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Journalism of Courage
The Director of the government-run Civil Service Academy has landed in a major embarrassment over an alleged puja held at his office last week. Chief Minister
V S Achuthanandan had earlier wanted the academy Director,Mohan Abraham,to be suspended since he was facing corruption charges. But state Education Minister and CPM central committee member M A Baby retained Abraham as the Director. Baby,who visited the academy on the same night,said that he saw articles brought for the ritual. He was told by an office staff that the religious ritual was meant to better the fortunes of the Director,who had been going through a bad patch. Later,Achuthanandan said Abraham held the puja to annihilate his enemy. However,VS did not name the enemy targeted by the controversial officer.
National Awards trigger controversy in state
The 57th National Film Awards have kicked up a controversy in the state over the movie,Kesu,which had been adjudged as the Best Childrens Film. Malayalam film director
C Harikumar,who had been a member of the national jury,said Kesu was a remake of his film,Pularivattom,a 2001 production. Harikumar,who revealed the issue after the awards were announced,said it was unbecoming for him to share the matter with other jury members. Based on Harikumars allegation,another film director,Majid Gulistan,whose film Chithrakuzhal failed to make it to the final list,threatened to move the court. Kesus director Sivan faced another embarrassment,as his son,Sanjeev,was a member of the regional jury.
Bishops Council gets Election Commission rap
At the time of elections to the local bodies,the first to get a rap from the State Election Commission on violating the code of conduct was the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC). The bishops body had recently urged the laity not to vote for atheists and Independents fielded by mainstream political parties. The KCBC target was the CPM. After a section of the laity brought the KCBC circular to its notice,the EC asked the Ernakulam District Collector to submit a report on the matter. Based on the report,the EC evaluated the directive as a violation of the code of conduct. The Commission also urged all parties concerned not to use the places of worship for political campaigning.
School dropout caught posing a doctor
A higher secondary dropout was caught red-handed from a government hospital in Kottayam while posing as a doctor at the outpatient section. Royish T Raju,22,had come to the hospital as a patient a month back. The fraudster made an acquaintance with a lady doctor and convinced her that he had quit medical education midway due to financial crisis. The doctor allowed Raju to work at the hospital OP in the afternoon. Last Monday evening,another patient who turned up at the OPD identified Raju as a cashier with a private financial firm. Following a complaint,Raju was arrested. The next day,the doctor was also dismissed from the hospital.
