It was another typical routine arrest for Alangulam range forest officials—10 were accused in poaching and hunting spotted deer— until clues began pointing to Tenkasi district DMK youth wing organiser TMS Mukesh. The officers were quickly stuck between a rock and a hard place as their phones got heated up with incessant calls. Politicians, including a former MP put immense pressure on them to spare Mukesh, the prime suspect in the case. On the other hand, his rival from Sankarankovil called the officials, demanding Mukesh be put behind bars. The last straw was a surprise entry by a religious leader, who sent an army of advocates to secure the release of one of the accused. The million-dollar question remains: Who are the politically influential people for whom the spotted deer were hunted? ?
Wedding spree
As the BJP’s Tamil Nadu core committee huddled in New Delhi last week, former state president K Annamalai was raising eyebrows, not in the capital, but back home. His excuse for skipping the meeting? A dozen weddings. What sounded like a flimsy alibi soon gained some credibility as his X page turned into a full-fledged wedding album. In just 48 hours, Annamalai clocked 12 weddings— seven on Wednesday and five on Thursday—and squeezed in a Rotary Club event for good measure. Some news channels even reported on the natural turmeric he handed out as his signature gift at these events. Perhaps the Delhi brass will pardon his absence; after all, Annamalai likely shook more hands and posed for more photos in two days than the entire core committee managed all week
A study in controversy
In the University of Madras no event can happen without controversy or litigation, the faculty has concluded. When on September 1, interviews for Career Advancement Scheme (CAS) for faculty members was scheduled, there was a protest from a section of teachers, who alleged that only the vice chancellor is eligible to take such interviews. Despite the protest, authorities went ahead with CAS and conducted the interview. However, after the interview, candidates were not given promotion letters, following which the teachers decided to stage— you guessed it—a protest in the campus on September 8
Scribes without pens!
Reporters who went to cover the convocation of the Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN) in Tiruvarur in which President Droupadi Murmu participated, were taken back in time skip to an era without phones, and even— brace yourself— pens. They were hastily stripped off their mighty weapons by police on liaison duty before entering the convocation hall. Earlier, their mobile phones were also collected by the officials of CUTN PRO. When a few annoyed reporters asked whether they were expected to take down notes on thin air, they were pacified with 10 pens and notepads for 25 odd reporters