Crime Samuel Jaisunder is accused of sending the complainant sexually inappropriate messages between 2011 and 2015 when she was still in school. TNM Staff The Coimbatore police in Tamil Nadu have arrested Samuel Jaisunder, a preacher from Scripture Union, an organisation that promotes the Bible, based on a complaint from a college student in the district. The complainant came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against the preacher after coming to know of a series of screenshots posted

Crime The Cyber Crime Branch booked a case against retired Justice Karnan after 10 women lawyers wrote to the Chief Justice of India against him. IANS Retired High Court Justice CS Karnan on Thursday stated that he was yet to be served a copy of the FIR filed against him by the Cyber Crime Wing of the Chennai police. He further questioned the validity of the case, as the complaint against him was filed by a non-aggrieved person. The Cyber Crime Branch booked a case against retired Justice Karnan

Education Executive directions under Article 162 of the Constitution of India have been issued by the Tamil Nadu government. Anjana Shekar Megha Kaveri File Image | PTI In order to facilitate admissions into medical colleges for the current academic year 2020-2021, the Tamil Nadu government on Thursday issued a government order allowing 7.5% horizontal reservation for government school students who have cleared NEET for admissions into medical courses. While the Bill was passed in the Assembly b

Chennai rains 2020 Meanwhile, DMK president MK Stalin has alleged that Chennai is unable to bear even one days rain due to the failure of AIADMK government. TNM Staff The continuous rains across Chennai that lasted until late-morning on Thursday left the city reeling with inundated streets, water entering houses and flooded main roads. But as rains abated during the day the water levels began receding in most parts of the city. Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner G Prakash, in an interview

Income Tax The raids were based on charges that fees collected from students were not fully accounted for. TNM Staff Image for Representation/PTI The Income Tax department on October 28 held searched at 22 locations of a Tamil Nadu-based group running multiple educational institutions, leading to detection of alleged tax evasion worth about Rs 150 crore. With the search currently in progress, cash amounting to Rs 5 crore has been siezed. According to reports, the institutions come under Nandha E

Education The university, coming up in Kalavakkam, will start admitting students from April 2021. TNM Staff The Shiv Nadar Foundation on Thursday announced the launch of the Shiv Nadar University in Chennai. The university will come up in Kalavakkam, and will start admitting students from April 2021. As per a press statement, the university will have four specialised courses in the fields of engineering and commerce. R Srinivasan (Chairman, SSN Institutions) will be the Chancellor of the institu

Infrastructure The project cost would escalate to Rs 5,000 crore from Rs 3,100 crore as planned earlier. PTI File photo | PTI In place of the ambitious four-lane elevated expressway between the Chennai Port Trust and Maduravoyal spanning 20.5 kms that was being planned earlier, the Centre has now proposed a double-decker flyover at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari made the announcement on Wednesday and added that it would reduce traffic congestion in the city to a great ext

Politics He however added that the concerns about his health, mentioned in the message are true. Anjana Shekar On Wednesday, a viral message purportedly written by actor Rajinikanth, that said he would not be entering politics after all, owing to his health condition, began doing the rounds. This led to heated discussion among fans and his critics. Following the discussion, the actor himself has addressed the viral message and has clarified that it is not true. In a statement put out on his offi

Rains Several parts of the city were inundated due to heavy rains, signalling the arrival of the northeast monsoon. TNM Staff Chennai witnessed heavy thunder storms and rains in the early hours of Thursday, with the northeast monsoon arriving in the region. The city is expected to receive intermittent rainfall for the next 24 hours, according to weather forecasts. This is the largest amount of single-day rainfall that Chennai has received in October since 2014. On October 18, 2014, Chennai recor

Chennai Rains 2020 The Met department also said that there is a cyclonic circulation lies over north Tamil Nadu, Coastal Andhra Pradesh & neighbourhood in lower & mid-tropospheric levels. TNM Staff As Chennai and its suburbs woke up to heavy rains on Thursday morning owing to the northeast monsoon,the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast cloudy skies and intermittent rains over the next 24 hours. The Met Department also stated that Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur, Chennai, Ranipet, Villupura

