Indian in court over SA quota

Durban (PTI): A doctor of Indian origin in South Africa has filed an appeal in Cape Town High Court after his daughter was refused admission to a medical school because of the ?unreasonable and irrational? policy of the university based on race quotas.

The unidentified Durban-based doctor appealed that his 18-year-old daughter, Sunira, was one of the top students applying for admission at the Cape Town Medical School University.

He pointed out that the university had accepted Sunira?s friend, also of Indian origin, although her result was not as good. The friend was accepted because the university believed she was African, the doctor said. The university tried to withdraw its offer, but after the girl?s parents threatened legal action, she was reinstated.

In terms of the policy, undergraduate intakes are set at 42 per cent black African; 28 per cent white; 16 per cent coloured and 14 per cent Indian.

African and coloured students are considered to be ?educationally disadvantaged? even if they attend private schools. Indians, however, are divided on the basis of whether they had attended private or state schools and are considered not to have been disadvantaged during apartheid.

Telgi plea against solitude

Mumbai (PTI): Abdul Karim Telgi, in custody in the stamp paper scam, has urged the Maharashtra government to allow him to mix freely with fellow prisoners, relatives, advocates and co-accused as he is suffering from depression.

Telgi, in a letter to the home secretary, said he was in solitary confinement in a special egg-shaped cell, which curtails his movement and interaction with inmates.

Telgi claims that his medical reports show him suffering from HIV/AIDS, heart disease, ear problem, hypertension and diabetes.

He stated that due to constant mental pressure and solitary confinement, his ailments have aggravated. ?My blood sugar level is 450-500 as against the required 80-120,? he wrote in the letter.

Telgi?s nephews, Tabrez and Parvez, and seven relatives are also lodged at Yerwada jail in Pune, along with his lawyer Abdul Rasheed Kulkarni. He said he faced no threat from these people and hence should be lodged with them.

Pilot killed in IAF crash

Hyderabad: A trainee cadet of the Indian Air Force was killed when his aircraft crashed near the academy in Hyderabad on Friday, reports our special correspondent.

An IAF spokesperson said the cadet, Sparsh Rana, was on a solo flight on an HPT-32 aircraft around 11.30 am. The HPT-32 is the first aircraft flown by cadets who graduate to being fighter pilots. A court of inquiry has been ordered.

Contractor held

Mumbai (PTI): A contractor was arrested after two of his workers died in a fall from the fifth floor of a building in Santa Cruz on Thursday. The workers, who were standing on a semi-installed grill while trying to install a section of it, lost balance and fell. One was killed on the spot and the other succumbed on way to hospital, police said.

Polio fracas

Meerut (PTI): A pulse polio team had to return from a village after a woman threatened to kill herself if her children were given the drops. An old man accused the team of administering poison and also slapped a team member.

Jawan suicide

Srinagar (PTI): An army jawan posted near the Line of Control in Kupwara district shot himself on Friday. Havaldar Vidya Datt of the Garhwal Regiment shot himself with his service rifle in Keran sector, official sources said.

Brawl deaths

Jalandhar (PTI): A man allegedly strangulated his wife, son and daughter, before slitting their wrists, after a brawl with his spouse on Thursday in the Danish Mandan Basti area. The bodies were discovered on Friday when Sushil Kumar, the accused, rang up his brother-in-law asking him to visit them. On reaching there, he found the bodies. Kumar was unemployed and gambled, police said.

RDX haul

Jammu (PTI): Security forces seized 130 kg of RDX from two places in Doda district on Friday. The forces were tipped off by Hizb leader Liaquat Hussain Bhat, who was arrested on Thursday.

Rajasthan?s first community FM radio will go on air in Jaipur on Monday. FM Radio 7, launched by India International School Institutional Network, will initially broadcast two-hour shows.