed hundreds, wounded thousands, and sparked a mass exodus of foreigners.

Previous bids to pause the conflict failed to take hold but Blinken announced: "Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on April 24, to last for 72 hours."

Blinken's statement came two hours before the truce was to take effect.

It came after the UN chief warned Sudan is on "the edge of the abyss" following fighting between the rivals who have waged unprecedented battles in the capital, Khartoum, as well as elsewhere in the country.

The fighting pits forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against those of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia that then-president Omar al-Bashir unleashed in Darfur, leading to war crimes charges against Bashir and others.

At least 427 people have been killed and more than 3,700 wounded, according to UN agencies.

Among the latest to die was the assistant administrative attache at Cairo's embassy in Khartoum, Egypt's foreign ministry said. The official was killed while heading from home to the embassy to follow up on evacuation procedures, it said.

More than 4,000 people have fled the country in foreign-organised evacuations that began on Saturday.

The United States and multiple European, Middle Eastern, African and Asian nations launched emergency missions to bring to safety their embassy staff and Sudan-based citizens by road, air and sea.

But millions of Sudanese are unable to flee.

They are trying to survive acute shortages of water, food, medicines and fuel as well as power and internet blackouts.

UN agencies reported some Sudanese civilians were able to escape "areas affected by fighting, including to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan".

"Morgues are full. Corpses litter the streets" said Attiya Abdallah, head of the doctors' union, which on Monday reported scores more casualties after sites in south Khartoum were "heavily shelled".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the violence in Sudan -- already one of the world's poorest countries, with a history of military coups -- "could engulf the whole region and beyond".

"We must all do everything within our power to pull Sudan back from the edge of the abyss," Guterres said.

He had also, again, called for a ceasefire.

Britain requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Sudan, which was expected to take place on Tuesday, according to a diplomat.

A UN convoy carrying 700 people completed an arduous 850 kilometre (530 mile) road trip to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast from the capital, where they left behind gunfire and explosions.

The United Nations head of mission Volker Perthes said the convoy arrived safely.

"Thirty-five hours in a not so comfortable convoy are certainly better than three hours' bombing and sitting under the shells," he said.

A UN statement separately said he and other key staff will "remain in Sudan and will continue to work towards a resolution to the current crisis".

- 'Unspeakable destruction' -

With Khartoum airport disabled after battles that left charred aircraft on the tarmac, many foreigners were airlifted out from smaller airstrips, to countries including Djibouti and Jordan.

US special forces swooped in with Chinook helicopters Sunday to rescue diplomats and their dependents, while Britain launched a similar rescue mission.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said more than 1,000 EU citizens had been taken out during a "long and intense weekend" involving airlift missions by France, Germany and others.

China said Monday it had "safely evacuated" a first group of citizens and would "try every means to protect the lives, properties and safety of 1,500 plus Chinese compatriots in Sudan".

The capital, a city of five million, has endured "more than a week of unspeakable destruction", Norway's ambassador Endre Stiansen wrote on Twitter after his evacuation.

The International Crisis Group of analysts warned the fighting threatens to "quickly plunge the country into a full-scale war embroiling countless armed groups".

One evacuee, a Lebanese man, told AFPTV upon his arrival by bus in Port Sudan that he left only "with this T-shirt and these pyjamas, all that I have with me after 17 years."

Those Sudanese who can afford to are also fleeing Khartoum on crowded buses on the more than 900-kilometre desert drive north to Egypt.

Among the 800,000 South Sudanese refugees who previously fled civil war in their own country, some are choosing to return, with women and children crossing the border, said the UN refugee agency.

- 'Anxiety and exhaustion' -

In the capital, street battles have left the sky often blackened by smoke from shelled buildings and torched shops.

"There was a rocket strike in our neighbourhood ... It is like nowhere is safe," said resident Tagreed Abdin, an architect.

Experts have long drawn links between the RSF and Russian mercenary group Wagner. Blinken earlier on Monday voiced "deep concern" that Wagner risked aggravating the war in Sudan.

The military toppled Bashir in April 2019 following mass citizen protests which raised hopes for a transition to democracy.

The two generals seized power in a 2021 coup, but later fell out, most recently over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army.

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Shopkeeper Shot At By Terrorists In Jammu And Kashmir's Anantnag

Terrorists shot at and injured a shopkeeper in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Monday evening, officials said here.

The ultras opened fire on Aqib Ahmad Dar (31) at Marhama in Anantnag district at around 9 pm, they added.

Aqid Ahmad Dar was rushed to a hospital where his condition was stated to be stable.

Police have taken cognisance of the incident.

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Blood Stains, Knife Found In Gangster Atiq Ahmed's Office In UP

Uttar Pradesh Police today found bloodstains inside the partially demolished office of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed in Prayagraj who was shot dead earlier this month.

"I have examined myself, bloodstains, the knife was found near the staircase and next to the kitchen of Atiq's office," Satyendra Prasad Tiwari, Prayagraj Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP).

"The FSL team is about to reach, and the investigation will be done. CCTV footage will also be examined," he added.

Further investigation is underway.

Moreover, on Sunday, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a two-member judicial commission to probe the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed's son Asad in an encounter in the State.

The State government on Sunday announced the formation of a two-member judicial enquiry committee to probe the encounter in Jhansi.

Asad along with his aide Ghulam in the Umesh Pal murder case was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force on April 13 in Jhansi.

The committee will be headed by Retired High Court judge Rajeev Lochan Mehrotra and retired DG Vijay Kumar Gupta.

Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by men posing as mediapersons on April 15 night while being taken for a medical examination in Prayagraj. Both the gangsters collapsed on the spot after they were shot at nearly point-blank range.

Atiq Ahmed was accused in the 2005 Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal murder case and also in the murder case of Umesh Pal which happened in February this year.

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