Chennai rains 2020 Motorists were put to suffer due to the waterlogging as a result of high-intensity rain that continued to lash overnight in Chennai. Bharathi SP Several parts of Chennai have reported waterlogging after the city recorded an average rainfall of 97.27 mm on Thursday. This, according to weather blogger Pradeep John, is the highest rainfall recorded since November 2017. As a result, many arterial roads of the city including Wall Tax Road, Chennai Central and Anna Salai witnessed p

Investment The unit will be set up in Krishnagiri district near Hosur and will be spread across 500 acres. IANS Image for representation The Tata Group has decided to set up an electronics component manufacturing unit in Tamil Nadu, at an outlay of about Rs 5,000 crore, a state government official said. The official, who did not want to be identified, told IANS that the proposed unit will be making electronics components for consumer durables. The Hindu Business Line reported on Wednesday that T

Chennai rains 2020 Weather blogger Pradeep John said that this is the highest amount of rainfall witnessed by the city in 24 hours since November 2017. TNM Staff Heavy rainfall pounded many parts of Chennai starting steadily from Wednesday night till Thursday. The heavy rains, which have crossed 100 mm in parts of the city, are predicted to continue steadily for the next three hours till 9 am. Mylapore recorded 178 mm and Redhills recorded 128 mm and the recorded rainfall is the highest in 24 ho

Holiday According to the list, January and April have the highest number of holidays, while February, March and June do not have any. TNM Staff Image for representation/flickr The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday announced the list of public holidays for government offices and commercial banks for 2021. The holidays announced are based on the Negotiable Instruments Act (1881), and do not include regular Sundays. In the list of 23 holidays, 17 fall on weekdays while six fall on Saturdays and Su

Interview In an interview to TNM, Thirumavalavan explains why the Manusmriti is still relevant in today's society, his stance on Khushboo's 'pre-marital sex' remarks and more. Priyanka Thirumurthy The assembly polls in Tamil Nadu are months away, but political parties in the state have already drawn battlelines, bringing their ideologies to the centre of this fight. The latest controversy to erupt has been over remarks made by Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) chief Thol T

Controversy The ABVP leader had denied that it was him caught on camera, while the complainant said that they were under pressure to withdraw complaint. Megha Kaveri The Union Government has announced the President and other Board members for the upcoming All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) near Madurai. While Dr VM Katoch, the President of JIPMER, Puducherry will be the President of the AIIMS, what has raised eyebrows is the appointment of Dr Shanmugam Subbiah, Professor and Head (D

Coronavirus Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu has reported less than 3,000 fresh infections for a fourth successive day. TNM Staff Image for Representation/PTI Over the past few weeks, COVID-19 cases have continued to decline in Tamil Nadu and on October 27, its capital city Chennai reported less than 700 new cases of the coronavirus. Chennais daily count came down to 695, for the first time in months. Notably, the city had crossed the 700 mark in its daily reporting of new cases in the month of May this ye

Court The action comes a few days after ten women lawyers from the Madras High Court wrote a letter to the CJI. TNM Staff About three days after ten lawyers of the Madras High Court wrote to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A Bobde against retired High Court judge CS Karnan, the Cyber Crime Wing of Chennai police registered a case against him. The news was confirmed by his lawyer Peter Ramesh Kumar. This comes in relation to a video, widely circulated on WhatsApp, in which the retired jud

Rains Chennai to see cloudy skies, mild showers as Northeast monsoon to set in on Wednesday. TNM Staff The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai has forecast dry weather with spells of rainfall in parts of the state due to the atmospheric circulation for the next 24 hours starting at 12.30 pm on October 27. The northeast monsoon is expected to set in over Tamil Nadu and Puducherry from Wednesday. According to the bulletin released from the Regional Meteorological Centre, the coastal re

Fisheries On Monday evening, the Sri Lankan navy allegedly destroyed the fishing nets in around 60 boats for allegedly venturing into the Sri Lankan waters. Megha Kaveri The Fishermen Association in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu has demanded strict action against the Sri Lankan Navy officials who attacked them on Monday evening. They have also requested the Union Government and the state government to offer compensation for the fisherman who was injured due to the attack. On Monday evening, the Sri Lan

Language While the two languages have similar-sounding words, there has not been any linguistic study establishing the same. Anjana Shekar L: Thanjavur bommai from Tamil Nadu | R: Korean Hanji (paper) doll If you were to go to South Korea and call out to your Amma (mother) or Appa (father), chances of a Korean national turning back in an answer are very high. Turns out, the exact same words are used in addressing parents in the Korean language too. And the similarities dont stop there. Cultural

Politics According to reports, the protest was unexpected and took place near Kelambakkam, where actor and BJP leader Khushboo was detained on Tuesday morning. TNM Staff (Screenshot from Youtube/Puthiya Thalaimurai) The Tamil Nadu police, on Tuesday, lathi-charged members of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), who attempted to protest in front of a private location where actor and BJP leader Khushboo was detained. VCK members were forced to disperse by the police. Khushboo had been detaine

Language While two doctors initiated the process to establish the Tamil Chair at Harvard, it is the first time the whole Tamil community has come forward to do so in case of the Toronto Tamil Chair. Anjana Shekar Toronto Tamil Chair The institution of an exclusive Tamil chair at Harvard University in the United States of America, proposed in 2017, was the first time research into Tamil language and culture gained an international footing. A crowdfunding for six million US dollars came to fruitio

Coronavirus The crowds seen on Ranganathan Street made physical distancing an impossible feat. Anjana Shekar Deepavali is around the corner and in Chennais T Nagar, one of the busiest shopping centres in the city, it seems as if the pandemic is on pause for the crowds there. On Sunday evening, October 25, people thronged Ranganathan Street in T Nagar, a popular destination during the shopping season for those in and around the city. During the weekend day, traffic cops were stationed at busy jun

Medical Negligence The sterilisation procedure happened in 2001, but the woman realised that the surgery was botched up in 2017 when she got pregnant again. TNM Staff Image for representation The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai has ordered the Government Peripheral Hospital, Tondiarpet to pay Rs 1.6 lakh to a woman for medical negligence. The hospital had, in 2001, botched up a sterilisation procedure on the woman who later had to suffer health complications because of that.

Accident The Chennai city traffic police announced traffic diversions on the EVR Salai around Chennai Central station on Monday to restore the road. TNM Staff In the wee hours of Monday, a portion of the arterial stretch of road just in front of Puratchi thalaivar Dr MG Ramachandran Central Railway station caved in, causing traffic snarls in the area. The cave-in happened at the spot where Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL)s construction work is going on. According to reports, officials from the

Controversy The man issued the apology via a video message published on Sri Lankan news platform IBC Tamil. His identity is protected in the video. TNM Staff L: Screenshot/IBC Tamil About a week since a Twitter user wasbooked by the Chennai policefor issuing rape threats to actor Vijay Sethupathis minor daughter on the social media platform, the man, identified to be a Tamil-origin Sri Lankan national, has now issued an apology on video with his identity protected. In a video message published o

Land acquisition Hindu Munnani alleges that Rs 1.98 crore has been fixed as the price for 35 acres owned by the Shiva temple in Kallakurichi district . PTI Wiki Commons The Hindu Munnani on Monday alleged that the Tamil Nadu government was attempting to acquire 35 acres of land belonging to a temple to build a collectorate complex for the newly carved out Kallakurichi district. Opposing the move, the right wing group said the government was deliberately valuing the property at a much lower rate

Court The union government had contended that it would be practically impossible to implement this quota in the current academic year. PTI Wiki Commons/Legaleagle86 (CC BYSA 3.0) The Supreme Court Monday rejected the interim prayer of Tamil Nadu and the AIADMK party for grant of 50 per cent quota in medical seats surrendered by the state in All India Quota (AIQ) for undergraduate, post graduate and dental courses for the 2020-21 academic year. Reacting to the verdict, DMK Chief MK Stalin said th

Social media Trichy Conservator of Museum Sivakumar told reporters that the egg-shaped rocks are fossils of marine animals embedded inside layers of ammonite deposits. TNM Staff Much to the disappointment of netizens, experts have confirmed that the egg-shaped rocks, which were discovered in Tamil Nadu's Perambalur district, are not dinosaur eggs but fossils of marine animals. Trichy Conservator of Museum Sivakumar told reporters that the egg-shaped rocks are fossils of marine animals that are e

Controversy The comment comes after VCK Chief and Lok Sabha MP Thol Thirumavalavan and BJPs Khushboo clashed over the formers speech at a webinar. PTI Chiming in on the Manusmriti controversy involving Lok Sabha MP Thol Thirumavalavan and BJP leader Khushboo, Tamil Nadu BJPs President L Murugan said that it is the Constitution and not the Manusmriti that governs the nation, and the era of deceiving people by trying to rake up controversy over such a on-issue is over. His remarks came a day afte

Coronavirus The total number of active cases in Tamil Nadu as of Sunday is 30606. PTI Image for representation/PTI In what might be a small relief amid the festival season, Tamil Nadu continued to witness a declining trend in the number of daily coronavirus infections, reporting 2,869 fresh cases of COVID-19 and 31 fatalities on Sunday. The number of persons undergoing treatment for the disease across the state stood at 30606 and the total number of persons who died due to COVID-19 is 10924. As

TNEA 2020 The provisional allotment list of courses of the fourth round of counselling will be published on October 28. TNM Staff Image for representation/PTI As the third round of Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA 2020) counselling came to an end, almost 75% of the seats in the states colleges remained vacant. Only over 42,000 seats out of the 1.61 lakh engineering seats in Tamil Nadu were taken till the end of the third round of counselling. According to reports, 42,421 seats out of the

Coronavirus The 72-year-old is on ECMO and on a ventilator, stated a health bulletin from the Chennai hospital. Priyanka Thirumurthy Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister R Doraikannu is in a critical condition after having contracted COVID-19. The minister has been admitted to the Kauvery hospital in Chennai after having experienced severe breathlessness on October 13. According to a medical bulletin from the private hospital issued on Sunday, the 72-year-old minister tested positive for COVID-19 aft

Crime Anuja* and her father alleged that the police at the Tiruvottiyur station sided with the accused persons and delayed registering an FIR. Priyanka Thirumurthy (Image for representation) The Chennai police has filed a first information report (FIR) naming the mother of a 16-year-old girl from Tiruvottiyur for allegedly luring her into sex work. Following a report by TNM highlighting the undue delay in the registration of the case, the police have booked both the mother and an alleged accompl

Controversy On Vijay Sethupathi's exit, Shehan Karunatilaka wrote, He has been dismissed from the crease not by the umpires finger, but by the boos of the crowd. TNM Staff Wikimedia Common/Deshan Tennekoon In a blog post that has now been published in the Times of India, Shehan Karunatilaka, a writer from Sri Lanka who is associated with the Muthiah Muralidaran biopic 800, expressed his disappointment over all that has transpired over the past two weeks with respect to the film. He shares a

Coronavirus In May 2020, the government had ordered all its offices to function with 50% strength for six days a week in view of the coronavirus pandemic. TNM Staff The government offices in Tamil Nadu are set to revert to a five-day workweek pattern with effect from January 1, 2021, the state government said on Saturday. A government order, dated May 15, 2020, had directed all its offices to function with 50% strength for six days a week in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Subsequently, they w

Jayalalithaa death The Commission has examined 154 witnesses till date, including late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaas close aide, VK Sasikala. TNM Staff The Tamil Nadu government extended the tenure of Arumughaswamy Commission, which is probing the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, by three months for the ninth consecutive time on Saturday. Jayalalithaa had passed away in Apollo Hospital on December 5, 2016. The government extended the tenure as the deadline given to the Commission

Controversy He alleged that communal forces were creating a controversy regarding his speech to break VCKs alliance with DMK. Bharathi SP The Viduthalai Siruthaigal Katchi (VCK) cadre across Tamil Nadu staged a protest urging state and union governments to ban Manusmriti, the ancient book of laws, which is considered to be a code of conduct for Hindu society. VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan said that the Manusmriti demeans women, Dalits, underprivileged and indigenous people. The VCK leader Thiru

Business Traders had hoped that things would begin to look up during the festive season, but thats not the case. Aruna Natarajan Pondy Bazaar. Image courtesy: Aruna Natarajan Thescenes inside the Kumaran Silks store at T Nagarthat went viral on Tuesday, leading GCC to seal the shop on grounds of violation of COVID protocol, would lead most to believe that shopping fervour in the run up to the festive season has defied pandemic blues. And that there has finally been a revival of cheer among retai

Space The Technology Demonstration Satellite, designed by three college students, will be up in the sub-orbital space if all goes according to plans. Megha Kaveri If things go as planned, a tiny, 64-gram satellite made in Tamil Nadus Karur will be flown to sub-orbital space by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in June 2021. The youngsters behind this scientific achievement -- M Adnaan (18), M Kesavan (18) and V Arun (19) -- are already back at their drawing tables, working on

Politics The TN Assembly on September 15 had passed a bill providing quota in MBBS admissions for government school students who clear NEET. TNM Staff Facebook/DMK Hundreds of DMK cadres gathered in front of Raj Bhavan in Chennai on Saturday, to urge Banwarilal Purohit, the Tamil Nadu Governor, to give his assent to the bill providing 7.5% reservation for government school students in MBBS admissions based on the results of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). The protest was led b

Coronavirus TVK Nagar, Ambattur, Valasaravakkam and Perungundi do not have any containment zones. TNM Staff As Chennai continues to record less than 1000 daily cases, the number of containment zones in the city has come down to 18. According to the recent data released by Chennai Corporation, the number of barricaded streets or containment zones has decreased. The highest containment zones are in Manali and Royapuram with five barricaded streets each; Tondiarpet and Teynampet have two containmen

Controversy The police have registered a case based on a complaint by BJP legal cell state secretary Ashwathaman. TNM Staff The Chennai city police have registered a case against VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan for promoting enmity against different religious groups over his comment on Manusmriti on Friday. The police have registered a case based on an online complaint by BJP legal cell state secretary Ashwathaman on Friday. The controversy between the BJP and VCK started after a video clip from

Controversy BJP leader Khushboo Sundar hit out at Thirumavalavan at a press meet and asked him to be careful of what he speaks since he is a political leader. TNM Staff The Tamil Nadu BJP has locked horns with Lok Sabha MP and the Chief of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) Thirumavalavan over his remarks on the Manusmriti and its views on women and sanatana dharma. Leading the attack was one of BJPs newest additions to the state unit, Kushboo Sundar. However, unperturbed by the BJPs attac

Accident The incident happened around 3 pm on Friday. Megha Kaveri Five women were killed and three others were critically injured after an explosion at a firecracker factory in Madurai district. The incident happened at around 3 pm on Friday. According to the police, the factory is located at the village limits of Sengulam, around 65 kms from Madurai city. The explosion is said to have happened due to abrasion of the chemicals in the factory. The factory is owned by one Alagarsamy and he has th

Caste violence The team, along with artistes, has weaved real-life stories of caste atrocities with art forms urging for swift action by police and to gain solidarity from people. Bharathi SP Image for representation A minor Dalit girl Chaya* from Palitana of Gujarat left her home on April 7 and never returned. When her widowed mother found her the next day near a water tank, Chaya was severely injured, raped and her bones were fractured. The police arrested a caste Hindu man but Chayas family a

Weather In the next 24 hours, isolated areas in north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are likely to receive light to moderate showers with thunderstorms. TNM Staff Image for representation/PTI The northeast monsoon, that brings in much of Tamil Nadus annual rainfall, is expected to set in over the state by October 28, as per an announcement by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD). Isolated areas in north Tamil Nadu will also receive showers in the next 24 hours. Speaking to the media on Friday,

Crime Police Commissioner Sumit Saran tells TNM that a 'personal dispute' was the cause for the murder. Priyanka Thirumurthy The Coimbatore police have arrested a 23-year-old man named Rajesh, in connection with the murder of Sangeetha, a 60-year-old trans woman entrepreneur in the district. Police Commissioner Sumit Saran tells TNM that a 'personal dispute' was the cause for the murder. A press release from the police department however states that Sangeetha was killed by Rajesh for a

Railways Earlier this month, suburban train services in Chennai had resumed only for essential services personnel to commute to and from work. TNM Staff Image for representation/PTI Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami wrote to the Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal requesting him to grant permission to resume full-fledged operations of the suburban trains in Chennai. Earlier this month, the suburban train services had resumed only for essential services personnel to commute to